WilkinsonEyre at 40

By Oliver Tyler

As we mark four decades in pursuit of design excellence, the 40th anniversary of the practice is an opportunity to reflect on a journey defined by innovation, collaboration and memorable architecture.

The practice originated in a group of prominent British architects who embraced advanced technological approaches to building form, along with an aesthetic celebrating structure, an expression of services and a materials palette centred around aluminium, steel and glass. Founder Chris Wilkinson spent his early career in the studios of high-tech pioneers Norman Foster, Richard Rogers and also Michael and Patti Hopkins, where he met Jim Eyre. 

Chris set up his practice in 1983, with Jim joining him in 1986. That first studio worked on an IBM Travelling Technology Exhibition for Renzo Piano (1984), a masterplan proposal for the Royal Docks in London (1984), a regeneration area where WilkinsonEyre would subsequently undertake much work, and a Yves Saint Laurent shop in London’s Sloane Street (1986). 

From 1987 to 1998, the practice operated as a partnership between Chris Wilkinson and Jim Eyre, ultimately becoming WilkinsonEyre in 1999. Many of the directors who currently steer the management and creative direction joined the practice during the early 90s. This continuity at the director level gives WilkinsonEyre an unrivalled grounding of innovative design experience. 

Chris Wilkinson’s book Supersheds (1991), an architectural history of long-span structures, offers a clue to the philosophical core of the practice; a belief in the transformative power of engineering and the liberating effect of the open plan.  

Recognition for the book led to several key early projects including Stratford Market Depot, in East London, won in 1991, and the nearby Stratford Station, won in 1994, both for the Jubilee Line Extension project (opened 1999). Transport infrastructure remains an important part of our history and our current project pipeline, with the Elizabeth Line Liverpool Street Station, completed in 2022, and the new station at Old Oak Common for HS2, the largest new station ever built in the UK, currently under construction. 

Being known for designing railway projects transformed quickly into being known for bridges, following the extraordinary success of winning five bridge competitions in a row in 1995. One of the bridges featured in the Science Museum led to further engagements in cultural projects, including the design and development of museums such as the Mary Rose, Ikea Museum and the National Waterfront Museum Swansea.

A reputation for working with high-profile clients began with an approach from James Dyson in 1994, at the outset of Dyson’s extraordinary growth. The collaboration began with their headquarters and teaching campus at Malmesbury, Wiltshire, and has continued with successive expansions and reworking of buildings and numerous other schemes. Projects have ranged from a private art gallery for James Dyson, due for completion in 2025, to the Dyson STEAM Building at Gresham’s School. 

The practice achieved the honour of two consecutive RIBA Stirling Prize wins in 2001 and 2002.

The first was for the Magna Science Adventure Centre in Rotherham, an imaginative repurposing of an enormous, redundant steel manufacturing shed. The second was for Gateshead Millennium Bridge, the world’s first tilting bridge. The elegant steel structure has a curved deck that pivots to accommodate river traffic and links the banks of the River Tyne, promoting regeneration and a new cultural destination.  

These accolades encouraged our efforts in pursuing a wide range of international competitions. A decade after winning back-to-back Stirling Prizes, we received the international equivalent when awarded consecutive wins for the RIBA Lubetkin Prize in 2012 and 2013. The first was for Guangzhou International Finance Centre, the world's fifth tallest building when completed, housing offices and a luxury Four Seasons hotel; the second, Gardens by the Bay in Singapore, comprises gardens covering 101 hectares and two of the largest glasshouses in the world. The gardens were central to the government’s visionary plan to transform the city-state into a city-in-a-garden and have welcomed over 87 million in the ten years since opening. These projects resulted in the confidence to open a studio in Hong Kong in 2009 that actively pursues work in the region.  

A growing portfolio of work on education projects, particularly those at Oxford, Cambridge and City of London universities, often in historic contexts, resulted in WilkinsonEyre being appointed in 2006 to refurbish the Grade II listed New Bodleian Library, now known as the Weston Library. The building was designed by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott, renowned for iconic structures like Battersea Power Station and the quintessential red telephone boxes. After reopening to the public in 2015, the project garnered acclaim, earning a spot on the shortlist for the RIBA Stirling Prize in 2016. 

Following the success of the Weston Library, we were selected as architects for the regeneration of Battersea Power Station after winning an architectural competition. The building’s opening in 2022 marked a decade of intensive work to restore the globally recognised landmark. WilkinsonEyre spearheaded the design process through concept, detail and delivery, boldly reimagining one of the world’s most famous buildings. The newly restored building features over 100 shops, restaurants and cafes, events venues, new office space and 254 new apartments, plus Lift 109, a unique chimney lift experience offering 360-degree panoramic views of London’s skyline. 

In 2013 we won an international design competition for the new Crown Hotel in Sydney, known as One Barangaroo. The tower’s form emanates from a concept of three petals that twist and rise together. Its sculptural shape maximises the opportunity for accommodation to make the most of the views of Sydney's famous bridge and harbour. The 275m tower located in Darling Harbour, is one of Australia’s and Sydney’s tallest. This project prompted the opening of our third studio in Sydney in 2020.  

Our 40th year in practice is marked by the completion of 8 Bishopsgate, the newest contribution to the City of London’s cluster of tall buildings, providing a 50-storey, tower for Mitsubishi Estates. The scheme provides a range of floorplates with extensive amenities for tenants throughout the building and ‘The Lookout’ a viewing gallery that is free to the public at the very top of the building. The building ‘one of the UK’s most sustainable tall buildings’ includes many high sustainability/low energy initiatives achieving a BREEAM ‘Outstanding’ and EPC A ratings. 

We’re increasingly using our experience of harnessing technology to solve some of our shared global problems, including reducing carbon and resource depletion. We are leading the deep refurbishment of the 45-storey Citi Tower HQ in Canary Wharf, London, creating enormous embodied carbon savings by retaining the building’s structure and much of its cladding, to create a stunning workplace for the future, with the highest standards of environmental design.

Despite the sad loss of Chris Wilkinson in December 2021, the practice continues to approach design in the same spirit and rigour that defined its early years. The firm is now over 200 people strong, with studios in London, Hong Kong and Sydney, with the ability to undertake live projects throughout Europe, the Middle East, Asia, Australia and North America. We enjoy exploring and testing our creative potential combining art, science and engineering, with an informed use of technology and materials in expanding our portfolio of extraordinary and memorable projects.