Peter Davey

Kurt W. Forster

The London architectural firm Wilkinson Eyre Architects, founded in 1983, has been drawing attention since the 1990s with its wealth of innovative and imaginative designs – notably its spectacular and structurally ambitious bridges. The best-known and most highly acclaimed are the Gateshead Millennium Bridge (2001) and the Floral Street Bridge (2003). The firm has won many prizes, including the RIBA Stirling Prize twice. It has also demonstrated the increasingly international scope of its activities by entering the competitions for the Guangzhou West Tower in China and the Tensegrity Bridge in Washington DC, USA. This book offers detailed documentation of some 15 structures and projects, with special attention paid to the context of each design. The projects presented include the Stirling Prize-winning Magna Centre in Rotherham, UK; the National Waterfront Museum in Swansea, UK; the Guangzhou West Tower in China; and the Gatwick Airbridge, UK, among others.

The Architecture of Wilkinson Eyre

Exploring Boundaries

Kurt Walter Forster

London-based Wilkinson Eyre have been drawing attention since the 1990s with a series of innovative and imaginative designs. This monograph covers the practice's work since 2000. During this period, their architecture has evolved significantly, but it continues to be distinguished by a willingness to adapt, exploring the boundaries between creative and scientific territories yet remaining specific to site and context. This book offers detailed documentation of some fifteen buildings and structures, with special attention paid to the context of each design. Starting with the highly acclaimed Magne Centre and the Gateshead Millennium Bridge, winners of the RIBA Stirling Prize in 2001 and 2002, it traces the practice's increasing international reach with projects such as the Tensegrity Bridge in Washington DC and the Guangzhou West Tower in China. Two essays, by Peter Davey and Kurt W. Forster, give a detailed analyses of Wilkinson Eyre's approach.

Der finnische Architekt Pekka Helin gründete bereits 1979 in Helsinki sein erstes Büro. In seiner Entwurfshaltung knüpft das Büro in einer spezifisch skandinavischen Ausdrucksform sowohl an den Funktionalismus, als auch an die organische Architektur eines Aalvar Alto, Viljo Revell, Heikki Sirèn oder auch eines Arne Erve an. Das Material Holz spielt in dieser sehr klaren Architektur eine vordergründige Rolle. Das Büro kreiert Bauten im Bereich Wohnen – häufig direkt am Wasser gelegen, wo die Einbindung in die Natur in den Sichtachsen eine große Rolle spielt – , aber auch Bürobauten, wie etwa den Nokia Hauptsitz oder auch das Finnish Modular Office, der höchste Bürobau aus Holz innerhalb Europas. Auch öffentliche Bauten, wie etwa die finnische Botschaft in Moskau oder der Konzertsaal und die Bibliothek in Espoo, gehören zu den Realisierungen des Büros, wie auch gar städtebauliche, so etwa der Masterplan für die Umgestaltung des ehemaligen Areals des Flughafens von Oslo.

Peter Davey

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