Rick Mather (May 30, 1937 – April 20, 2013) was an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

-born

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs, and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

working in

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. Born in

Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...

and awarded a B.arch. at the

University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a Public university, public research university in Eugene, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1876, the university is organized into nine colleges and schools and offers 420 undergraduate and gra ...

in 1961, he came to

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

in 1963 and worked at the architectural firm Lyons Israel Ellis for two years. He became a leading figure at the Architectural Association in the 1970s, and in 1973 founded his own practice, Rick Mather Architects.

Rick Mather Architects

Mather set up his own practice, Rick Mather Architects, in 1973. The partners at Rick Mather Architects Gavin Miller and Stuart Cade have since launched a new practice MICA, which will complete the remaining RMA projects, whilst simultaneously working on its own strategic masterplans, buildings and landscapes.

Style

Mather was widely respected for his sensitive and carefully considered approach, and his innovation in low energy design. Rick’s vision and insight, with its clear logic, and elegant articulation, is reflected in many award winning buildings, both in the UK and abroad. Characteristics of his buildings include extensive use of structural glass and natural lighting of interior spaces, respect for existing buildings, and

sustainability Sustainability is a social goal for people to co-exist on Earth over a long period of time. Definitions of this term are disputed and have varied with literature, context, and time. Sustainability usually has three dimensions (or pillars): env ...

Work

Mather oversaw many significant buildings, including the Ashmolean Museum, Keble College, Dulwich Picture Gallery, together with the masterplan for London’s Southbank Centre. His built projects include: * School of Education and Information Systems (1980, now housing School of Education and Norwich Business School),

Climatic Research Unit The Climatic Research Unit (CRU) is a component of the University of East Anglia and is one of the leading institutions concerned with the study of natural and anthropogenic climate change. With a staff of some thirty research scientists and s ...

(1988; RIBA Award) and development plan for the campus,

University of East Anglia The University of East Anglia (UEA) is a Public university, public research university in Norwich, England. Established in 1963 on a campus university, campus west of the city centre, the university has four faculties and twenty-six schools of ...

. * ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'' headquarters,

London Docklands London Docklands is an area of London encompassing the city’s former docks. It is located in inner east and southeast London, in the boroughs of London Borough of Southwark, Southwark, London Borough of Tower Hamlets, Tower Hamlets, London ...

(1991). * Series of restaurants for the Zen chain in London, Hong Kong and Montreal (1985-1991). * Technology Tower,

London Metropolitan University London Metropolitan University, commonly known as London Met, is a public university, public research university in London, England. The University of North London and London Guildhall University merged in 2002 to create the university. The Un ...

(2000). * Masterplan for

Southbank Centre Southbank Centre is an arts centre in London, England. It is adjacent to the separately owned National Theatre and BFI Southbank. It comprises the three main performance spaces – the Royal Festival Hall, Queen Elizabeth Hall, and Purcell R ...

, London (2000 to date). * Arco Building (1995; RIBA Award, Civic Trust Award, British Construction Award), Sloane-Robinson Building including the

O'Reilly Theatre The Sloane Robinson Building is a building in the Newman Quad at Keble College, Oxford, Keble College, one of the University of Oxford colleges. The building is in brick, reflecting the adjacent Victorian Grade 1 listed buildings by William Butte ...

(2002; RIBA Award, Civic Trust Award, Brick Award, Oxford Preservation Trust Award) and H. B. Allen Centre building (former

Acland Hospital The Acland Hospital (also previously known as the Acland Nursing Home, Acland Home and the Sarah Acland Home for Nurses) was a private nursing home and hospital in central North Oxford, England, located in a prominent position at the southern end ...

site, 2016–18) at

Keble College, Oxford Keble College () is one of the Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Its main buildings are on Parks Road, opposite the Oxford University Museum of Natural History, University Museum a ...

. * Master plan, Gower Building (1997) and Jubilee Sports Centre (2004) for

Highfield Campus Highfield Campus is the main campus of the University of Southampton and is located in Southampton, southern England. It is the largest of the university's campuses with most of the students studying there. The campus is also the location of the ...

University of Southampton The University of Southampton (abbreviated as ''Soton'' in post-nominal letters) is a public university, public research university in Southampton, England. Southampton is a founding member of the Russell Group of research-intensive universit ...

. * Klein House,

Hampstead Hampstead () is an area in London, England, which lies northwest of Charing Cross, located mainly in the London Borough of Camden, with a small part in the London Borough of Barnet. It borders Highgate and Golders Green to the north, Belsiz ...

