Tall & Urban News

Richard Rogers has retired as a director of the practice he founded more than 40 years ago.

The decision, revealed in termination documents lodged at Companies House on Friday, means his name will be dropped from his practice, Rogers Stirk Harbour & Partners, by July 2022 at the latest.

In a statement issued to Building Design the practice said his retirement from the board had been “planned since 2007, as part of the comprehensive succession planning strategy established when the Richard Rogers Partnership became Rogers Stirk Harbour & Partners."

Ivan Harbour said in the statement: “Richard has been a huge inspiration to us all at RSHP and to the architectural profession globally. His humanity, integrity and generosity are reflected in the practice he founded, and which continues to be guided by his principles.”

As they take the lead, Harbour and Graham Stirk have the support of nine other partners, they said. But all eyes will be on the practice to see whether its egalitarian spirit survives the loss of its inspirational figurehead. Although its work has become more commercial in recent years, RSHP famously gives 20 percent of its profits to charity and pegs the highest salary to the lowest.

The statement insisted the partners would “together…maintain the continuity and consistency of the philosophy and ethos which RSHP applies to all its work. They will continue to recognize new talent within the practice.”

Baron Rogers of Riverside has won some of the biggest prizes in architecture, including the Pritzker and Praemium Imperiale as well as Gold Medals on both sides of the Atlantic. He has won the Stirling Prize twice, for Barajas Airport in Madrid and the west London Maggie’s Centre, though his best-known buildings remain the Pompidou Centre, Lloyds of London, the Millennium Dome, and Heathrow Terminal 5.

He has also played a significant role in civic life, chairing the influential Urban Task Force under Tony Blair and advising Ken Livingstone and Boris Johnson during their time as mayor of London. He has also sat on the boards of Tate and Moma as well as being an active member of the House of Lords.

In an interview with Building Design to mark his 80th birthday, he urged younger architects to get involved in politics and blamed “the age of greed” for their reluctance.

For more on this story, go to Building Design.