13 March 2008
Thursday 13 March 2008 21:45-22:30 (Radio 3)
Another chance to hear architect Lord Richard Rogers talks to Philip Dodd about his life's work, which includes buildings such as the Pompidou Centre in Paris. He discusses his career since the 1960s, his vocal political involvement in shaping government policy for British cities, and, most importantly, his series of iconic buildings in major centres around the globe that have made him one of the world's best known architects, and put him at the forefront of the British architectural renaissance.
Lord Richard Rogers
Lord Richard Rogers
Playlist
Lord Richard Rogers talks to Philip Dodd about his career as an architect. The first iconic building he designed, the Pompidou in Paris, was abused and attacked - even though it led the way where the Guggenheim Bilbao and Tate modern would only follow.
After the Pompidou, Richard Rogers went on to design perhaps the most eloquent modern building in London, Lloyds of London as well as the new airport in Madrid - these just two among many, buildings that have helped to define what counts as modern architecture. Perhaps in the popular imagination, he will always be identified with putting the exoskeleton on the outside of buildings he designed. Just think of the 1977 extravagantly coloured Pompidou Centre which he designed with the Italian architect Renzo Piano - with its ventilation pipes and escalators on the building's outside.
But he is much more than an architect with a singular visual identity. It is not merely that he has involved himself in political thinking about the future of London as a city, acting as advisor to the present Mayor. But also that he belongs to the first generation of architects who for good or bad can be called global figures, helping to define the look and feel of the modern city across the globe. His practice is no longer known as Richard Rogers partnership but as Rogers Stirk Harbour and Partners.
Richard Rogers was brought to Britain to escape Mussolini's Italy in 1939 by his parents and has always seen himself as a European figure, never forgetting the square and the piazza, those European contributions to the idea of public space.
