Ian Ritchie (architect)

Ian Ritchie CBE RA (born 24 June 1947 in Sussex) is a British architect,^[2] artist and author, who founded Ian Ritchie Architects in 1981. His projects include the RIBA Award-winning Terrasson Greenhouse and London Regatta Centre, and American Institute of Architects Award-winning Royal Shakespeare Company Courtyard Theatre. Ritchie was the first foreign architect to receive the French Academie d’Architecture Grand Silver Medal for Innovation.^[2]

Career

Ritchie graduated from Liverpool John Moores University School of Architecture in 1968. He then went on to research Urban Studies for a year in Oita-Osaka, Japan and graduated with a Diploma in Architecture with Distinction from PCL, London (now University of Westminster) in 1972.^[2] After working with Norman Foster (1972–76), Ritchie spent two years in France designing and constructing projects before joining Arup's Lightweight Structure Group.^[3] In 1979 he founded Chrysalis Architects. In 1981 he created Ian Ritchie Architects in London, and co-founded the design engineering firm Rice Francis Ritchie (RFR) with Peter Rice and Martin Francis in Paris.^[2] Ritchie left RFR in 1990 and went on to a number of advisory and teaching roles alongside his work at Ian Ritchie Architects, regularly lecturing on topics including art, urbanism and regeneration at venues across the world. During his career he has been awarded multiple accolades, including a CBE in 2000, and was elected a Royal Academician in 1998 and Professor of Architecture at the RA Schools in 2004.^[2] Ritchie (and Ian Ritchie Architects) have had over 60 national and international award nominations and have been shortlisted four times for the RIBA Stirling Prize and Mies Van der Rohe Prize.^[2] Ritchie was the first foreign architect to receive the French Academie d’Architecture Grand Silver Medal for Innovation.^[2]

Major architectural projects

In 1999, Ian Ritchie Architects (alongside Scottish Homes and Thenew Housing Association) completed Scotland’s Home of Tomorrow - new social housing for Glasgow’s East End.

Image	Project	Awards and nominations
	Reina Sofia Museum of Modern Art Madrid, Spain Completed 1990 (with Onzono/Castro)[4]
	Louvre Museum Inverted Pyramid Paris, France Completed 1993 (with I.M. Pei and RFR)[5]
	Leipzig Messe Glass Hall Germany Completed 1995 (with gmp)[6]	German Building of the Year (1997)[7] German Steel Construction Award (1998)[7] IABSE International Outstanding Structure Award (2000)[7] Saxony State Award for Architecture and Construction (1996)[7]
	Crystal Palace Concert Platform Completed 1997[8]
	Jubilee Line Extension, Bermondsey Station London, UK Completed 1999[9]
	Plymouth Theatre Royal Production Centre (TR2) Plymouth, UK Completed 2002[10]
	The Spire Dublin, Ireland Completed 2003[11]	British Construction Industry International Award finalist (2003)[12] RIBA Award & Stirling Prize shortlist (2004)[12] Mies van der Rohe Award shortlist (2005)[12]
	RSC Courtyard Theatre Stratford-upon-Avon, UK Completed 2006[13] RSC The Other Place (Transformation Project) Stratford-upon-Avon, UK Completed 2016[14]	RSC The Other Place AJ Retrofit: Cultural Buildings Award - Cinemas and Theatre shortlist[15] LEAF (Leading European Architecture Forum (LEAF) Awards: Refurbishment of the Year shortlist (2016)[16]
	Wood Lane Underground Station London, UK Completed 2008[17]
	Sainsbury Wellcome Centre for Neural Circuits & Behaviour, University College London London, UK Completed 2016[18]	LEAF (Leading European Architects Forum) Award: Best Façade Design and Engineering (2016)[19] LEAF Award: Overall Winner (2016)[19] RIBA London Awards Shortlist (2016)[20] World Architecture Festival (WAF) Awards: Higher Education and Research shortlist (2016)[21]

Public and professional appointments (selected)

• Assessor, RIBA President’s Medal & Regional Awards (1987–95)^[22]
• Architectural & Design Advisor, Natural History Museum, London (1991–95)^[23]
• Commissioner, Royal Fine Art Commission (1995–99)
• President, Europan UK (1997-2003)^[24]
• Commissioner, CABE (1999-01)^[2]
• Advisor to the Lord Chancellor (1999-2004)^[25]
• Education Advisor, The Ove Arup Foundation (2000–present)^[2]
• Governor and Design Advisor to the Board of the Royal Shakespeare Company (2001–present)^[25]
• Design Masterplanner to the British Museum (2004–06)^[25]
• Member of the European Construction Technology Platform, High Level Group, Brussels (2005–08)^[2]
• Chair of RIBA Stirling Prize (2006)^[26]
• President’s Manhattanville Advisor, Columbia University (2007–11)^[27]
• Advisor to Dean of School of Architecture, Design & Construction, University of Greenwich (2011–present)^[2]
• Advisor to the Director Centre for Urban Science and Progress, New York University (2012–15)^[28]
• Theatre Advisor, Backstage Trust (2012–present)^[2]

Educational appointments (selected)

• Visiting Professor, Moscow School of Architecture (1992)^[2]
• Visiting Professor, Technical University, Vienna (1994–95)^[2]
• Special Professor, Leeds University School of Civil Engineering (2001–04)^[25]
• Professor of Architecture, Royal Academy of Arts (2004–12)^[2]
• Special Professor, Liverpool University (2009–present)^[2]

Awards and honours (selected)

• Fellow, Royal Society of Arts (1987)^[22]
• Elected as Royal Academician (1998)^[2]
• Commander of the British Empire (CBE) (2000)^[2]
• French Academie d’Architecture Grand Medaille d’Argent for Innovation (2000)^[2]
• Honorary Doctorate, University of Westminster (2000)^[27]
• Honorary Fellow, Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland (2009)^[28]
• Honorary Fellow, American Institute of Architects (2010)^[29]
• Fellow, Society of Façade Engineering (2012)^[28]
• Member, Academy of Arts, Berlin (2013)^[28]

References

External links

• Ian Ritchie Architects official website