Pritzker Prize-winning architect Richard Rogers, whose landmark buildings include the Center Pompidou in Paris and the 3 World Trade Center tower in New York, has died aged 88. Rogers “passed away peacefully” on Saturday evening, his representative Matthew Freud of Freud Communications, DailyExpertNews reported on Sunday.
He was one of the most distinctive architects of his generation, with an architectural style that was both instantly recognizable and highly adaptable.
Rogers was born in Florence, Italy, in 1933, into an Anglo-Italian family. The family moved to Great Britain in 1939. After attending the Architectural Association in London, Rogers studied in the United States at Yale University, where he befriended fellow British architect Norman Foster. In 1963, after graduation, the two men joined forces with Rogers’ then-wife, Su Rogers, and Wendy Cheesman, whom Foster would marry in 1964, to form the architectural firm Team 4.
The quartet only stayed together for four years, but during that time they left an indelible mark on British architecture and became the leading names in what came to be known as the British high-tech architecture style.
In 1986 Rogers, then working as the Richard Rogers Partnership, would complete another famous building in the same style: Lloyd’s of London headquarters. This too was initially criticized, but is now one of the most iconic buildings in the city. In 2011, the Lloyd’s Building was granted Grade I listed status, making it one of the few modern buildings to be awarded Britain’s most prestigious title.
As guest editor of DailyExpertNews Style in 2016, architect Richard Rogers chose to focus on the democratization of public space
In 2007 Rogers’ firm was renamed Rogers Stirk Harbor + Partners to reflect the contributions of fellow architects Graham Stirk and Ivan Harbour. The company has left its mark on cities around the world and has designed avant-garde buildings, including the new 3 World Trade Center in New York, the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, France, and the Millennium Dome in London.
Rogers’ firm was awarded the Stirling Prize from the Royal Institute of British Architects in 2006 for the Terminal 4 structure at Madrid’s Barajas International Airport, and again in 2009 for London’s Maggie’s Centre, a cancer care centre.
The architect was also awarded the Pritzker Prize in 2007 – popularly known as the Nobel Prize in Architecture.
Rogers was knighted in 1991 by Queen Elizabeth II. In 1996, he became a life partner for the Labor Party, creating Baron Rogers of Riverside.
Top image: Architect Richard Rogers poses in front of the Center Pompidou building on November 19, 2007 in Paris.