Architecture & Design | Sir Terry Farrell
Sir Terry Farrell is one of Britain’s leading architects and responsible for some of the world’s most iconic buildings. In the UK, building schemes include MI6, Embankment Place, the new Home Office HQ and the Deep Aquarium in Hull. Large scale infrastructure planning and buildings dominate Farrell’s work in East Asia including Incheon Airport in Korea, Beijing and Guangzhou High Speed rail stations in China and KK100, the tallest building ever by a British architect in Shenzhen.
Completed masterplans include Newcastle Quayside, Brindley Place in Birmingham and West Kowloon in Hong Kong. Current projects in London include Earls Court, the Embassy Quarter in Nine Elms, Convoys Wharf and Mid Town in Holborn.
For forty years the practice has shaped the debate on urban design and believes passionately in the creation of the civic realm and the vital spaces in between buildings. Farrells specialises in regeneration, revitalising neglected or industrial areas in major cities and turning them into vibrant living spaces with iconic buildings and a sense of community.
You’ve just finished the Farrell Review into UK architecture. With that as a background, what do you see as British architecture’s place in the world?
In the UK we are world leaders in architectural services, and although hard to quantify, there are few who would dispute this claim. But my Review was much broader than architecture alone. It looked at the entire sector that contributes to our built environment: our streets, schools, hospitals, rail stations, houses, parks and so on. And again, for the host of professional services, the UK is one of the best places to shop around for built environment services. Developers from around the world come here to assemble teams of planners, quantity surveyors, engineers, landscape architects, contractors and architects to name a few. There is a great value in this cluster of sectors and everything to support London as an international design hub should be done. A key recommendation in the
report is to host an International Festival of Architecture in London, and this has wide support. This would showcase the UK’s built environment professions to an international audience in the same way the Olympics drew attention to our sporting achievements. Leading international architects, academics, policy makers and city leaders will be invited for a two- to-three day forum with a programme of discussions and debates, tours and workshops. This will be set in the wider context of sustainable city-making, underpinning quality
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of life and enabling predicted growth to happen in a more sustainable and people-focused way. We are hoping to host the first international festival in the summer of 2015.
What lessons can we learn from the Farrell Review for British Architects
wanting to work abroad? The Review is wide-ranging and holistic in its approach and conclusions, but on the question of working abroad we have been
SIR TERRY FARRELL
l Sir Terry Farrell CBE is the Founding Partner of Farrells. He has been practicing for over forty years and has company offices in London, Hong Kong and Shanghai. Throughout his career; he has championed urban planning and helped shape government policy on key issues. He has completed various buildings and masterplans in London including Embankment Place, the Home Office Headquarters, Greenwich Peninsula and Paddington Basin. He has received various awards and was recognised as the individual to have made the Greatest Contribution to London’s Planning and Development over the period 2003-2013 at the London Planning Awards. Sir Terry is Design Advisor to the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, and advises the Department for Transport on high speed rail in addition to being Design Champion for the Thames Gateway. He is leading an industry wide review of architecture and the built environment at the invitation of Ed Vaizey Architecture Minister.
very clear. More joined-up thinking is needed between government, institutions and professionals which will ultimately benefit all of these parties. The UK’s Trade and Investment (UKTI) body continues to develop links to the professional institutions and identify more opportunities overseas. I would encourage all UK architects to engage with these groups and initiatives. The brand value of our institutions is always underplayed back home, but if you go to Asia, Australia or the Gulf for instance, people place a great deal of value on the Royal Institute of British Architects, English Heritage and our institutions that have grown up over time to have world renown. This is also the century of city
building, on a scale unprecedented in history. An area equivalent to the size of Birmingham will be built across the globe every week for 20 years. In the UK we have a history and understanding of urbanisation. After all, in 1900 we had the largest city in the world with a population over 1 million, and were grappling with rapid industrialisation and growth in our northern cities. Now we are looking at post-industrial regeneration and rectifying some of the mistakes of the past by moving from car-based planning to pedestrian-friendly and human scale neighbourhoods.
In terms of your own body of work,
what are you most proud of and why? Setting up an office in Hong Kong 23 years ago has led to some incredible opportunities in east
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