Council Leader Pays Tribute To Richard Rogers


Architect's firm was responsible for redesign of Hammersmith Town Hall

Lord Richard Rogers
Lord Richard Rogers. Picture: Dezeen

The leader of Hammersmith & Fulham Council has paid tribute to architect Richards Rogers who he described at a friend to the borough.

Lord Rogers passed away on 18 December aged 88. His firm is currently working on the redesign of Hammersmith Town Hall in partnership with the council.

Cllr Stephen Cowan expressed his sadness at the news and said of the Town Hall scheme, “It’s being transformed from a musty old municipal building into an arts, retail, and recreational civic campus with homework space for local children and start up space for local entrepreneurs. It will feel a bit like the South Bank.

“It’s a visionary project that will be open to residents which they will be able to enjoy in many different ways. The new Hammersmith & Fulham Civic Campus will help rejuvenate this important part of our wonderful borough.

“I have no doubt that such a beautiful, imaginative scheme could only come from a firm of architects, Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners (RHSP), which looked on Richard Rogers as its inspiration and mentor. I had met with Richard several times shortly after becoming the Council Leader. His brilliance and humility were striking. He was a gentle and wise man. A giant in public life.

“The new Civic Campus is likely to be the most environmentally friendly listed building in the country. It will also be one of the most accessible buildings for Disabled people in the world.”

The project will include a new four-screen cinema, an art gallery, an events space, flexible office spaces for start-up entrepreneurs and 204 flats of which over half will be classed as ‘genuinely affordable’. It addition there will be a public rooftop cafe and sky bar andnew public squares with space for performances and events in front of the restored Town Hall building.

Richard Rogers was one of the world’s most famous architects and he had been awarded the RIBA Gold Medal, the Thomas Jefferson Medal, the RIBA Stirling Prize, the Minerva Medal, and the Pritzker Prize and more.

His work includes:

– Pompidou Centre, Paris, France (1971-1977)
– Lloyd’s Building, London (1986)
– National Assembly for Wales, Cardiff (2005)
– Barajas Airport, Madrid, Spain (2005)
– Terminal 5, Heathrow, London (2008)
– Maggie’s Centre, Charing Cross Hospital, Hammersmith, London (2008)
– International Towers Sydney, Sydney, Australia (2009-2016)
– Central Park Station (R9), Kaohsiung City, Taiwan (2003-2007)
– European Court of Human Rights building, in Strasbourg (1994)
– Hammersmith & Fulham Civic Campus, London (2018-2022).

As well as his work designing buildings, Richard Rogers also advised London mayors on architecture and urbanism, and served as an advisor to two mayors of Barcelona on urban strategies.

Cllr Cowan added, “His family will be rightly proud of all he’s done. I send our condolences and gratitude to them for what he did for Hammersmith & Fulham.”

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January 14, 2022