Derek Walker

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Derek John Walker (born 15 June 1929, Blackburn, Lancashire, who has been called one of the greatest British architects of the 20th Century, is a British architect primarily associated with urban planning and leisure facilities architecture through his firm Derek Walker Associates. From 1970 to 1976, Walker was the first Chief Architect of the new town Milton Keynes, and head of Architecture at Royal College of Art^{[citation needed]}. With Stuart Mosscrop, Walker designed the Central Milton Keynes Shopping Centre, the first U.S.-style shopping center in Britain.[1]

In 1980, Walker was involved with Norman Foster and Frank Newby in a controversial scheme to expand the Whitney Museum in New York City using air rights purchased from nearby properties to build a mixed-use skyscraper which would include a new wing for the museum. When a furor developed, the museum denied it had solicited the team.[2]

[edit] Family

Derek Walker has two sons, Matthew and Alex, who both live in Leeds, and eight grandchildren. Walker currently lives in London and Bath with his wife Eve. He also spends much of his time in the south of France.