Will Alsop

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Personal Information
Will Alsop
Name	Will Alsop
Nationality	United Kingdom
Birth date	1947
Birth place	Northampton
Work
Significant Buildings
Awards and Prizes	Stirling Prize2000

Will Alsop (b. 1947) is an English architect based in London, responsible for several distinctive and controversial modernist buildings — most in the United Kingdom. Alsop's buildings are usually distinguished by their vibrant use of bright color and unusual forms. While Alsop has won praise from some critics and fans of avant garde architecture, he has also faced criticism from fellow architects and some segments of the general public.

Alsop's design for Peckham Library won the Stirling Prize in 2000.

THEpUBLIC, West Bromwich. The design has been likened to a massive fish tank or a Holstein cow.

Alsop studied at the Architectural Association School of Architecture and set up a practice (Alsop & Lyall) with fellow student John Lyall in Hammersmith in 1981, subsequently renamed Alsop & Stormer in 1991. Alsop and Stormer divided into separate practices in 2000, Alsop forming Alsop Architects. Alsop has practices in London, Singapore, Toronto, Beijing and Shanghai.

Alsop Architects was partially bought out in early 2006 by the SMC Group and is now known as SMC Alsop.

Alsop's book SuperCity was particularly controversial. It has been the subject of a Channel 4 television documentary and an exhibition at the Urbis museum in Manchester [1]. This book describes his vision of a' Supercity' - a futurisitic conurbation - stretching along the M62 corridor, from Liverpool to Hull. It includes a discussion of how the increasing inter-connectivity of the cities along this corridor is changing the concepts of a 'city', and how they can be developed to merge the idea of rural and urban. It also includes a number of architectural ideas of possible buildings and communities in this city. Although he has seen some political support in his ideas, with The Times claiming that John Prescott is a supporter [2], the SuperCity also has its criticisms. It is claimed that his book and visions show signs of parochialism [3], and a misunderstanding of how people travel and self-identify. He is also accused of taking a highly globalist stance and ignoring the needs of those who cannot afford to travel.

Alsop's Sharp Centre for Design building at the Ontario College of Art & Design in Toronto. The concept is strongly reminiscent of Peckham Library, but takes it further, with the entire structure supported by stilts.

His plans for a "Fourth Grace" to be built on Liverpool's Pier Head waterfront — the so-called "Cloud building" — were cancelled in June 2004, officially because of rising costs and unrealistic design.

Alsop's architectural talents may be the subject of controversy but he has managed to build up an international reputation and a certain degree of fame. Nortwithstanding this, like fellow avant gardist Zaha Hadid he has actualised relatively few buildings from his designs.

[edit] Work

His built works include:

Hamburg Ferry Terminal
Cardiff Bay Visitors Centre
Peckham Library — winner of the Stirling Prize in 2000
North Greenwich tube station
Ontario College of Art & Design — Sharp Centre for Design
Ben Pimlott Building, Goldsmiths College, New Cross
Fawood Children's Centre, London - nominated for the Stirling Prize in 2005
Hotel du Department des Bouches du Rhone; Marseilles, France
Blizard Building, Whitechapel, London
The Public, West Bromwich
Palestra, 197 Blackfriars Road, London - Private Eye magazine's Worst New Building of 2006
2006 - Alsop Toronto sales centre - Toronto - a condo sales centre that will be turned into an art gallery afterwards.
Queen Mary's School of Medicine and Dentistry [4]

[edit] Under Construction/Planned

Canada

Toronto - King Towns - a condo tower. [5]

New Islington, Manchester - Masterplan & buildings for mixed use community. [6]
Adelphi Street, Salford, Manchester - 26 storey tower development inculding residential, commercial & retail uses.

[edit] External links

v • d • e Stirling Prize Laureates
Stephen Hodder (1996) • Michael Wilford (1997) • Foster and Partners (1998) • Future Systems/Buro Happold (1999) • Alsop/Störmer (2000) • Wilkinson Eyre/Buro Happold (2001) • Wilkinson Eyre/Gifford (2002) • Herzog & de Meuron (2003) • Foster and Partners/Arup (2004) • EMBT/RMJM (2005) • Richard Rogers (2006)