John Elliott, RIBA, (26 October 1936 – 13 September 2010) was a British architect, who planned and designed luxury hotels and resorts. Born in

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city status in the United Kingdom, city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is admi ...

, England, he was known principally for his contribution in the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Province), East Thrace (Europ ...

and designing 7 star hotel

Emirates Palace The Emirates Palace (Arabic: قصر الإمارات) is a luxury five star hotel in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. It has been operated by Mandarin Oriental as of 1 January 2020. The hotel project was launched in December 2001 and was ini ...

in Abu Dhabi,

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia ( The Middle East). It is located at ...

Biography

Education

John Elliott (Richard John Anthony Elliott), was born in Portsmouth, England. After leaving home at the age of 15, he travelled around Europe before winning a scholarship at the

Architectural Association School of Architecture The Architectural Association School of Architecture in London, commonly referred to as the AA, is the oldest independent school of architecture in the UK and one of the most prestigious and competitive in the world. Its wide-ranging programme ...

in London. Upon graduating, he took a short course in product design at the

Central School of Art The Central School of Art and Design was a public school of fine and applied arts in London, England. It offered foundation and degree level courses. It was established in 1896 by the London County Council as the Central School of Arts and Cra ...

,Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design before winning a prestigious Finnish government scholarship and finishing his post graduate studies at the Institute of Technology in

Helsinki, Finland Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the capital, primate, and most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of Uusimaa in southern Finland, and has a population of . The city ...

Early career

After Finland he moved to Sweden where he spent three years in the office of Ralph Erskine. His years in Sweden and Finland had a profound influence on his design approach to the practice of architecture, and it was this practical experience that started a lifetime of wide angle focus on design. In 1967, John became the first official town planner of Abu Dhabi, where his specialisation in the Arabian peninsula began. Initially involved with the first developments of Abu Dhabi, John had a close working relationship with

Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan ( ar, زَايِد بِن سُلْطَان آل نَهْيَان, Zāyed bin Sulṭān Āl Nahyān; 6 May 1918 – 2 November 2004) was an Emirati politician, statesman, and philanthropist who served as ...

(1918–2004), ruler of Abu Dhabi and President of the

(1971–2004). His work later took him to

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries by area, fifth-largest country in Asia ...

designing projects such as the

King Abdulaziz University King Abdulaziz University (KAU) ( ar, جامعة الملك عبد العزيز) is a public university in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. With over 117,096 students in 2022, it is the largest university in the country. Located in south Jeddah, the uni ...

in Jeddah and consulting for the town planning of Jeddah and Riyadh for the royal family.

Sultan of Brunei

In addition to architecture, John also worked in interior design, as managing partner of Dale Keller & Associates' London Office. Here, he designed a 3 million square meter stately palace commissioned by the

Sultan of Brunei The sultan of Brunei is the monarchical head of state of Brunei and head of government in his capacity as prime minister of Brunei. Since independence from the British in 1984, only one sultan has reigned, though the royal institution dates ba ...

Hong Kong

He moved to Dale Keller & Associate's Hong Kong office, and was involved in several new hotels in China and other parts of the Far East. John stayed in Hong Kong for 13 years and began working with

Wimberly Allison Tong & Goo Wimberly, Allison, Tong & Goo, also known as WATG, is an architectural firm with offices in London, Singapore, Istanbul, Honolulu, Irvine, Los Angeles, New York, Seattle and Chicago. They have designed projects in 160 countries across six contine ...

's founder, George J. "Pete" Wimberly.

WATG

In 1991, John moved back to the UK as founder member and managing director of Wimberly Allison Tong & Goo's (WATG) London office. He became a member of the board of directors and senior vice-president, specialising in Middle East projects.

Personal life

John Elliott had four children, two from his first marriage to Lisbet Frolich, Timo and Maja, and two children from his marriage to Erika Grohmann, Kelsey and Yolande. John and Erika raised Kelsey and Yolande in Hong Kong before moving back to the UK, where they lived in

Sandbanks Sandbanks is an affluent neighbourhood of Poole, Dorset, on the south coast of England, situated on a narrow spit of around 1 km2 or 0.39 sq mi extending into the mouth of Poole Harbour. It is known for its high property prices and for it ...

, Dorset. Two years later they moved to their 1930s

Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unit ...

home in London, which John spent several years remodelling.

