Sunday 4 August 2013

The Ingenious Thomas Heatherwick - on BBC iPlayer now!

Thomas Heatherwick
The BBC has once again delivered a corker of a TV programme in Alan Yentob's Imagine series. This one features the multitudinous talents of Thomas Heatherwick, architect, model-maker, sculptor and designer, probably best known for his rising copper cauldron for the 2012 London Olympic & Paralympic Games.

The programme, which features the development of his 'Garden Bridge' across the River Thames, brings into sharp focus the diverse talents of the man who's been called 'the Leonardo da Vinci of our times' by no less a figure than Terence Conran.

Mayor of London & new Routemaster bus

I had no idea Heatherwick was behind London's new Routemaster bus, or the Rolling Bridge at Paddington Basin. In fact I first heard of Heatherwick when his extraordinary Seed Cathedral, the UK Pavilion at Expo 2010 in Shanghai, won RIBA's Lubetken Prize. 

Seed Cathedral / Expo 2010 / Shanghai


His work for UK and overseas institutions, transit authorities, tourism centers and hotels have until recently gone unnoticed by all but those in the know, but with a studio of around 100 specialists in London and offices overseas, Heatherwick's reputation and presence are growing, controversy notwithstanding.

He makes furniture, interiors, urban infrastructure, has designed the forthcoming Teeside Power Station, and Laverstoke Distillery, as well as an astonishing 'Learning Hub' for Singapore and a strategic new frontage for Guy's Hospital in London

The Unstoppable Thomas Heatherwick; on BBC iPlayer for another 3 days. Or look out for the Imagine repeats showing on BBCTV later in the year. One way or another, don't miss it!

Thomas Heatherwick's cauldron for the London 2012 Olympic & Paralympic Games