Secret Intelligence Service building - Vauxhall Cross - Vauxhall - London - from Millbank 24042004

Sir Terence Farrell (born 12 May 1938), is a British architect and

urban design Urban design is an approach to the design of buildings and the spaces between them that focuses on specific design processes and outcomes based on geographical location. In addition to designing and shaping the physical features of towns, city, ...

er. In 1980, after working for 15 years in partnership with Sir

Nicholas Grimshaw Sir Nicholas Grimshaw (born 9 October 1939) is a prominent English architect, particularly noted for several modernist buildings, including London's Waterloo International railway station and the Eden Project in Cornwall. He was President of ...

, Farrell founded his own firm, Farrells. He established his reputation with three completed projects in London in the late 1980s: Embankment Place,

125 London Wall 125 London Wall, also known as Alban Gate, is a Postmodern architecture, postmodernist building on London Wall in the City of London. Along with Embankment Place and Vauxhall Cross (the SIS Building), it has been described as one of the three p ...

and

SIS Building The SIS Building, also called the MI6 Building, at Vauxhall Cross houses the headquarters of the Secret Intelligence Service (SIS), also known as Military Intelligence, Section 6 (MI6), the United Kingdom's foreign intelligence agency. It is l ...

. He garnered a strong reputation for contextual urban design schemes, as well as exuberant works of

postmodernism Postmodernism encompasses a variety of artistic, Culture, cultural, and philosophical movements that claim to mark a break from modernism. They have in common the conviction that it is no longer possible to rely upon previous ways of depicting ...

such as the MI6 Building. In 1991, his practice expanded internationally, opening an office in Hong Kong. In Asia his firm designed KK100 in

Shenzhen Shenzhen is a prefecture-level city in the province of Guangdong, China. A Special economic zones of China, special economic zone, it is located on the east bank of the Pearl River (China), Pearl River estuary on the central coast of Guangdong ...

and

Guangzhou South railway station Guangzhounan (Guangzhou South) railway station () is located in Shibi, Panyu District, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China. It is a large modern railway station, rail terminal south of central Guangzhou. For a brief time it was Asia's largest ...

Guangzhou Guangzhou, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Canton or Kwangchow, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Guangdong Provinces of China, province in South China, southern China. Located on the Pearl River about nor ...

Early life and education

Terence Farrell was born on May 12, 1938 in Sale, Cheshire. His maternal grandfather was born in

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

to an Irish mother who had emigrated to England from Ireland to escape Great Famine. He moved to

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne, or simply Newcastle ( , Received Pronunciation, RP: ), is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is England's northernmost metropolitan borough, located o ...

at a young age and attended the St Cuthbert's Grammar School. He graduated with a degree in architecture from the

Newcastle University School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape Newcastle University School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape is a List of architecture schools, school of architecture belonging to Newcastle University in Newcastle upon Tyne, Newcastle upon Tyne, England. The school's operation was ini ...

(then part of

Durham University Durham University (legally the University of Durham) is a collegiate university, collegiate public university, public research university in Durham, England, founded by an Act of Parliament (UK), Act of Parliament in 1832 and incorporated by r ...

) in 1961, which was followed by a Masters in Urban Planning at the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

Career

In 1965, Farrell moved to London to form a partnership with Sir

. In 1980, he founded his own company, Terry Farrell & Partners. In addition, Farrell lectures at a number of different universities including

Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

, the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a collegiate university, federal Public university, public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The ...

, the

and the

University of Sheffield The University of Sheffield (informally Sheffield University or TUOS) is a public university, public research university in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. Its history traces back to the foundation of Sheffield Medical School in 1828, Fir ...

. In the early part of his career, Farrell gave emphasis to housing projects. Later, after the break with Grimshaw, he became the UK's principal

postmodernist Postmodernism encompasses a variety of artistic, Culture, cultural, and philosophical movements that claim to mark a break from modernism. They have in common the conviction that it is no longer possible to rely upon previous ways of depicting ...

and was best known for the

TV-am TV-am was a TV company that broadcast the ITV franchise for breakfast television in the United Kingdom from 1 February 1983 until 31 December 1992. The station was the UK's first national operator of a commercial breakfast television franchise ...

headquarters Headquarters (often referred to as HQ) notes the location where most or all of the important functions of an organization are coordinated. The term is used in a wide variety of situations, including private sector corporations, non-profits, mil ...

in Camden Lock and the redevelopment of Comyn Ching Triangle in London's

Covent Garden Covent Garden is a district in London, on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit-and-vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist sit ...