Completed projects

Architecture

, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates *One&Only Royal Mirage, Dubai, United Arab Emirates * Hilton 2000, Ras Al Khaimah, United Arab Emirates *The World Resort, Dubai, United Arab Emirates *Virgin safari resort, Masai Mara, Kenya *

Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts (; ) is a Swiss hotel management company headquartered in Baar, Switzerland. It is fully owned by AccorHotels since the September 2018 acquisition from former shareholders Mövenpick Holding (66.7%) and the Saudi ...

Dead Sea Resort & Spa, Jordan *

Jumeirah Beach Residence Jumeirah Beach Residence (also known as JBR) is a long, gross floor area waterfront community located on the coast of the Persian Gulf in Dubai Marina in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. It is a residential development and contains 40 towers (35 are ...

, Dubai, United Arab Emirates *Private Palaces, Al Ain, United Arab Emirates *

Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts () is a multinational hospitality company. Founded in 1971 by tycoon Robert Kuok in Malaysia, the company now has over 100 luxury hotels and resorts with over 40,000 rooms in Africa, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, ...

Resort, Oman, Muscat *

Sheraton Hotels and Resorts Sheraton Hotels and Resorts is an international semi-luxury hotel chain owned by Marriott International. As of June 30, 2020, Sheraton operates 446 hotels with 155,617 rooms globally, including locations in North America, Africa, Asia Pacific, Cen ...

Abu Soma, Soma Bay, Egypt *

El Gouna, Egypt *

InterContinental Intercontinental is an adjective to describe something which relates to more than one continent. Intercontinental may also refer to: * Intercontinental ballistic missile, a long-range guided ballistic missile * InterContinental Hotels Group (IH ...

Hotel Amman, Amman, Jordan *Grand

Hyatt Hyatt Hotels Corporation, commonly known as Hyatt Hotels & Resorts, is an American multinational hospitality company headquartered in the Riverside Plaza area of Chicago that manages and franchises luxury and business hotels, resorts, and vaca ...

Amman, Amman, Jordan *Aqaba Beach Resort, Aqaba, Jordan *Marina Village Ayla Oasis Resort, Aqaba, Jordan *

Legoland Legoland (, trademark in uppercase as LEGOLAND) is a chain of family theme parks focusing on the construction toy system Lego. They are not fully owned by The Lego Group itself; rather, they are owned and operated by the British theme park c ...

, Windsor, United Kingdom *Denia Marriott La Sella Golf Resort & Spa, Denia, Spain *

Regency La Manga Golf Resort, Spain * Hilton International Resort, Mauritius *St. Gallen, Switzerland *Military Hospital, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates *Three National Clinics, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates *

, Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia *

University of Calabar The University of Calabar is a public university situated in Calabar, Cross River State, Nigeria. It is one of Nigeria's second generation federal universities. The University of Calabar was a campus of the University of Nigeria until 1975 ...

, Nigeria *Vilamoura, Algave, Portugal *Villa Gardelius, Stockholm, Sweden *Svapavaara Housing Kiruna HSB Housing, Tibro, Sweden *HSB Housing, Gyttorp, Sweden *Birmingham University Arts Tower, Birmingham, United Kingdom *Coutts & Co Bank, London, United Kingdom *Villa Complex, St.Tropez, France *Phillps Petroleum Villa, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates *Phillips Petroleum Offices, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

Interior design

Claridge's Claridge's is a 5-star hotel at the corner of Brook Street and Davies Street in Mayfair, London. It has long-standing connections with royalty that have led to it sometimes being referred to as an "annexe to Buckingham Palace". Claridge's Ho ...

, London, United Kingdom (hotel refurbishment) *New Istana Palace, Brunei *Harbour Grand Hotel, North Point, Hong Kong *City Plaza Shopping Centre, Hong Kong

Master planning

*Town Plan, Trebo, Sweden *Town Plan, Gytorp, Sweden *Town Plan, Svapavaara Kiruna, Sweden *Redevelopment of Norwich Station, Norwich, United Kingdom *Town Plan, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates *Town Plan, Al Ain, United Arab Emirates *Town Plan, Um Al Qwain, United Arab Emirates *Shangri La Resort Master Plan, Muscat, Oman *Aftelqaat Resort Master Plan, Muscat, Oman *Bahwan Resort Master Plan, Muscat, Oman *Ayla Oasis Marina Village Urban Plan, Aqaba, Jordan *Excelsior Hotel, Nanjing, China *Mandarin Hotel, Guilin, China *Swiss Hotel, Beijing, China *Sharm Al Ibli Master Plan, Red Sea, Egypt *National Elephant Park Master Plan, Muputo, Mozambique

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Elliott, John 1936 births 2010 deaths 20th-century English architects Architects from Portsmouth Alumni of the Central School of Art and Design