Nicholas Grimshaw, founder of Grimshaw Architects, has died at age 85.
Grimshaw founded his eponymous firm in 1980. Landmark projects followed such as the International Terminal at Waterloo in London. He was knighted in 2002, and served as president of the Royal Academy of Arts from 2004 to 2011.
Andrew Whalley, Grimshaw’s firm leader since 2019, said in a statement: “From the very first day I arrived at the practice in 1986, I felt the warmth and generosity of Nick’s leadership.”
In 2019, Grimshaw Architects won the RIBA Royal Gold Medal. Another crowning achievement for Grimshaw Architects came last year, when the office was awarded the 2024 Stirling Prize for its work on the Elizabeth Line in London.
“The lack of hierarchy in the studio, shaped by his amiable and open personality, was its true strength,” Whalley added. “It created a collegiate spirit, a place where people genuinely enjoyed working together, supporting one another, and finding the tenacity to deliver some of the most complex buildings.”
Whalley continued: “[Grimshaw’s] architecture was never about surface or fashion, but always about structure, craft, and purpose—about creating buildings that endure because they are both useful and uplifting and, in Nick’s words, ‘bring some kind of joy.’”
Grimshaw was born in East Sussex in 1939. From 1959 to 1962, he studied at the Edinburgh College of Art. After, he enrolled at the Architectural Association. Grimshaw worked with Terry Farrell for 15 years, before starting his own practice in 1980.
Since its inception over 40 years ago, Grimshaw Architects has had a profound impact on the cultural landscape and infrastructure in the U.S. For instance, Via Verde, an important social housing campus by the firm in the South Bronx, opened in 2012. Other New York City projects designed by Grimshaw include Fulton Center in Lower Manhattan and an expansion to the Queens Museum.
More recently, Grimshaw, alongside Architekton, completed the Rob and Melani Walton Center for Planetary Health in Tempe, Arizona. That following year, Grimshaw launched Minoro, a platform designed to accelerate building decarbonization.
On the west coast, Grimshaw’s Los Angeles studio teamed up with Arup and Gruen Associates to deliver the new LAX/Metro Transit Center, a $900 million undertaking. Grimshaw Architects is, today, behind multiple high-speed rail stations between Los Angeles and Las Vegas.
Grimshaw is survived by his wife, Lady Lavinia, and two children.
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