HE was one of the main men behind London's Tower Hotel, the restoration of Liverpool's Albert Dock, and regeneration in Camden.
Now Graham Buckler has revealed his grand vision for a theatre on Derby's eyesore Duckworth Square.
And a leading city councillor has said Mr Buckler's idea is "certainly a possibility", though finding funding would be the key.
The 76-year-old, of Leonard Walk, in the city centre, said he was prompted to draw up his plan over concerns that the council would not be capable of turning the city centre around after fire forced the closure of the Assembly Rooms.
Duckworth Square, in the Becketwell area of the city, has been derelict for 11 years and has now been bought by the city council as it aims to drive forward its development.
The authority is also in talks about buying the former Debenhams building next to the square from owner Intu.
That building plays a big part in Mr Buckler's vision which would see:
A large theatre, possibly two – with one considerably bigger than the Assembly Rooms – on the Duckworth Square site.
The conversion of the former Debenhams building into the theatre's reception, bar, restaurant and offices.
A glazed atrium access tunnel leading from Debenhams to the theatre with the former store's warehouse demolished to make way.
The creation of a new multi-storey car park on the site of where the former Hippodrome Theatre currently stands and the ground level Crompton Street Car Park.
The council is considering whether to refurbish the Assembly Rooms building, knock it down and replace it on its current site, or build a new venue somewhere else.
Mr Buckler said he wanted to see the stricken site reopen at the lowest possible cost, which the council has previously said would be about £6 million.
That would be on the basis that it would eventually be superseded as a theatre venue by the Becketwell development.
Mr Buckler said: "The best solution, surely, would be to take the bold step and build a new theatre complex elsewhere and eventually convert the Assembly Rooms complex into a much larger more meaningful conference and exhibition centre close to the Council House and cluster of hotels in that area of the city.
"The area around Duckworth Square has been in a state of increasing dereliction for ages and is in need of a comprehensive, visionary, regeneration strategy."
Mr Buckler was in charge of regeneration at Camden Borough Council in the 1970s, where he oversaw major investment in refurbishing and building housing.
In the 1970s he was site architect for the Tower Hotel, an impressive building next to Tower Bridge, London, where his job was to make the designs for the building work on the ground.
In the early 1980s, he drew up specifications, working drawings and was site supervisor for the majority of the refurbishment of Liverpool's 19th century Albert Dock.
He said he could not be certain how much his vision for Duckworth Square would cost but that the council's upper estimate for an Assembly Rooms replacement – around £100 million – would "certainly cover it".
Mr Buckler said: "If they had a proper person in charge of the development, someone who can wheel and deal, get money out of the lottery and the Arts Council, I'm sure it would be possible."
He said that he would be up for running the scheme himself but doubted whether the council would allow it.
An application to partially demolish the former Hippodrome theatre and rebuild it as a multi-storey car park was rejected by the council in 2009. And the Hippodrome Restoration Trust is battling to try to get it reopened as a theatre.
When asked about his proposal to replace the crumbling building with a car park, Mr Buckler said: "What is anybody going to do with it?
"You look at the size of the Hippodrome compared to what could be achieved with Duckworth Square.
"The Hippodrome may be a Grade II listed building but it has been so altered that it is not worth saving. Also it would be a non-starter if more theatres were built nearby."
Mr Buckley said Duckworth Square had not been attractive to private-sector developers because the previous supermarket development involved a cut into the hillside so it is on two levels.
Councillor Martin Rawson, cabinet member responsible for regeneration, said the authority would take Mr Buckler's suggestion into account as it draws up its plan for a "vibrant city centre" over the next 15 years.
The authority has formed a think tank on the subject, which is expected to have drawn up a plan by Christmas.
Mr Rawson said: "The Becketwell site is bigger than the Assembly Rooms site so, from a practical point of a view, the available land is there. It's a bit of a funny site because it's on two levels but architecturally I'm sure it could incorporate a theatre.
"It's certainly possible, but the key to it, as always, is the money to make it happen. The only way we could do it would be to put together a package of funding, applying for things like Heritage Lottery and Arts Council money with the council chipping in the land.
"Owning the land puts us in a stronger position in terms of getting it developed as it means we don't have to do anything like making compulsory purchase orders or going through other lengthy legal processes."
Local historian Maxwell Craven, also editor of Derby Civic Society's newsletter, said that, aside from the difficulty of finding the money, he was unsure about Mr Buckler's car park plans.
He said: "Even if you had car parks in one or both of those places you would have to walk up a steep hill, in pouring rain in the winter, to get from the theatre to your car.
"You would ideally need some sort of space for car parking between Duckworth Square and Debenhams. "Of course the key with a car park is to integrate it with good design so it doesn't look like a car park."
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