Recorded: November 24, 2009
Andrew Whalley, partner in charge of Grimshaw’s New York office presents the firm’s recent and current work, including EMPAC (The Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center), Via Verde, and the Fulton Street Transit Center.
Founded in 1980 by Sir Nicholas Grimshaw, Grimshaw is an international practice with permanent offices in London, Melbourne, and New York. Grimshaw’s worldwide presence and commitment to sharing resources between offices allows the firm to approach each project with a collective knowledge base and shared aesthetic. Each city’s workforce is made up of a balanced mix of staff originating from the London office and staff who have joined the firm in each city; this blend ensures the continuity of Grimshaw’s design culture while enabling the firm to respond to uniquely local contexts. The firm’s work has been the recipient of numerous AIA, RIBA, and World Architecture awards and has been shortlisted for the Stirling Prize.
Grimshaw established the New York office because “our contextually sensitive design culture demands geographical and cultural knowledge. We believe that our best architectural responses are created when we understand the wider context within which our designs take shape, and when we are able to interact with clients, sub-consultants, and peers on a frequent and personal basis.”
Andrew Whalley has been an instrumental part of Grimshaw since the earliest days of the practice, and has been Partner in Charge of projects in diverse sectors including education, performing arts, transportation, and workplace. His award-winning projects include the International Terminal at Waterloo, the Eden Project in Cornwall, and the redevelopment of the historic Paddington Station in London. He is currently Partner in Charge of Grimshaw’s New York office, which is one of eight architectural practices selected for major public projects under Mayor Bloomberg’s design excellence program. The New York office’s current portfolio ranges from the renovation of the 1939 Aymer Embury New York Pavilion as part of a redevelopment of the Queens Museum of Art, to the new Fulton Street Transit Center, part of the regeneration of downtown Manhattan. The Industrial Design Group recently completed the New York street furniture contract. Whalley oversees all live projects in the Americas.
The Architectural League’s Current Work series presents the work of significant international figures, who powerfully influence contemporary architectural practice and shape the future of the built environment.
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