Sir Nicholas Grimshaw PPRA (b. 1939)

Sir Nicholas Grimshaw graduated with Honours from the Architectural Association in 1965. He immediately started his own practice and won many architectural awards for his buildings in the 1960s and 1970s. These buildings were noted for their innovative approach to construction and detailing.

In 1980 Nicholas Grimshaw and Partners Ltd was formed continuing this tradition, winning much acclaim and 97 awards for Architecture and Civic Design. The practice is now recognised as GRIMSHAW and operates internationally with offices in London, New York and Melbourne.

The practice is best known in the UK for the Waterloo International Station and the Eden Project in Cornwall. Other significant projects are the RAC Regional Headquarters in Bristol; the Western Morning News Headquarters and Printing Press in Plymouth; and, in London, Sainsbury’s urban quarter in Camden, the Financial Times Printworks, the Headquarters for Lloyds TSB Bank in Gresham Street, the UCL Cancer Institute, and the re-development of Paddington Station.

Recent projects in the UK include the development of ExCel conference centre in London’s Docklands and a number of university buildings.

The practice is well known in Europe having completed six projects in Germany – the Ludwig Erhard House, which originally housed the Berlin Stock Exchange, the headquarters for IGUS plastics, VITRA furniture, MABEG sign systems, Pfeiffer Vacuum Systems and the Frankfurt Trade Fair Hall. Elsewhere in Europe the practice has completed the Ijburg Bridges and Bijlmer Station in Amsterdam (winner of the Building Magazine Building of the Year 2008), the British Pavillion at Expo ’92 and the Caixa Galicia Art Foundation both in Spain, plus the new Airside and Landside centres for Zurich Airport.

Recent projects in Europe include the E3 Fashion and Design Events Building in Milan, which will form part of Cesar Pelli’s masterplan in Garibaldi Republica.

Further afield, GRIMSHAW has completed the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center in St Louis, USA, and the National Museum in Monterrey, Mexico. Other projects include the Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center for Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York State, and the Fulton Street Transport Center close to Ground Zero, the Queens Museum of Art in New York, the Earthpark in Iowa and, more recently, the Miami Science Museum and Pulkovo Airport at St Petersburg.

In Melbourne, Australia, the team has completed the refurbishment of Southern Cross Station, winner of RIBA’s Lubetkin Prize 2007.

Sir Nicholas Grimshaw has lectured in 23 countries worldwide, including the USA. Most recently he gave his lecture ‘Embedded Intelligence’ in New York, Mexico City and Monterrey. Previously he has given his lecture entitled ‘Going Green – Architecture, the Environment and Eden’ at the National Building Museum in Washington DC and the Louis Kahn Memorial Lecture at Penn University, Philadelphia. He is a registered architect in England, France, Germany and Spain. Following examination in 2002 he is also registered to practice architecture in the State of New York.

Sir Nicholas was elected a Royal Academician in 1994 and in the same year he was elected an Honorary Fellow of the AIA. He was knighted by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II in 2002 and in December 2004 was elected President of the Royal Academy of Arts. He was President until 2011. In 2008 he was conferred as Visiting Professor at the University of the Arts London.

Sir Nicholas Grimshaw continues actively to lead his own practice as the Chairman of the Board.

The work of GRIMSHAW is the subject of a series of books published by Phaidon in London: Architecture, Industry and Innovation deals with the years 1965-1988; Structure, Space and Skin covers 1988-1993; and Equilibrium deals with the work of the Practice from 1993 – 2000.

Profile

Royal Academician

Architect

Born: 1939 in Hove, Sussex, England, United Kingdom

Nationality: British

Elected RA: 23 May 1994

Elected Senior RA: 1 October 2015

President from: 2004 - 2011

Gender: Male

Visit Sir Nicholas Grimshaw PPRA (b. 1939)'s website

Preferred media: Architecture

Works by Sir Nicholas Grimshaw in the RA Collection

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Works associated with Sir Nicholas Grimshaw in the RA Collection

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