. In the 1980s and 1990s his projects included Charing Cross Station, the MI6 headquarters building, The Deep Aquarium in Hull and The International Centre for Life in Newcastle. More recent work includes the new headquarters for the

Home Office The Home Office (HO), also known (especially in official papers and when referred to in Parliament) as the Home Department, is the United Kingdom's interior ministry. It is responsible for public safety and policing, border security, immigr ...

, the conversion of the Grade I- listed

Royal Institution of Great Britain The Royal Institution of Great Britain (often the Royal Institution, Ri or RI) is an organisation for scientific education and research, based in the City of Westminster. It was founded in 1799 by the leading British scientists of the age, inc ...

and the Great North Museum in Newcastle. He has been responsible for regeneration projects in the UK including Newcastle Quayside, Brindleyplace in Birmingham, Edinburgh Exchange District,

Greenwich Peninsula The Greenwich Peninsula is an area of Greenwich in South London, South East London, England. It is bounded on three sides by a loop of the River Thames, Thames, between the Isle of Dogs to the west and Silvertown to the east. To the south is the ...

and

Paddington Basin Paddington Basin is the name given to a long canal basin, and its surrounding area, in Paddington, London. The basin commences 500 m south of the junction known as Little Venice, of the Regent's Canal and the Paddington Arm of the Grand ...

. He has also designed his own buildings within these projects, including the

Edinburgh International Conference Centre The Edinburgh International Conference Centre (EICC) is the principal convention and conference centre in Edinburgh, Scotland. EICC have a simple mission, to create an environment that inspires ideas that change the world. Location The centre ...

with the help of Duncan Whatmore, and The Point in

. In May 2010, he was appointed to regenerate the area around

Earl's Court Earl's Court is a district of Kensington in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in West London, bordering the rail tracks of the West London line and District line that separate it from the ancient borough of Fulham to the west, the ...

exhibition centre. In 2012 his practice was appointed as masterplanners for Wood Wharf – the next phase of Canary Wharf's development. In East Asia, projects include

Incheon International Airport Incheon International Airport is the main international airport serving Seoul, the capital of South Korea. It is also one of the largest and busiest airports in the world. This airport opened for business on 29 March 2001, to replace the old ...

in Seoul and Beijing South railway station, the largest in Asia. When completed in December 2010

was for a time the largest railway station in the world. Since setting up his practice in Hong Kong in 1990, he has designed the Peak Tower, Kowloon Station development1998 Kowloon Transport Super City Terry Farrell & Partners/Steven Smith, Hong Kong and the British Consulate-General, Hong Kong. His KK100 tower in Shenzhen is the tallest building ever by a British architect. Farrell is on the Design Advisory Committee of the

Mayor of London The mayor of London is the chief executive of the Greater London Authority. The role was created in 2000 after the Greater London devolution referendum in 1998, and was the first directly elected mayor in the United Kingdom. The current ...

. In 2008 he was appointed Design and Planning Leader for the

Thames Gateway Thames Gateway is a term applied to an area around the Thames Estuary in the context of discourse around regeneration and further urbanisation. The term was first coined by the UK government and applies to an area of land stretching east from ...

, Europe's largest regeneration project. Farrell was appointed

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(OBE) in the 1978 Birthday Honours, promoted to

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(CBE) in the 1996 New Year Honours for services to architecture, and

knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...

in the 2001 Birthday Honours for services to architecture and urban design. He was made a visiting professor at the School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape at Newcastle University, and also an honorary freeman of Newcastle, in 2016. In 2018, he donated £1 million and his archive to the university.

Personal life

Farrell has been married three times, and has five children and seven grandchildren.

Selected awards

* The Herman Miller factory in

Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...

, UK (joint project with

), completed 1976: the ''

Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and also published digitally that focuses on business and economic Current affairs (news format), current affairs. Based in London, the paper is owned by a Jap ...

'' Industrial Award (1977),

Civic Trust Award The Civic Trust Awards scheme is a British awards scheme to recognise outstanding architecture, planning and design in the built environment. It was established in 1959, and is the longest-standing built environment awards scheme in Europe. The ...

(1978),

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

South West Award (1978), Grade II listing by

English Heritage English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, a battlefield, medieval castles, Roman forts, historic industrial sites, Lis ...

