Known for his use of color and unorthodox forms, modernist British architect Will Alsop died on Saturday following a short illness, his firm, ALL Design, announced today. He was 70 years old.
“Will has inspired generations and impacted many lives through his work,” wrote ALL Design co-founder Marcos Rosello on the firm’s website. “It is a comfort to know that due to the nature of Will’s work and character, he will continue to inspire and bring great joy.”
Born in Northampton, England, Alsop graduated from the Architectural Association School of Architecture in London in 1973. At 23, he entered the design competition for the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris, and famously came in second to the ultimate winners, Richard Rogers, Hon. FAIA, and Renzo Piano, Hon. FAIA. Over his 40-year career, Alsop founded six firms and spearheaded such eye-catching projects as the Sharp Centre for Design at OCAD University (formerly the Ontario College of Art and Design) in Toronto, and the Hôtel du Département des Bouches-du-Rhône (also known as “the Big Blue”) in Marseille, France. In 2000, he was awarded the Stirling Prize for the inverted L-shaped Peckham Library, in London, which he designed while in a partnership with Jan Störmer.
In 2011, Alsop founded ALL Design with Marcos Rosello. He was a professor of architecture at the Vienna University of Technology and the Canterbury School of Architecture in Canterbury, England.
“Nobody who has been to the Peckham Library, to the North Greenwich tube station, to the Sharp Centre for OCAD in Toronto or the Blizard Building at QMU—to name but a tiny handful of his buildings—could walk away without feeling a sense both of awe and amusement at the playful and inquisitive sensibility that they displayed,” writes his son-in-law Alexander Larman in an obituary. “This is equally true of his art.”
The architecture world has already taken to social media to mourn the loss:
So incredibly sad to hear of Will Alsop’s passing, one of our great creative spirits. It has recently been fashionable to ridicule his work, I hope there can be pause from the easy snarking now to reflect on a career that very much enriched our architectural culture. pic.twitter.com/rRdjyguC5A
— AdamNathanielFurman (@Furmadamadam) May 13, 2018
So sad to say goodbye to our dear friend Will Alsop. It’s fair to say Feix&Merlin would not be here without you, so thank you for everything you did for us. Rest in peace you lovely man. We will be thinking of you. Someone pass the Gin and Tonic. pic.twitter.com/Us3yBrVPaU
— FeixMerlinArchitects (@FeixandMerlin) May 13, 2018
Thank you Will Alsop for believing in FAT when no-one else did. Really one of the most (and maybe only) generous architects of the baby boomer generation. Here's CIAC, our building in Middlesbrough that was part of his masterplan pic.twitter.com/kvd3wavgfX
— Sam Jacob (@_SamJacob) May 13, 2018
Devastated that Will Alsop has died. An inspiration to me, a great supporter of us co-founders of @AOCarchitecture in the early days & a privilege to work with on #Croydon Third City Vision. A warm, funny & generous person with an amazing sense of curiosity. I will miss you Will pic.twitter.com/iSOpKR8tjV
— Vincent Lacovara (@VincentLacovara) May 13, 2018
We have all been privately mourning Will Alsop. Today, the first day back in the office, we want to celebrate a life that has touched so many; remember the good times and share them, there are so many. Celebrate his life the way you feel you should, we will. @ALLDesign1 pic.twitter.com/jnwDJUBCbT
— Marcos Rosello (@marcos_rosello) May 14, 2018
Will Alsop was one of the true free spirits and creative iconoclasts of contemporary architecture, with an exuberance that reached full flower in the Sharp Center at OCAD in Toronto. He never had enough opportunities to build — a sad loss for architecture. https://t.co/SuTvALJcBJ
— Paul Goldberger (@paulgoldberger) May 13, 2018
