Dezeen Magazine

Ten key projects designed by WilkinsonEyre

Following the death of architect Chris Wilkinson, we have rounded up 10 of his studio's key buildings including its two Stirling Prize-winning projects.


Stratford Market Depot, Stratford, UK (1996)

Created as part of the extension to the Underground's Jubilee Line, this depot in Stratford was the studio's first major new-build project.

Described by the studio as a "supershed", the building's eleven maintenance bays are covered by a 100-metre-wide and 190-metre-long arched roof.


Princes Club pavilion, Middlesex, UK (1997)

Designed by Wilkinson while the studio was still known as Chris Wilkinson Architects, this small pavilion stands at the Princes Club waterskiing centre in Middlesex.

The pavilion was named the best small project of the year by UK magazine the Architects' Journal in 1998.


Dyson Headquarters, Malmesbury, UK (1999)

The studio created a factory and headquarters building topped by an undulating waveform roof for technology company Dyson. It completed in 1999 – the same year the studio rebranded from Chris Wilkinson Architects to WilkinsonEyre.

In 2016 the studio added a mirrored laboratory and sports hangar to the campus on the outskirts of Malmesbury in Wiltshire.


Magna Science Adventure Centre in Rotherham

Magna Science Centre, Rotherham, UK (2001)

WilkinsonEyre's transformation of a redundant steelworks in Rotherham into a Science Adventure Centre won the RIBA Stirling Prize – the UK's highest architecture accolade – in 2001.

To create the centre, which focused on telling the story of steel, the studio placed four pavilions connected by steel walkways and bridges within a huge 400-metre-long shed.


Gateshead Millennium Bridge by WilkinsonEyre

Gateshead Millennium Bridge, Gateshead, UK (2001)

In 2002 WilkinsonEyre became the first studio to win the Stirling Prize twice when its Gateshead Millennium Bridge won the award.

The pedestrian and cycle bridge over the River Tyne, which connects the Gateshead arts quarter with Newcastle, tilts to allow vessels to pass.


Guangzhou International Finance Centre, Guangzhou, China

Guangzhou International Finance Centre, Guangzhou, China (2010)

This 440-metre tower in Guangzhou, China, was the tallest building in the world by a UK architect when it completed.

The tower was awarded the RIBA Lubetkin Prize, which was awarded to the best new building outside Europe by an RIBA member, in 2012.


Gardens by the Bay by WilkinsonEyre

Gardens by the Bay, Singapore (2012)

The Gardens by the Bay waterside park in central Singapore was named the World Building of the Year at World Architecture Festival in 2012.

It features two huge glasshouses designed by the studio. One contains plants from the Mediterranean region, while the other has tropical plants and a 30-metre-high waterfall.


Mary Rose Museum in Portsmouth

Mary Rose Museum, Portsmouth, UK (2013)

Built to house the 16th-century Tudor warship the Mary Rose, this elliptical museum is clad in stained-black timber.

Located in the historic dockyard of Portsmouth, England, the building was designed to reference traditional English boat sheds.


Maggie's, Oxford, UK (2014)

Designed to resemble "a treehouse, raised above the landscape", this Maggie's centre for cancer care was built within a wooded area in the Churchill Hospital site in Oxford.

Supported on clusters of columns, the building is formed of three wings that extend into the surrounding landscape.


Gasholders

Gasholders, London, UK (2018)

At London's King's Cross, WilkinsonEyre built a series of luxury apartments within a trio of Victorian gasholders (above and top).

Each of the three wrought-iron frames was dismantled, repaired and re-erected on the site around the cylindrical housing blocks. Wilkinson and his wife purchased an apartment within the complex.

The photograph of Gateshead Millennium Bridge is by Graeme Peacock and the photograph of Gardens by the Bay is by Craig Sheppard. All images courtesy of WilkinsonEyre.