Read tributes from those in the industry for Michael Hopkins, architect and pioneer of High Tech, who has died aged 88.
The former Inland Revenue Centre. (Courtesy Hopkins Architects)
We have collected responses from leading figures in the industry as they reflect on leading British architect, Michael Hopkins, who has died aged 88.
The Principals at the practice, meanwhile, have issued a statement following the news, found below:
“Michael will be sadly missed by all of us who were lucky enough to have worked with him. He was consistently rigorous in his thinking, brilliant in his analysis and fearlessly creative in his designing. To have worked with him on so many projects was an education like no other and an absolute privilege.
“With Michael the process was always intensely focussed and the conversation that led to the buildings always began as a voyage of discovery typically centred on establishing a sense of place, about how to make historic connections, how to put the materials together in an honest and contemporary way so that the building would appear calm and make immediate sense to the end user. Nothing was ever taken for granted. He was greatly respected both as an architect and as a person of integrity and we will all miss him enormously”.
Mark Whitby reflects on working as Michael Hopkins’ engineer
“As engineers, working with the Hopkins Architects was always challenging, often demanding one to accept ‘ones place’, which was never easy.”
Andrew Whalley, Chair, Grimshaw Architects on Hopkins’ influence on architecture
“The lasting legacy of Michael Hopkins goes beyond a remarkable portfolio of projects and furthers an approach to design that continues to be explored and developed by a new generation of principals at Hopkins Architects as his namesake practice continues its pursuit of excellence.”
Historian Dr Alistair Fair charts the career of Sir Michael Hopkins
“Hopkins made a significant, original contribution to the emergence and development of High Tech architecture – that is, an approach to design which celebrates the ‘honest’ expression of structure and servicing.”
Source: Architecture Today