黑洞社区

Will Alsop has died aged 70 after a short illness.

Voices from across the profession and beyond it have been paying tribute to the maverick architect whose work was characterised by bold use of unconventional shapes and colour.

Alsop won the Stirling Prize in 2000 for Peckham Library but was as well known for what went unrealised as for his built work.

He proposed turning Barnsley into an Italian hill village and joining towns across the country into regional 鈥渟upercities鈥�. His design for Liverpool鈥檚 Fourth Grace was an extraordinary glass cloud on stilts dubbed the 鈥渄iamond knuckleduster鈥� which was canned by the council in 2004.

But he worked around the world, notably China and Toronto, as well as in the UK where other buildings include North Greenwich Tube station, part of the celebrated Jubilee Line extension.

Marcos Rosello, director and co-founder of Alsop鈥檚 current practice, aLL Design said: 鈥淚t is with great sadness that I must inform you that on Saturday Will passed away after a short illness. On behalf of the studio we send our condolences to Sheila, Will鈥檚 wife, and to his three children, Ollie, Piers and Nancy. Our thoughts are with them.

鈥淲ill has inspired generations and impacted many lives through his work. It is a comfort to know that due to the nature of Will鈥檚 work and character, he will continue to inspire and bring great joy.

鈥淗e had an exceptional ability to recognise particular strengths in individuals which he would draw out and nurture. His design ethos, essentially to 鈥榤ake life better鈥�, is evident in the architecture of his buildings and their surrounding communities. We will miss him greatly.鈥�

Before establishing aLL Design, Alsop, who left school at 16 and was apprenticed to an architect before studying at the AA, founded six practices over 40 years.

He was always full of surprises and when he claimed to be retiring to devote more time to his art he re-emerged at RMJM, which was at the time mired in controversy for the way it was treating its staff. After he left he castigated it for hiring disgraced banker Fred Goodwin.

Alsop was never afraid to ruffle feathers. During a : 鈥淪ociety has decided in this age of austerity that what we need is more David Chipperfield. We don鈥檛 need that. It鈥檚 depressing.

鈥淲e need more fun, wit and humour. It鈥檚 part of the human condition and if you don鈥檛 have it you are left with David Chipperfield and a number of others. He is a very good architect and there鈥檚 plenty of room for him but not everywhere, and not poor imitations.鈥�

Alsop went on to lambast Allies & Morrison for championing 鈥渃almness, boredom, conformity, uniformity鈥� 鈥� qualities he described as the enemy 鈥� and labelled Norman Foster 鈥済rey鈥�.