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Editorial & News , British maverick architect, Filter by Category: Features remembered after unexpected death » Architectural Issues News » Buildings Events By Alexander Walter May 14, '18 7:47 PM EST » Culture Competitions » Architects

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International Landscape Architect and Will Alsop, 1947-2018. Photo: Malcolm Crowther. Artist Martha Schwartz to Speak at The Boston Architectural College Commencement May 25 The news of British architect Will Alsop's death over the weekend was met Boston Architectural College (BAC) with an outpouring of sympathy from fellow architects and journalists around View all | Schools the web.

FRESH DISCUSSIONS A recipient of the RIBA's for his Library building in 2000, an avid painter, and master of seemingly floating buildings on playful Time to step out of Architecture. The stilts, Alsop never settled for the expected but rather embraced the 'maverick' recession coming. reputation for balancing genius and wacky, recognized and controversial. Need a refresher course on architectural engineering / calculating loads, etc.

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RIBA Worldwide Award winner: Sharp Centre for , Ontario College of Art & Design, , Canada, 2004. Photo: Taxiarchos228/Wikipedia.

"Will has inspired generations and impacted many lives through his work," Marcos Rosello, director of Alsop's firm aLL Design, said in response of his passing. "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. He had an exceptional ability to recognize particular strengths in individuals which he would draw out and nurture. His design ethos, essentially to ‘make life better’, is evident in the architecture of his buildings and their surrounding communities. We will miss him greatly."

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Stirling Prize winner: Peckham Library, London, UK, 2000. Photo: Banalities/Flickr.

"Architects are the only profession that actually deal in joy and delight—all the others deal in doom and gloom," Alsop famously said in a 2007 interview with The Observer.

Joy, fun, and playfulness were continuing themes in his architectural output all the way to his final works, two new subway stations in Toronto bearing Alsop's trademark outlandish style as part of the city's metro expansion. On the opening day earlier this year, he remarked: "On one of these really cold, miserable January mornings, there will be people down there traveling to a job they’d probably rather not do. I want them to feel a little bit of cheer, a little bit of joy."

Stirling Prize nominee: Hôtel du Département des Bouches-du-Rhône (Le Grand Bleu), , France, 1994. Photo: Fred Romero/Wikipedia.

Toronto is also home to Alsop's most internationally recognized building, the stilted, boxy Sharp Centre extension to the Ontario College of Art and Design, having reportedly increased the city's tourism by 2.5%.

Nick Patch of the Toronto Star praises the building for igniting architectural creativity in Toronto: "Perhaps some amount of credit is due to Alsop’s checkerboard in the sky, which with playful irreverence, set a bar for risk- taking architecture in the city just ahead of a transformative boom in reimagining Toronto’s cultural icons."

Stirling Prize nominee: North tube station, Greenwich, London, UK, 1999. Photo: David Jones/Wikipedia.

Former RIBA president had this to say: "I was a judge for the Stirling Prize in 1997 when arguably Alsop’s Grand Bleu in should have won, and on the RIBA Awards Group in 2000 when Peckham Library did win. I came to know Will for his ebullience, wit, and orthodox- challenging architecture."

The Public, West Bromwich, UK, 2008.

"Charming" and "funny" are the characteristics mentioned most often when remembering Will Alsop, the man. His work regularly pushed the envelope a little too far, was considered unbuildable at its time, often unfinanceable, always outlandish, but his legacy remains and he will be remembered for blazing the trail.

"Chips" New Islington, , UK, 2009. Photo: David Jones/Wikipedia.

Will Alsop died on May 12, at age 70, after a short illness.

Marcos Rosello @marcos_rosello

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 11:08 AM - May 14, 2018 99 42 people are talking about this

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Non Sequitur HISTORY · CONTACT

Oh dang... I really loved his paintings and was an early influence of mine.

MAY 14, 18 8:23 PM

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