(1998; RIBA Award and runner-up for

Stirling Prize The Royal Institute of British Architects Stirling Prize is a British prize for excellence in architecture. It is named after the architect James Stirling, organised and awarded annually by the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA). The ...

* Extension and refurbishment of

Dulwich Picture Gallery Dulwich Picture Gallery is an art gallery in Dulwich, south London. It opened to the public in 1817 and was designed by the Regency architect Sir John Soane. His design was recognized for its innovative and influential method of illumination f ...

, London (1999; RIBA Award, Civic Trust Award, AIA Award). * ISMA Centre for the University of Reading (1999; RIBA Award, Civic Trust Award) *

Wallace Collection The Wallace Collection is a museum in London occupying Hertford House in Manchester Square, the former townhouse (Great Britain), townhouse of the Seymour family, Marquess of Hertford, Marquesses of Hertford. It is named after Sir Richard Wall ...

Centenary Project, London (2000). * New galleries and refurbishment for

National Maritime Museum The National Maritime Museum (NMM) is a maritime museum in Greenwich, London. It is part of Royal Museums Greenwich, a network of museums in the Maritime Greenwich World Heritage Site. Like other publicly funded national museums in the Unit ...

Greenwich Greenwich ( , , ) is an List of areas of London, area in south-east London, England, within the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Greater London, east-south-east of Charing Cross. Greenwich is notable for its maritime hi ...

(1995-9; Civic Trust Award) and Masterplan for Maritime Greenwich

World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

landscape (1998–2003). * School of Architecture,

University of Lincoln The University of Lincoln is a public university, public research university in Lincoln, England, Lincoln, England, with origins dating back to 1861. It gained university status in 1992 and its present name in 2001. The main campus is in the hea ...

, Brayford campus (2003; RIBA Award, Shortlisted for the Prime Ministers Award for Better Public Buildings). * Lyric Theatre Hammersmith (2004). * Towner Gallery,

Eastbourne Eastbourne () is a town and seaside resort in East Sussex, on the south coast of England, east of Brighton and south of London. It is also a non-metropolitan district, local government district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, bor ...

(2005-9; RIBA Award, British Design Award, Sussex Heritage Trust Award) Jmuad

* Art and Design Academy,

Liverpool John Moores University Liverpool John Moores University (abbreviated LJMU) is a public university, public research university in the city of Liverpool, England. The university can trace its origins to the Liverpool Mechanics' School of Arts, established in 1823. This ...

(2008; RIBA Award). * Ashmolean Museum Masterplan and Expansion

Ashmolean The Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology () on Beaumont Street in Oxford, England, is Britain's first public museum. Its first building was erected in 1678–1683 to house the cabinet of curiosities that Elias Ashmole gave to the University ...

, Oxford (2009; RIBA Award, Shortlisted for the Stirling Prize 2010, Building - Project of the Year Award). * Stowe School Masterplan (2001-2020) and Girls' Boarding Houses (2008; RIBA Award). * Barking Town Centre London Road Masterplan * Central Milton Keynes Residential Quarter * Corpus Christi College Auditorium, Oxford, Oxford (2009; RIBA Award). * Sunken library extension,

The Queen's College, Oxford The Queen's College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford, England. The college was founded in 1341 by Robert de Eglesfield in honour of Philippa of Hainault, queen of England. It is distinguished by its predominantly neoclassi ...

(2006–17). * East Range,

Mansfield College, Oxford Mansfield College, Oxford is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in Oxford, England. The college was founded in Birmingham in 1838 as a college for Nonconformist students. It moved to Oxford in 1886 and was renamed Mansfield Coll ...

(2014). * Campus wide masterplan and expansion of the

Virginia Museum of Fine Arts The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (VMFA) is an art museum in Richmond, Virginia, United States, which opened in 1936. The museum is owned and operated by the Commonwealth of Virginia. Private donations, endowments, and funds are used for the supp ...

, Richmond, Virginia US (2010). (RIBA Winner 2011). * James Allen's Community Music Centre (

RIBA ''Riba'' (, or , ) is an Arabic word used in Islamic law and roughly translated as " usury": unjust, exploitative gains made in trade or business. ''Riba'' is mentioned and condemned in several different verses in the Qur'an3:130

Competition Winner 2008). * North Harlow Masterplan (2010-). * Barking Skills Centre (2009-). * South Kilburn residential development, Brent, London (2009-) * Chester Balmore residential development, Camden, London (2010-)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mather, Rick 1937 births 2013 deaths 20th-century American architects Architects from Portland, Oregon University of Oregon alumni People associated with the Ashmolean Museum American emigrants to the United Kingdom

Rick Mather Architects

Style

Work

Further reading

References