Born in London; educated at the London School of Architecture. In British films as an uncredited draughtsman and set designer from 1947, he came into his own in the 60s as a leading production designer of grand-scale films in Britain and the US, winning four Academy Awards. Noted for recreating exotic locations in unlikely settings (e.g., he built Doctor Zhivago's Russian country house in Spain, and used white plastic sheets and marble dust to replicate a snowy landscape), his nickname was "The Magician." As art director, his early credits include THE MILLION POUND NOTE (1953), THE YOUNG LOVERS (1954), A PRIZE OF GOLD and THE COCKLESHELL HEROES (both 1955), ZARAK (1956), HIGH FLIGHT and HOW TO MURDER A RICH UNCLE (both 1957), NO TIME TO DIE (1958), THE INN OF THE SIXTH HAPPINESS (1958), OUR MAN IN HAVANA and LEFT RIGHT AND CENTRE (both 1959), and THE WORLD OF SUZIE WONG and TWO WAY STRETCH (both 1960). His production design credits include THE GAMMA PEOPLE (1956), LAWRENCE OF ARABIA (1962), THE WILD AFFAIR (1963), OF HUMAN BONDAGE (1964), DOCTOR ZHIVAGO (1965), A MAN FOR ALL SEASONS (1966), OLIVER! (1968), NICHOLAS AND ALEXANDRA (1971), TRAVELS WITH MY AUNT (1972), THE GREAT GATSBY (1974), ROLLERBALL (1975), SORCERER (1977), THE KEEP (1983), A PASSAGE TO INDIA (1984), "Murder by the Book" (1986, TV), JUST LIKE A WOMAN (1992), BLACK BEAUTY (1994) and his last film, FIRST KNIGHT (1995). He was married to costume designer Doris Lee from 1953 until her death in 1992.

Art Direction/Set Decoration (Color) 1962: LAWRENCE OF ARABIA - Art Direction (w. John Stoll)  Art Direction/Set Decoration (Color) 1965: DOCTOR ZHIVAGO - Art Direction (w. Terence Marsh)  Art Direction/Set Decoration 1968: OLIVER! - Art Direction (w. Terence Marsh)  Art Direction/Set Decoration 1971: NICHOLAS AND ALEXANDRA - Art Direction (w. Ernest Archer, Jack Maxsted & Gil Parrondo)  Nominated for Art Direction/Set Decoration 1972: TRAVELS WITH MY AUNT - Art Direction (w. Gil Parrondo & Robert W. Laing)  Nominated for Art Direction/Set Decoration 1984: A PASSAGE TO INDIA - Art Direction (w. Leslie Tomkins) 6 nominations, 4 Awards