Thomas Heatherwick

Thomas Heather­wick is an award-winning archi­tect and designer. He studied three-dimen­sional design at Manches­ter Poly­tech­nic and the Royal College of Art. In 1994 he founded Heather­wick Studio, which is recog­nized for its work in archi­tec­ture, urban infra­struc­ture, sculp­ture, design, and strate­gic think­ing. Since its foun­da­tion, the studio has gained an inter­na­tional repu­ta­tion for elegant forms, inven­tive design solu­tions, and pioneer­ing use of mate­ri­als. Through this expe­ri­ence, the studio has acquired a high level of exper­tise in the design and real­iza­tion of unusual projects, with a partic­u­lar focus on a large scale.

The studio’s projects include The Rolling Bridge, Padding­ton Basin (2004), East Beach Café, Little­hamp­ton (2007), the UK Pavil­ion at Expo 2010, Shang­hai (2010), the New Bus for London (2010) and the Olympic Caul­dron (2012). His port­fo­lio is united by a sense of play, some­thing he feels archi­tec­ture today lacks. 

Awards include the Prince Philip Design­ers Prize (2006), a RIBA National Award (2008), the London Design Medal (2010), the RIBA Lubetkin Prize (2010), and the Lend Lease Award for a first-time exhibitor in the Royal Academy Summer Exhi­bi­tion (2013). In 2013, Thomas Heather­wick was appointed Comman­der of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for services to the design indus­try and elected a Royal Academician.