Thomas Heatherwick facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Thomas Heatherwick
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2023 portrait of Heatherwick
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Thomas Alexander Heatherwick
17 February 1970 London, England
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Notable work
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| Honours | Commander of the British Empire |
Thomas Alexander Heatherwick (born in London on February 17, 1970) is a famous English designer. He started his own design company, Heatherwick Studio, in London.
He works with a large team of over 200 architects and designers. They create many different kinds of projects.
Some of Heatherwick's well-known designs include the UK Pavilion for Expo 2010. He also designed the Olympic cauldron for the 2012 London Olympics. Other famous works are the Vessel in New York City and the New Routemaster bus in London.
Contents
- Life and Early Career
- Amazing Design Projects
- The Rolling Bridge
- B of the Bang Sculpture
- East Beach Café Design
- UK Pavilion at Shanghai Expo 2010
- The New Routemaster Bus
- 2012 Olympic Cauldron
- Bombay Sapphire Distillery
- The Learning Hub in Singapore
- Coal Drops Yard
- Zeitz MOCAA Museum
- Vessel Structure
- Google Headquarters
- 1000 Trees Project
- Airo Car Concept
- Other Interesting Works
- Design Philosophy
- Exhibitions and Books
- Awards and Recognition
- See also
Life and Early Career
Thomas Heatherwick grew up in London. His mother designed jewelry, and his father was a musician. Thomas went to schools that encouraged hands-on learning and crafts.
He studied design at Manchester Polytechnic and the Royal College of Art. In 1994, after finishing his studies, he met designer Terence Conran. Conran was impressed by Heatherwick's ideas and asked him to build a special gazebo.
Heatherwick Studio began in 1994. One of his first big projects was creating a window display for a famous department store in London. This helped his studio become well-known.
Heatherwick is now a respected expert in design. He advises and judges design projects. He also gives talks at important design events around the world.
Amazing Design Projects
The Rolling Bridge
In 2002, Heatherwick Studio designed a unique bridge called The Rolling Bridge. It's a canal bridge in London that opens in a very cool way. Instead of lifting up, it curls into a circle! This clever design won an award in 2005.
B of the Bang Sculpture
Heatherwick designed B of the Bang, a tall sculpture in Manchester. It was 56 meters high and looked like 180 giant steel spikes. The sculpture was built in 2005 to celebrate the 2002 Commonwealth Games. Its name came from a quote about the burst of energy a runner has at the start of a race.
However, the sculpture had some problems. Some spikes came loose, and it was eventually taken down in 2009.
East Beach Café Design
In 2007, Heatherwick Studio finished the East Beach Café in Littlehampton, England. This building looks like a rippled seashell. Its outer skin is made of steel that was allowed to rust, giving it a unique color. The café won a national design award in 2008.
UK Pavilion at Shanghai Expo 2010
Heatherwick Studio created the UK's pavilion for Expo 2010 in Shanghai, China. It was called the "Seed Cathedral." The pavilion had 60,000 clear rods sticking out. Each rod held plant seeds from Kew Gardens' seed bank. The design showed the connection between nature and cities.
The UK pavilion won a gold medal for its design. After the Expo, parts of the pavilion were given away or sold for charity.
The New Routemaster Bus
In 2010, Heatherwick Studio was chosen to design the New Routemaster double-decker bus for London. This was the first bus designed specifically for London in over 50 years. The new bus has a large front window for the driver and special glass panels for passengers. It has three doors and two staircases to make boarding faster.
The buses use a hybrid engine, which is more fuel-efficient. The first buses had an open platform at the back, like older Routemasters. However, this feature was later removed. Some passengers complained about the heat inside, so windows were added to the buses.
2012 Olympic Cauldron
Heatherwick Studio designed the Olympic cauldron for the 2012 London Olympics. Instead of a traditional bowl, it was an 8.5-meter-high "dandelion." It had 204 copper "petals," one for each country. Children carried these petals into the stadium.
The petals were then placed on steel pipes and lit by torchbearers. The flames rose and joined together, symbolizing nations coming together peacefully. After the Games, each country was offered its petal.
