Architects' Inspirations
David Marks and Julia Barfield's inspiration: Palm House, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
David Marks and Julia Barfield hail the flowering of Victorian innovation at the Palm House, Kew Gardens
Terry Farrell's inspiration: Nash Mile, London
Terry Farrell admires the way in which John Nash’s transformation of a mile-long slice of London created the city we know today
Graham Haworth's inspiration: Erco Technical Centre, Lüdenscheid, Germany
Graham Haworth admires Uwe Kiessler’s uncompromising technical approach to creating a human-scale workplace for Erco
Paul Williams' inspiration: Castelvecchio museum, Verona by Carlo Scarpa
Paul Williams revisits the Castelvecchio museum in Verona, where Carlo Scarpa’s integrated vision and clarity of detail first set him on the path towards exhibition design
Ted Cullinan's inspiration: Chapel of Notre Dame du Haut by Le Corbusier
Ted Cullinan revisits Le Corbusier’s Ronchamp chapel and finds that, while its surroundings may have changed, the building’s power remains undiminished
Michael Squire’s inspiration: Grundtvig’s Church, Copenhagen
Michael Squire admires Grundtvig’s Church in Copenhagen for its poetic use of brick and the way the architect interpreted local traditions in a contemporary way
David West and Christophe Egret's inspiration: Zollverein coal mine, Essen
David West and Christophe Egret of Studio Egret West look to OMA’s regeneration of the Zollverein coal mine in Essen as an example of reinvention that maintains a connection with place
Nicholas Grimshaw's inspiration: Clifton Suspension Bridge
Nicholas Grimshaw is fascinated by the engineering genius and iconic simplicity of Brunel’s masterpiece
Tom Grieve & Hana Loftus' inspiration: the Smithsons’ Economist Plaza
Hat Projects’ Tom Grieve and Hana Loftus admire the Smithsons’ Economist Plaza as an example of what a fearless architect can do
Adam Khan's inspiration: La Tourette & Vieux Port, Marseille by Fernand Pouillon
Adam Khan admires the timelessness and craft of Fernand Pouillon’s La Tourette housing in Marseille- a model of relaxed urbanity in the post-war city
Simon Hudspith's inspiration: Castle Drogo by Edwin Lutyens
Lutyens’ castle in Devon is grand on the outside, but domestic inside
Greg Penoyre's inspiration: The Golden Lane Estate, London
As the Golden Lane Estate marks 50 years since its completion, Greg Penoyre reveals its humane charms
Peter St John's inspiration: Housing at the Gallaratese Quarter by Aldo Rossi
Aldo Rossi’s Gallaratese housing in Milan showed Peter St John that modern architecture could incorporate classical themes
Quinlan and Francis Terry's inspiration: Somerset House, London
The father and son team revel in the glory of William Chambers’ classical building on the Strand
Julian Lewis’s inspiration: the 1960 Olympic Village, Rome
Julian Lewis of East looks to the outskirts of Rome for an example of rich urban placemaking
Stephen Hodder’s inspiration: Sainsbury Centre, Norwich
Stephen Hodder recalls how he was set to be a champion of vernacular architecture until he visited Foster Associates’ Sainsbury Centre
Cany Ash’s Inspiration: Unité d’Habitation, France
The co-founder of Ash Sakula Architects reveals the enduring impact of Le Corbusier’s town in the sky on her work
Jonathan Woolf’s inspiration: Mies van der Rohe's Krefeld villas, Germany
For architect Jonathan Woolf, Mies van der Rohe’s Krefeld villas offered a masterclass in how to approach the design of his own Brick Leaf House
Hans van der Heijden's inspiration: Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen
The co-founder of BIQ on how his relationship with Rotterdam’s Boijmans museum has shadowed his own evolution as an architect
Jon Buck and Dominic Cullinan’s inspiration: Leicester Engineering Building
Jon Buck and Dominic Cullinan of Scabal Architects explain how Stirling & Gowan’s Engineering Building at Leicester University has been a point of influence for them and their work
Eric Parry's inspiration: Chilehaus, Hamburg
Eric Parry revisits Fritz Höger’s Chilehaus 1920s office building in Hamburg and applauds its urban rationalism and expressionist use of brick and ceramic
Takero Shimazaki's inspiration: Hexenhaus, Germany
Takero Shimazaki explains how the Smithsons’ collaboration with a German furniture manufacturer gave him a new approach to design.
Paul Monaghan’s inspiration: Metropolitan Cathedral of Christ the King, Liverpool
Paul Monaghan of AHMM tells how the boldness of Frederick Gibberd’s Catholic cathedral made a far-reaching impression
Tony Fretton's inspiration: Woodland Cemetery
Tony Fretton explains why the calm beauty and powerful symbolism of Stockholm Woodland Cemetery, designed by Asplund and Lewerentz, makes it a place to which he repeatedly returns.
Rab and Denise Bennetts' inspiration: St Catherine’s College
Rab and Denise Bennetts explain how a visit to Oxford’s St Catherine’s College as students led them to set up their own achitecture course
Roger Hawkins and Russell Brown’s inspiration: Koolhaas’s Kunsthal in Rotterdam
Russell Brown and Roger Hawkins explain how Koolhaas’s Kunsthal cultural building has been a starting point to much of their work
Sergison Bates’ inspiration: Hardwick Hall in Derbyshire
Stephen Bates and Jonathan Sergison explain how studying Hardwick Hall has helped them broaden their architectural education.
Tom de Paor’s inspiration: St Fin Barre’s Cathedral, Cork, Ireland
Tom de Paor admires William Burges’s all-encompassing approach to the design of St Fin Barre’s Cathedral
Stephen Witherford and William Mann’s inspiration: Utrecht City Hall
The eclectic collision of old and new in Miralles Tagliabue Architects’ Utrecht City Hall creates a unique spirit that has made a strong impression on Witherford Watson Mann
Tom Holbrook’s inspiration: The Adelphi, London
The Adam brothers’ Georgian Adelphi development appeals as much for its entrepreneurialism as its architecture