(2013) *Ching Court, London:

(1985), Grade II listing by

(2016) * The Henley Regatta Headquarters, completed 1986:

(1988),

award (1988)Henley Royal Regatta: ‘’History of Henley Royal Regatta’‘
Linked 21 February 2014 * Charing Cross railway station/Embankment Place, completed 1990:

(1991 & 1994), RIBA National Award (1991), British Council of Offices Award (1994) *

, completed 1995: (

Award (1996),

(1996) * Newcastle Quayside, completed 1998: Civic Trust Urban Design Award (1998) * Centre for Life,

, completed 2000:

(2002) * The Home Office building, completed 2005: ( RIBA International Award (2005),

LEAF Award The ABB LEAF Awards is an annual international architectural prize. It recognises innovative architectural design that sets the benchmark for the international architectural community of the next generation. The LEAF Awards program is operated by ...

for Best Public Building (2005), the MIPIM Award for Business Centres (2008) * The Green Building in Manchester, ongoing:

for Sustainability (2006 & 2010),

for Best Environmentally Sustainable Project (2006) * Beijing South railway station, completed in 2008: RIBA International Award (2009) * Great North Museum, completed in 2009:

Award for North East England (2010) *The Earls Court Project, ongoing:

MIPIM AR Future Projects Award The MIPIM Architectural Review Future Projects Awards is an award program for unbuilt or incomplete projects spanning across eight categories. It is organised and awarded annually by MIPIM (''Le marché international des professionnels de l’immob ...

for regeneration and planning (2011)

Selected publications

*2014 ''The Farrell Review of Architecture and the Built Environment'' *2013 ''The City As A Tangled Bank: Urban Design versus Urban Evolution'', John Wiley and Sons London *2009 ''Shaping London: The patterns and forms that make the metropolis'', John Wiley and Sons London *April 2008 Prospect, 12 Challenges for Edinburgh *Sept 2007 Architectural Review, Manifesto For London *2004 Place, Terry Farrell's Life & Work: Early Years to 1981 London *2003 ''Buckingham Palace Redesigned: A Radical New Approach to London's Royal Parks'', Papadakis *2002 Terry Farrell in Scotland foreword by Dr. Brian Edwards, Edinburgh *2002 The Deep The World's Only Submarium – An Icon for Hull foreword by The Rt Hon

John Prescott John Leslie Prescott, Baron Prescott (31 May 1938 – 20 November 2024) was a British politician who served as Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and as First Secretary of State from 2001 to 2007. A member of the ...

, London *2002 Ten Years: Ten Cities The Work of Terry Farrell & Partners 1991–2001 foreword by Sir Terry Farrell, Introduction by Hugh Pearman, Text by Jane Tobin, London *1999 PA Pro Architect 13 Terry Farrell, Seoul *1998 Sketchbook 12.05.98 Terry Farrell & Partners with essays by Robert Maxwell and Terry Farrell, London *1998 98:06 World Architecture Review Special Issue: Terry Farrell & Partners Shenzhen *1998 Kowloon Transport Super City Terry Farrell & Partners/Steven Smith, Hong Kong *1994 Terry Farrell Selected and Current Works introduction by Clare Melhuish, Victoria *1993 Terry Farrell Urban Design introduction by Kenneth Powell, London/Berlin *1993 Blueprint Extra 09, Three Urban Projects text by Piers Gough, London *1993 World Architecture Building Profile No 1 Lightweight Classic Terry Farrell's Covent Garden nursery building, London *1992 Vauxhall Cross: The story of the design and construction of a new London landmark, Kenneth Powell, London *1991 Palace on the River Terry Farrell's design for the redevelopment of Charing Cross, Marcus Binney, London *1989 A U special feature: Terry Farrell & Company’ Japan, December pp. 37–132 *1987 Terry Farrell in the context of London catalogue by Rowan Moore with an introduction by Deyan Sudjic, published to coincide with the exhibition at the RIBA Heinz Gallery 14 May to 13 June 1987, London *1986 Designing a House Charles Jencks and Terry Farrell, London *1984 Architectural Monographs: Terry Farrell introduction by Terry Farrell, texts by Colin Amery and Charles Jencks, London

References

External links

Terry Farrell and Partners
{{DEFAULTSORT:Farrell, Terry 1938 births Living people People from Sale, Greater Manchester Harkness Fellows Modernist architects from England Postmodern architects Architects from Newcastle upon Tyne People educated at St. Cuthbert's School Alumni of King's College, Newcastle Architects from Greater Manchester Knights Bachelor English knights Commanders of the Order of the British Empire University of Pennsylvania School of Design alumni Fellows of the Royal Society of Arts