Bombay Sapphire Distillery
Heatherwick Studio helped transform an old paper mill in Hampshire, England, into a gin distillery for Bombay Sapphire. They restored many old buildings and added new features. The design included two beautiful, curvy glasshouses. These glasshouses grow the tropical and Mediterranean plants used to make gin. The plants get water from the nearby river and warmth from the distillation process. This project won an award for its sustainable design.
The Learning Hub in Singapore
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The Learning Hub, also known as The Hive, opened in Singapore in 2015. It's a special educational building at Nanyang Technological University. The building has twelve round towers of tutorial rooms around a central space. This design helps students and teachers interact more easily.
The rooms are rounded and can be changed. The building uses concrete, and its walls have patterns and drawings to inspire thought. The Hive won an award for its sustainable design before it was even finished.
Coal Drops Yard
Coal Drops Yard is a public space and shopping area in London. Heatherwick Studio renovated two old buildings from the 1850s. The design connects the two buildings by extending their roofs towards each other until they meet. This creates a new level and a central area for events. The project was completed in October 2018.
Zeitz MOCAA Museum
Heatherwick Studio worked on turning an old grain silo in Cape Town, South Africa, into the Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa (Zeitz MOCAA). This museum displays modern art from Africa. The designers carved out galleries and a large central space from the silo's 42 concrete tubes. Glass panels on the top let light into the building, making it feel like a cathedral. The museum opened in September 2017.
Vessel Structure
In 2016, Heatherwick's design for the Vessel in New York City was revealed. It's a tall structure made of interlocking staircases that visitors can climb. The design was inspired by ancient stepwells in India. It has 2,500 steps and 80 viewing platforms. Construction began in 2017, and it opened in March 2019.
Google Headquarters
Heatherwick Studio has worked on designs for new Google headquarters. They collaborated with another design firm, BIG, on the Google campus in Mountain View, California. They also worked on a Google headquarters building in London. This building, nicknamed the 'landscraper,' includes a roof garden.
1000 Trees Project
Heatherwick designed a development in Shanghai called 1,000 Trees. It features two mountain-like buildings with trees planted on them. The project includes shops, offices, event spaces, and a hotel. The design connects a park and an art district. The first part of the project opened in 2021.
Airo Car Concept
In 2021, Heatherwick unveiled the design for a special car called Airo. This electric car is designed to clean air pollution as it drives. It has a special filter system to remove pollutants from the air. The Airo car was designed for a new Chinese car brand, IM Motors. Production of the car began in China in 2023.
Other Interesting Works
Heatherwick Studio has created many other unique projects, including:
- Bleigiessen, a sculpture at the Wellcome Trust in London (2002).
- Blue Carpet, a public space in Newcastle-Upon-Tyne (2002).
- Paternoster Vents, sculptures in Paternoster Square, London (2002).
- The interior design for the Longchamp store in New York City (2004).
- The "Zip Bag" handbag for Longchamp.
- The facade and entrance for Guy's & St Thomas' Hospital in London (2007).
- Little Island, a park on the Hudson River in New York City (2021).
Design Philosophy
Heatherwick Studio combines many different design areas. They work on architecture, engineering, transport, and even furniture and sculpture. Thomas Heatherwick believes that all three-dimensional design is connected. He sees his studio's work as solving problems, like solving a mystery by figuring out what doesn't work.
Exhibitions and Books
In 2012, the Victoria and Albert Museum in London held an exhibition about Heatherwick Studio's work. It was called Heatherwick Studio: Designing the Extraordinary.
A traveling exhibition called New British Inventors: Inside Heatherwick Studio visited many places in East Asia from 2015 to 2016. Another exhibition, Provocations: The Architecture and Design of Heatherwick Studio, traveled across North America in 2014 and 2015.
Books about Thomas Heatherwick's work, titled Thomas Heatherwick: Making, were published in 2012 and 2013.
Awards and Recognition
Thomas Heatherwick has won many design awards. These include the Prince Philip Designers Prize (2006) and the London Design Medal (2010). He also received the RIBA Lubetkin Prize (2010) for the UK Pavilion. His unique Spun chair won the Compasso d'Oro award in 2014.
In 2004, he became the youngest person to be named a Royal Designer for Industry. He has also received honorary doctorates from several universities.
In 2013, he was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for his contributions to design. In 2019, he received the Golden Plate Award from the American Academy of Achievement.
See also
In Spanish: Thomas Heatherwick para niños
