History of Grimshaw
Sir Nicholas Grimshaw founded Grimshaw in 1980. In 2007, the firm became a Partnership and now has offices in Los Angeles, New York, London, Paris, Dubai, Melbourne, Sydney, and Auckland, employing over 650 people.
Grimshaw‘s global leadership framework is the cornerstone of the practice’s continued growth and prosperity. The leadership structure, which consists of Associates, Associate Principals, Principals, and Partners, directs the organization at all levels, from project design to the core values of the company.
All major industries are represented in Grimshaw’s global portfolio, and the firm has won over 200 international design awards in recognition of its commitment to producing exceptional designs. Because the company’s designs are based on the principles of long-lasting, sustainable, and humane design, they stand out for their strong conceptual legibility, inventiveness, and meticulous attention to detail. In order to produce exceptional projects, the practice is dedicated to becoming as involved in the building design process as possible. Grimshaw’s worldwide reach earned it the AJ100 International Practice of the Year Award in both 2016 and 2018.
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Grimshaw has always incorporated technology into its practice. They draw inspiration from their surroundings and from attempting to bring those concepts to life. Every project they work on involves their in-house team. This international team of experts works in a variety of cutting-edge and digital fields, such as data analysis, digital fabrication, and tool development, in addition to traditional fields like BIM, computational design, and extended reality (XR). Grimshaw fosters innovation and adds value across all sectors and scales by leveraging the widest network of relevant disciplines.
Design technology specialists are integrated into larger project teams, resulting in projects that are not only innovative and data-driven, but also efficient and thorough in documentation. Grimshaw also pioneers novel approaches to design, analysis, and documentation. With the help of these innovative techniques, designers are able to tackle design problems in new ways, bringing fresh perspectives and new sources of information to the table before any work is done on the project.
Grimshaw engages in industry partnerships and academic engagement to actively participate in research. Their open-source nature enhances their abilities, allowing them to share new tools with the industry at large, interact with academic research and up-and-coming professionals, and take part in broader discussions about the potential of technology. Grimshaw views the environmental and economic challenges they face as opportunities for innovation and improvement.
Sir Nicholas Grimshaw, Founder
Sir Nicholas Grimshaw received an honors degree from the Architectural Association in 1965. In the 1960s and 1970s, he won multiple awards for his buildings and quickly started his own business. Following the establishment of Nicholas Grimshaw and Partners in 1980, the company won over 100 awards and garnered high recognition for its contributions to architectural and civic design.
In addition to being a registered architect in England, France, Germany, and Spain, Grimshaw has lectured in twenty-three nations. After passing an exam in 2002, he was also granted a license to practice architecture in the state of New York.
Early in 2014, the BBC4 documentary «The Brits Who Built the Modern World» featured Sir Nicholas as one of five architects. The same production company produced «Some Kind of Joy: The Inside Story of Grimshaw in Twelve Buildings,» a 2016 film currently playing at international film festivals.
Sir Nicholas was elected as a Royal Academician and an Honorary Fellow of the AIA in 1994. He was knighted by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II in 2002, and he presided over the Royal Academy of Arts from 2004 to 2011.
The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) presented Sir Nicholas with the Royal Gold Medal, the nation’s highest architectural honor, in 2019 in recognition of his lifetime accomplishments. While he continues to serve as the firm’s founder and partner, Sir Nicholas announced his resignation as Chairman of the Practice in the same year.
Company Culture at Grimshaw
At Grimshaw, they have set high standards for both themselves and their clients in order to produce innovative, captivating architecture and design that has the potential to improve the future. Grimshaw has a wide range of projects to its credit, showcasing four decades of cutting-edge design that has tackled challenging briefs with bold methods. This has informed their comprehensive approach to sustainable development, which considers the full range of economic, social, and environmental impacts. In response to the particular challenges posed by an expanding population and depleting resources, strategies for enhancing the standard of living while also restoring the environment must be considered.
We recognise that the issues confronting our planet are too large, too significant and too urgent to address alone. We have partnered with organisations across the globe to make measurable commitments to change, both within our practice and our wider industry.
They have committed to making all of their business operations carbon neutral by 2020 and beyond. They also promised to design and deliver assets and buildings that are socially and environmentally regenerative by 2030, with the first step toward achieving this being the design of infrastructure and buildings that are ready for net zero carbon emissions by 2025.
Grimshaw’s groundbreaking architecture and design portfolio is the product of meticulous study, audacious invention, and innumerable suggestions and ideas that lead them to a design that satisfies both their clients’ and their own goals and aspirations. They have developed a number of case studies that illustrate the different approaches they have taken to produce award-winning results in order to record the creativity and depth of research that each project has required.
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Architect-US is proud to work in close contact with Grimshaw and to be able to ensure the firm gets to know and work with amazing young architects like Catherine Henrietta Van Dorssen and Marta Morato Costa, whom we helped process their J1 Visa through our J1 Visa Program!
Catherine Henrietta Van Dorssen
Catherine Van Dorssen, a British-Dutch architect, completed her undergraduate studies at the University of Kent in the United Kingdom. Her thesis, «Temporary Architecture as a Process,» was granted first-class honors. She continued on to Manchester School of Architecture in the UK, where she received a Master of Architecture degree with Distinction. She also studied abroad for a semester at Politecnico di Milano, Italy, through ERASMUS while attending MSA. In addition, Dorssen began her studies in 2022 at Greenwich University in the United Kingdom in order to earn her Post-Graduate Diploma in Architectural Practice.
