British architects are responsible for some of the world's most iconic buildings, including The Gherkin in London (Norman Foster and Ken Shuttleworth), Burj al Arab in Dubai (Tom Wright) and Centre Pompidou in Paris (Richard Rogers). Four winners of the Pritzker Prize (considered 'architecture's Nobel') were British.
London is widely considered a dynamic and compelling place to be an architect. It has the highest concentration of architectural practices of any city in the world. One-in-four architects in the UK are based in London.
Many of the world’s most ambitious buildings were drawn up in London studios, such as Apple’s headquarters in California (Foster & Partners) and National Museum of African American History & Culture in Washington DC (David Adjaye). The city leads the architectural world in innovation, teaching and sustainable practices. London’s Architectural Association (AA) is one of the most prestigious architecture schools in the world, where stars of the field including Zara Hadid, Rem Koolhaas and Will Alsop all studied and later returned to teach.
Architecture is both an economic and creative powerhouse in the capital: it is worth more than the city’s industrial design, graphics and fashion sectors combined. Author and architect Simon Henley describes the city as “a meeting place for East and West, for clients, academics, critics and practitioners”.
