Together with Richard Rogers and Norman Foster, Nicholas Grimshaw is credited with pioneering High-Tech modernism in Britain in the early 1970s. Grimshaw's buildings demonstrate the fusion of well-tempered, functional engineering and the fundamental principles of architecture. Always understandable spatially and organizationally, Grimshaw's buildings employ high-quality materials and detailing and show his interest in engineering.
Born in London in 1939, the son of an aircraft engineer and great-grandson of Victorian civil engineer Sir George Alderson, Grimshaw claims Victorian subject painter Atkinson Grimshaw as an ancestor. After studying architecture at Edinburgh University, he transferred to the third year at the Architectural Association in 1962. Tutored by Cedric Price, he was subsequently influenced by Peter Cook and Archigram. He admired engineering structures such as the Dome of Discovery and the Skylon at the Festival of Britain in 1951, as well as the Crystal Palace of 1851. Grimshaw's work shares Paxton's clarity of concept, supported by detailed and thorough development. Concept sketches invariably embody the complete essence of the final design.
His first project, the Sussex Gardens Service Tower (1967) in London, provided sanitary facilities for student accommodation. Its helical form, illustrating Grimshaw's interest in geometry, was innovative, predating computer-assisted design (CAD) and involving the coordination of 35 specialist subcontractors. Apartments on Park Road (1968) in London, built of lightweight materials the same year as Ronan Point was constructed in heavy precast concrete, reveal Grimshaw's developing interest in "technology transfer."
The expanding towns of the 1970s and the advent of the business park led to the construction of acres of humdrum storage buildings. Grimshaw soon proved that the simple industrial building could assume the form of a shell, capable of being altered to suit the changing needs of users and the processes inside. The Citroën Warehouse (1972), commissioned to be unobtrusive, with maximum size at minimum cost, was the first to show a sensitivity to landscape, occupying a riverside site at Runnymede. The Furniture Factory for Vitra (1981) at Weil am Rhein, Germany, and the Headquarters for Editions Van der Velde (1979) continue this theme. The green fiberglass panels of the low-lying building for Van der Velde, in the Loire valley, were designed to imitate the green glass of Vouvray bottles.
Grimshaw's belief that people should be able to manipulate their surroundings was developed in the Herman Miller Distribution Centre (1982) at Chippenham, Wiltshire, which he described as "the ultimate long-life loose-fit building." At the Advanced Factory Units (1978) at Winwick Quay, Warrington, carefully detailed cladding systems were employed. The potency of the clear expression that structure can give to a building is first seen at the Sports Hall for IBM Winchester, 1980, that echoes the branches of the surrounding trees. This effect reaches a climax at the Oxford Ice Rink, where the structure, with its spine beam running the length of the building, hung dramatically between two masts, signals the thrill and excitement of the activity inside. The Financial Times Printing Works (London, 1988) is a building with a more formal and disciplined approach, where the support for the roof and for the cleaning gantries is combined in one clear system. This apparently simple move allows the all-glass facade and reveals the printing activity within. In the Sainsbury Supermarket Development (1989) in Camden Town, Grimshaw's designs come to terms with the urban context. Here, scale, grain, and color point the way to his more recent, high-profile projects. The British Pavilion at Expo '92 in Seville, constructed from glass, with canvas sides and a water cascade down one side, secured international fame.
The International Terminal addition to Waterloo Station (1990-93) has become an architectural landmark. This complex structure, conceived to evoke the feats of the great Victorian engineers, heralds the "Gateway to Europe." The building comprises four main components—a car park, which forms the foundation for the terminal; a two-story viaduct, which supports the platforms; the brick arches of the original station that house services; and a flattened, sweeping roof, 400 feet in length. The structure moves away from surface articulation toward a more profound interest in light and space. The 1990s have brought a new dimension of meaning—the technically superlative Stock Exchange in Berlin (1996), the RAC Headquarters in Bristol (1995), and the Western Morning News Building (1998), all demonstrating evolution and refinement. The Eden Project in Cornwall (2000), the Ludwig Erhard Haus in Berlin (1998), the Mabeg Office in Germany (1999), Zurich Airport, and the restoration of Brunel's Paddington Station in London represent Grimshaw's most recent, ambitious, and diverse work.
Hitary J. GRAINGER
Sennott R.S. Encyclopedia of twentieth century architecture, Vol.2 (G-O). Fitzroy Dearborn., 2005. |
