Michael Hopkins
From Archiplanet
| Michael Hopkins | |
| Born | 1935; |
| Notes | |
| At Great Buildings | http://www.GreatBuildings.com/architects/Michael_Hopkins.html |
Contents |
[edit] Works
- Hopkins House at Hamstead, London, England, 1976.
- Schlumberger Centre GreatBuildings page
- The Mound Stand GreatBuildings page
- Bracken House
- Buckingham Palace Ticket Office, Green Park, St James, London, England,1994-95
- Glyndebourne Opera House GreatBuildings page
[edit] Discussion
(b. 1935)Michael Hopkins - whose firm was formerly known as Michael Hopkins and Partners and is presently Hopkins Architects - designs his projects to respond to specific opportunities and constraints within each site. He claims he cannot proceed 'without a client, a brief and a site'. Although a functionalist, Hopkins rarely creates purely functional architecture. Instead, he blends practical considerations with a series of High Tech rules and aesthetic priorities to create an innovative architecture.
Hopkins thinks of buildings as industrial products. He wants his buildings to express the idea if not the reality of pre-fabrication and repetition. He uses High-Tech materials as much for the image they project as for their inherent cheapness, lightness, and durability.
Hopkin's enthusiasm for technology occurred relatively late in his career, after his wife, Patty, explored the architectural possibilities of a systematic building technology. Although this initially generated a severe form of architecture, he gradually integrated more expression into his designs. His later use of tensile structures added an unexpectedly flamboyant element to his designs.
Although Hopkins sees architecture as an abstract discipline based more in intellect than sensibility, he feels that architecture should serve society.
[edit] References
- Davies, Colin. Hopkins' rules. The Architectural Review v175 p 54-7. May 1984.
[edit] External Links
Hopkins Architects — The firm's own web site.
