Artist of the day: Artist of the Day, October 21, 2021: Thomas Alexander Heatherwick, an English designer, architect (#1397)

Thursday, October 21, 2021

Artist of the Day, October 21, 2021: Thomas Alexander Heatherwick, an English designer, architect (#1397)

Thomas Alexander Heatherwick, CBE RA RDI (1970) is an English designer and the founder of London-based design practice Heatherwick Studio. He has been described as one of Britain's most significant designers. He works with a team of around 200 architects, designers and makers from a studio and workshop in King's Cross, London.

Thomas Alexander Heatherwick has been involved in the design of many projects, some controversial, including the Olympic Cauldron, the New Routemaster bus, and the UK pavilion at Expo 2010. His other projects have included the renovation of the Hong Kong Pacific Place, the now-cancelled Garden Bridge, a proposed plan for a biomass power station in BEI-Teesside, and the Vessel in New York City.

Heatherwick’s works span a wide range of disciplines—from architecture, furniture, fashion, and product design to engineering, transportation design, and urban planning—and are executed on a variety of scales. Born in London, Heatherwick was introduced to design at an early age by both of his parents. His mother, a bead collector, helped Heatherwick to develop his aesthetic while his father introduced him to architecture and design.

As a child, Heatherwick frequently worked on inventions, anything from mechanical birthday cards to go-karts. He went on to study 3-D design at Manchester Polytechnic, where he received a degree in 1991, followed by study in a two year Furniture MA program at the Royal Academy of Art, receiving a degree in 1994. Upon graduating, he established the Heatherwick Studio) where over the last 18 years, he and a group of fellow designers, architects, and engineers have worked on nearly 200 projects. Heatherwick has won various honors and awards, including honorary doctorates from four universities: Sheffield Hallam, Brighton, Dundee, and Manchester Metropolitan University. Heatherwick is an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects and is a Senior Fellow at the Royal College of Art. Additionally, he is the youngest practitioner to be appointed a Royal Designer for Industry. His works have been exhibited in England and internationally, and in 2012 the Victoria And Albert Museum hosted a retrospective of the works of Heatherwick Studio called, “Heatherwick Studio: Designing the Extraordinary.”

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