British-Italian architect Richard Rogers will soon retire from his namesake architecture firm, Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners (RSHP), which was founded in 1977.
Rogers is one of the leading lights of late-20th century High-Tech architecture, and helped design many significant buildings, including the Pompidou Center, the Lloyd's of London building, the Millennium Dome, and Heathrow Airport's Terminal 5 structure.
BuildingDesign reports that the firm recently filed paperwork in conjunction with Rogers's departure in order to set a name-change for the practice into motion. The firm's constitution requires that a principal's name be removed from the firm's title once within two years of their departure. The remaining partners, Ivan Harbour and Graham Stirk, have indicated previously that the name of the firm could simply become "Stirk Harbour & Partners," though it is possible they may add the names of recently elevated partners to the title, as well.
BD reports that Rogers's retirement has been “planned since 2007, as part of the comprehensive succession planning strategy established when the Richard Rogers Partnership became Rogers Stirk Harbour & Partners.”
Regarding the coming changes for the firm and fellow partners, Rogers tells The Guardian "I am going to retire in a short time," adding, “I will enlighten myself and let them go ahead."
In a statement, RSHP principal Ivan Harbour explains that “Richard has been a huge inspiration to us all at RSHP and to the architectural profession globally. His humanity, integrity and generosity are reflected in the practice he founded, and which continues to be guided by his principles.”
For his part, Rogers is among the most widely decorated architects currently in practice. He graduated from the Architectural Association in 1959 and went on to complete the Centre Pompidou in Paris with Renzo Piano and Gianfranco Franchini in 1971. Additionally, Rogers was awarded the Stirling Prize in 2006 and 2009, the Prtizker Prize in 2007, and received a Gold Medal from the Royal British Institute of Architects in 1985 and one from the American Institute of Architects in 2019, among other honors. in 2016, Rogers and Harvard Graduate School of Design launched the Richard Rogers Fellowship, which includes a $10,000 prize as well as residency in the Wimbledon House, a landmarked building in London designed by Lord Richard Rogers in the late 1960s.
11 Comments
I'm slowly coming to the realization that the next decade in architectural practice and discourse might see a huge transition from the post-modern architects that came to prominence in the latter half of the 20th century to the "younger" generation. Grimshaw, Rem, Richard Rogers, Gehry, Foster, Renzo...holy shit just listing them out....Jean Nouvel, Eisenman, Frampton, Tschumi, Holl, Meier are all in their 70s and 80s. I'm just naming these influential megastars of our discipline, no doubt there are still dozens behind them, but could this be the largest hand-off between one generation to the next? I don't think the younger stars are able to match the influence these old guys gave to the profession.
I think it's less about whether younger architects CAN match the influence and more about whether they will be ALLOWED to by the people with the power.
You cannot name out younger generations because we are not that much into iconic architecture anymore. We cannot associate one building to one person anymore. We are getting architecture back to group effort with focus on sustainability and performance. It is more of a collective effort rather than big name architect with unique building style and form making. Innovative project are done by big firms like SOM,Perkins will, HOK, etc. It is not about the single name anymore.
Jay, that's a very Pollyanna outlook on things. Considering the priorities of any building in the 21st century are typically "Initial Cost" first, there's scant room in the budget for long term costs. By the time the building gets to a point where it can have a beneficial impact on the planet or its inhabitants (users, not owners) the building is fully depreciated and sold to a secondary owner who's left with a bag of shit.
A lot of the output at HOK and Perkins & Will is not innovative. With regards to future big names, Bjarke Ingels would like to apply for that position.
tinmn, it depends on your definition of innovative and at what scale. Also whether you're talking about press-worthy innovation or other kinds, which happen behind the scenes at many of the big firms but don't splash well in the trade press.
There hasn't been a massive step in building innovation since the tube skyscraper in the 60s. A lot of incremental innovation in facade design and fabrication, energy use, workflow/software and materials (way beyond the skillset of architects) - critical but not headline-grabbing. The recent wave of "smart" marketing may escalate in scale. As for prefab in the US ... that wave comes and goes. The fundamentals of engineering and construction may remain constant but I see more tech-driven innovation in interior design (More like add-ons to basic spaces rather than a revolution) and incremental material/thermal comfort advances in building envelope design. Hopefully 3D printing at a massive scale comes of age.
Can I add an addendum? "Hopefully 3D printing at a massive scale comes of age." *with the physical requirements of its use such that we don't end up with a generation of masturbatory buildings that serve nothing but the "designer's" ego.
Looking at the massive rise in sheer material waste in schools as students find it ever easier to just print dozens of "iteration" models ... doesn't bode well for the ease of fabrication when ego gets ahead. I hope that 3D printing, after the scammers and clickbaiters are gone, will indeed lower costs, reduce construction time, and cut waste. Probably decades in the future when the economics make sense.
I was doing 3D printing in college (really just a college, not an Ivy or anything like that) 20 years ago. There have been basically no tangible advancements since that time and I'm not holding my breath on that one.
I like very, very much this work, he is a Great Professional !!!!
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