Sir Nicholas Grimshaw, the celebrated British architect who designed some of the world's most innovative structures including the Eden Project in Cornwall and the original Eurostar terminal at Waterloo Station in London, has passed away at the age of 85. His architectural firm Grimshaw announced his death, describing him as "a man of invention and ideas who had an extraordinary ability to convince others that daring ideas were possible."
Grimshaw's career was marked by a series of groundbreaking buildings that pushed the boundaries of both design and engineering. His company, Grimshaw, which he founded in 1980, first gained recognition with the Financial Times Printworks, which opened in 1988 and won several prestigious awards. The building was so architecturally significant that it was designated as Grade II listed in 2016, recognizing its historical and architectural importance.
Throughout his career, Grimshaw was considered a pioneer of architecture's high-tech movement, working alongside other renowned architects such as Norman Foster, Richard Rogers, and Renzo Piano. However, he rejected the high-tech label, telling The Guardian in 2018: "High-tech sounds like a stylistic movement. We see ourselves as very solidly grounded in Paxton and Brunel – the great architects of the Victorian era." Despite this connection to Victorian architects, his buildings looked distinctly modern and futuristic.
The Eden Project, perhaps his most famous work, exemplifies Grimshaw's innovative approach to architecture. Built in a disused clay pit in Cornwall, the project consists of a series of interlocking geodesic domes supported by tubular steel structures. These remarkable domes house over 5,000 varieties of plant life and opened to the public in 2001. The project has since become one of Britain's most popular tourist attractions and a symbol of sustainable architecture.
Another of Grimshaw's masterpieces was the original Eurostar terminal at Waterloo Station, which featured a dramatically curving 400-meter-long roof that dominated the London skyline. When it opened in 1994, the terminal won both the prestigious Mies van der Rohe Award and the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) Building of the Year Award, which is now known as the Stirling Prize. Reflecting on the project years later, Grimshaw told Guardian architecture critic Oliver Wainwright in 2018: "It seems run-of-the-mill now, but it was a huge emotional thrill at the time, to be connected to Europe like this. I suppose it's particularly ironic now, given the absolutely crazy decision to leave the EU."
Grimshaw's firm continued to achieve excellence well into recent years, winning a second Stirling Prize last year for its work on London's Elizabeth line. The firm designed the underground portions of the stations in collaboration with AtkinsRéalis, which handled the engineering aspects, as well as the firms Maynard and Equation. Grimshaw believed deeply in the emotional power of transportation architecture, stating that there was "something heroic about railway stations, with the excitement of departure and the exhilaration of arrival."
The architect's contributions to the field were widely recognized through numerous honors and awards. He was knighted for his services to architecture in 2002, served as president of the Royal Academy from 2004 to 2011, and received the RIBA Gold Medal in 2018, one of architecture's highest honors. These accolades reflected his significant impact on contemporary architecture and his role in shaping the built environment.
Grimshaw's architectural philosophy set him apart from many of his contemporaries who explored various stylistic movements such as postmodernism. Instead, he consistently strived to make his work as lightweight, sustainable, and structurally pure as possible. "I see the practice of architecture as similar to boat-building," he explained. "It's about materials and structures doing real things, as opposed to decorative things." This approach resulted in buildings that were not only visually striking but also functionally innovative and environmentally conscious.
Sir Nicholas Grimshaw's death marks the end of an era in contemporary architecture. His legacy lives on through the iconic buildings that continue to inspire architects and delight visitors around the world, from the biodomes of Cornwall to the railway stations of London, each testament to his belief that architecture should be both beautiful and purposeful.