Besides her impressive education, Catherine’s work experience is also pretty extraordinary. Among others, she was an Intern at Sauerbruch Hutton Architekten, Berlin, DE, where she participated in a competition for a modular timber education campus in Vienna (17.430 m²), modelling in Rhino and creating visualizations in Photoshop. Dorssen also worked at work phases 3 on a 48.900 m² highrise residential project in Düsseldorf. Working independently on the colour combination for the facade has helped Catherina in gaining a greater understanding of the use of color in architecture.
Marta Morato Costa
Marta Morato, a Spanish architect, received her Bachelor’s Degree in Architecture from Madrid Technical School of Architecture in Spain. Additionally, she participated in an ERASMUS international program at Chalmers University of Technology in Göteborg, Sweden.
Marta, although young, has a wealth of professional experience, having completed a student internship at MACCREANOR LAVINGTON ARCHITECTS in 2017. Following that, she worked as a Junior Architect at Suma Arquitectura, Obranueva.com, amid.cero9, RISE (Research Institutes of Sweden), and Conjuntos Empaticos.
Marta did a number o interesting architecture publications such as «Architectural Design Archive,» an Atlas of With Honors Proposals at DPA Architectural Design Department (ETSAM), and a collaboration COMPOUND CELLULOSE with a Material and Detail Design Studio in 2019/2020.
She is pursuing her Trainee Program at Grimshaw with the help of the Arquia Scholarship, which she won in conjunction with the Utokyo Scholarship.
Grimshaw‘s Selected Projects
Noida International Airport – Delhi, India
The airport terminal’s design combines Swiss efficiency with Indian hospitality. Offering a smooth passenger experience and establishing new standards for sustainability for airport terminal construction in India. Perhaps most importantly of all, all users of the airport want to have the impression that it is a well-run, secure, dependable, efficient, and punctual operation. By satisfying these minimal standards, airport patrons can unwind and seize the chance to savor the present. Herein lies the opportunity for the genuine warmth and generosity characteristic of Indian hospitality to transform the traveller’s experience into something truly fulfilling and unforgettable.
This entails developing an airport with a distinct character that is unmistakably its own. Offering appealing landside areas to stay in with coworkers, friends, and family at the airport or when using the multi-modal interchange for interstate travel. Streamlining and simplifying all passenger journeys, supporting the integration of digital technologies that reduce passenger stress. Offering a variety of retail options that cater to a broad range of target audiences. And establishing environments that people enjoy being in by incorporating natural light and landscape throughout the passenger journey.
By carefully coordinating with the overall on-site renewable power generation that is planned by the larger masterplanning team, the design solutions for NIA aim to deliver a truly net zero carbon project by minimizing energy demand through a combination of intelligently integrated passive design elements that are responsive to the local climate and that understand human behavior.
Photos by Grimshaw
Newport Station Bridge – Newport, South Wales, UK
With its distinctive design that seamlessly blends in with the intricate urban landscape, the pedestrian and bicycle bridge in Newport City serves as an essential means of crossing the Great Western Mainline Railway. It also promotes active transportation and enhances the connectivity of the surrounding communities.
The bridge is composed of two separate yet contrasting elements. A lightweight ramp that blends in perfectly with the surrounding area and two dark grey, steel-plated structures that cross the railroad. A continuous ribbon of vivid orange flooring unifies the entire 230-meter structure, giving the bridge a striking and distinctive appearance. In order to maximize the feeling of openness within the deck, the bridge parapet is splayed outward and rises above 1.8 meters at mid-span to meet Network Rail safety regulations.
Each bridge structure has a curved ramp that runs through it to connect different street levels on either side. The steel deck of the ramp is thin and has a simple, light feel to it. An array of tapering vertical steel fins lines the ramp on both sides, giving it a more detailed appearance and enhancing visibility for all users. In order to ensure that the safety of the bridge is not jeopardized when walking and cycling coexist, an acute radius has been incorporated where the ramp changes direction.
The bridge deck is intended to be prefabricated off-site and craned into place in two sections. Greatly cutting down on the amount of time the railway is out of service and the damage that construction will cause to already-existing station buildings.
Photos by Grimshaw
Poly Centre, 210 George Street – Sydney, Australia
Grimshaw’s new 27-story workplace, the Poly Centre, is an important new addition to the emerging Alfred, Pitt, Daley, and George Streets (APDG) precinct. Which is adjacent to Circular Quay. In terms of form, the design is sculptural and is composed of three parts. An east-facing core, a 27-story central tower facing west, and an 11-story tower made up of several cantilevered arches.
Internally, Poly is designed as a series of vertical villages formed by expansive double-height volumes that allow tenants to work and play with the highest level of amenity while also fostering a stronger sense of community. With people at the center of the design, the interior makes excellent use of daylight to enhance the communal areas within.
The Lobby, formed by a curvilinear wall laminated in folding brass, contracts the marble lift fronts and is gently illuminated by a seamless fabric ceiling. The depiction of native landscapes by Janet Laurence hangs above the corner atria in glass panes.
Poly Centre won The Sir Arthur G Stephenson Award for Commercial Architecture, Australian Institute of Architects Awards (NSW Chapter) in 2023.
Photos by Grimshaw
We will be posting more projects by Grimshaw in the upcoming weeks and months, so keep an eye out for more of their incredible work! Every Friday we will be posting a new Featured Company, so join us again next week!
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