Few architects in history have had the honor and privilege of intervening in the famous St. Mark's Square in Venice — a tourist landmark of incomparable historical value to humanity. Sir David Chipperfield is one of them. As if that was not enough, he also left his mark on another project of inestimable value: the Neue Nationalgalerie, designed originally by Mies van der Rohe in Berlin. The four centuries that separate the design from its restoration seem to pose no difficulties for the 2023 Pritzker Prize winner, who rejects an international style of architecture in search of a trait that highlights local qualities.
With an extensive and enviable body of work built in various countries around Europe, Asia, and America, Chipperfield leads offices based in five cities on two continents, in addition to dedicating himself to research, curation, and writing. Learn more about the British architect, the most recent winner of the Pritzker Architecture Prize.
Education. David Chipperfield was born in London in 1953 and studied architecture at Kingston School of Art and the Architectural Association School of Architecture.
Academic Training. After graduating, he gained experience working for well-known architects such as Douglas Stephen, Norman Foster, and Richard Rogers before establishing his own firm, David Chipperfield Architects, in 1985.
The office. The company has branches in London, Berlin, Milan, Shanghai, and Santiago de Compostela, each tailored to its local context while sharing common goals and global visions.
Early works. Chipperfield began his career designing commercial interiors in London, Paris, Tokyo, and New York. Among his first projects in England is a shop for fashion designer Issey Miyake, located on Sloane Street in London. Among his first designs for complete buildings are the Gotoh Museum in Chiba, Japan (1988-1991) and a home for fashion photographer Nick Knight in London (1990). His first major project in England was the River and Rowing Museum in Henley-on-Thames.
Notable works. Some of David Chipperfield's famous works include the Neues Museum reconstruction in Berlin, the Royal Academy of Arts expansion in London, the Jumex Museum of Contemporary Art in Mexico City, the One Pancras Square Building in London, the Valentino Flagship Store in Milan, the James Simon Gallery in Berlin, and the refurbishment of the Neue Nationalgalerie in the same city.
Berlin Museum Island. In 1998, David Chipperfield Architects was commissioned to coordinate the masterplan for the renovation of Berlin's Museum Island. The Museum Island Planning Group was composed of architecture firms hired to individually restore the five museums on the island, all responding to the vision of David Chipperfield Architects. The rigor and quality of the project secured Museum Island a place on the UNESCO World Heritage list in 1999.
Procuratie Vecchie. In 2017, Chipperfield began the renovation of Procuratie Vecchie in Piazza San Marco in Venice. The famous gallery extends throughout the north side of the square and was conceived in the first half of the sixteenth century. The renovation includes the restoration of interiors on the first and second floors, the addition of new vertical circulation, and the renovation of the third floor, with public access to exhibition spaces, as well as workspaces, events, and an auditorium.
Product design. David Chipperfield was approached by the renowned Italian design company Alessi in 2009 to develop a collection of kitchen utensils. The series comprises various pieces, such as a cutting board, a tray, plates, bowls, glasses, a pitcher, and cups. The designs draw inspiration from traditional pottery found in Korea, Japan, and China, as well as the art of Italian painter Giorgio Morandi. In 2015, the tableware became available in pastel colors, and three years later, in black. Also for Alessi, he redesigned the iconic Italian Moka coffee maker, attesting to his prolific work not only as an architect, but also as a designer.
Local-scale. In 2020, Chipperfield and his wife, Evelyn Stern, opened a bar in the coastal town of Corrubedo, Galicia, Spain. Managed by the couple's daughter, Celest, the Bar do Porto is the result of the couple’s interest in regional cuisine, and part of a larger effort by the architect to value and preserve the culture of Galicia. Interestingly, this isn’t Chipperfield's only food-related initiative: the Chipperfield Kantine, located at the David Chipperfield Architects Berlin Campus, serves both office employees and the general public with vegetarian food made with fresh organic products.
Fundación RIA. In 2017, David Chipperfield founded the Fundación RIA, a non-profit cultural organization with the primary aim of analyzing, discussing, developing, and promoting ideas to support the preservation and advancement of the local economy, architecture, urbanism, nature, and culture of the Atlantic estuaries of Galicia in northwestern Spain. The foundation aims to enhance and unify the endeavors of individuals, and public and private organizations associated with these regions, and, where applicable, act as a coordinating tool for these entities.
International style. David Chipperfield does not believe in an international or globalized style of architecture. He says architecture is anchored to the ground and contributes to the idea of "place." In an interview with designboom, he said:
I find it very weak for an architect to disregard the history and culture of a city and say ‘I have an international style’. There’s absolutely no intellectual justification for that. It’s the equivalent of having no variation in cuisine, you may as well just place all the different types of food in a blender and consume it as a protein rich shake. This romantic notion of different styles and approaches is important, it means something to people and when you take away meaning from things you end up with a rather boring existence. architecture should move you, that’s where character is important, we have to be careful not to just create bland products.
Teaching. David Chipperfield held the Mies van der Rohe Chair at the Technical School in Barcelona, Spain, and the Norman R. Foster Chair of Architectural Design at the Yale School of Architecture. He also served as a visiting professor at the University of the Arts London (previously known as the London Institute).
Curatorship. In 2012, he curated the 13th Venice Architecture Biennale, which was titled Common Ground. He served as an architecture mentor from 2016 to 2017 for the Rolex Mentor and Protégé Arts Initiative and was a member of the Board of Curators of The Architecture Foundation. He is currently a curator at the Sir John Soane Museum in London.
Writing. David Chipperfield has published several books and articles, including On Planning - A Thought Experiment (2018), a publication that explores and theorizes the urban qualities of contemporary urban developments.
Domus Magazine 2020. David Chipperfield was the guest editor of Domus magazine in 2020. He was the third architect to edit the magazine as part of the 10x10x10 project, where ten architects edit ten monthly issues in the ten years leading up to the centenary of Domus, which will be celebrated in 2028.
Personal Accolades. David Chipperfield is a member of the Royal Institute of British Architects and an honorary member of the American Institute of Architects and the Bund Deutscher Architekten. He has been recognized with several prestigious awards, including the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany in 2009 and the title of Knight for his contributions to architecture in the UK and Germany in 2010. In 2011, he received the Royal Gold Medal from the RIBA, and in 2013, the Praemium Imperiale from the Japan Art Association, both in acknowledgment of his exceptional career. Most recently, in 2021, he was appointed a member of the Order of the Companions of Honour for his remarkable services to architecture.
Awards. His firm, David Chipperfield Architects, has won over 100 international awards and accolades. These include the prestigious RIBA Stirling Prize, which was awarded for the Museum of Modern Literature in Marbach, Germany, as well as the Mies van der Rohe Award (EU Prize for Contemporary Architecture) and the Deutscher Architekturpreis, both for the Neues Museum project in Berlin.
Stay tuned to ArchDaily’s coverage of the Pritzker Prize.
