Rogers of Riverside, Richard George, The Lord

Rogers of Riverside, Richard George, The Lord (1933– ). Florence-born British architect, related to Ernesto Rogers. He was associated with Foster in Team 4 (1963–7) and built the Reliance Controls Ltd Factory, Swindon, Wilts. (1965–7), with its diagonal braces announcing its construction. From the beginning of his career Rogers has used the image of advanced technology overtly expressed as his main theme, and has been called a High Tech architect as a result. High Tech too was the Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris (1971–7—called Beaubourg), inspired by Archigram and Price, which he designed with Renzo Piano and the Ove Arup team to display not only its structure but its services as well, some might say in an aggressively demonstrative manner. In 1977 he formed the Richard Rogers Partnership, and designed the Headquarters of Lloyd's of London (1978–86), another example of his emphatic display of services, circulation, and structure, as was his Inmos Microprocessor Factory, Newport, Wales (1982). He refurbished Sir Horace Jones's Billingsgate Market Building, London (1985–8). The Channel 4 Television Headquarters, London (1990–4), and the European Court of Human Rights, Strasbourg, France (1989–95), were polished performances in his chosen idiom, that of emphasizing the Modern Movement's obsessions with a ‘truthful’ approach to structure, function, and materials. Among the firm's other works may be cited the Fleetguard Building, Quimper, France (1979–81), the PA Technology Laboratories, Princeton, NJ, USA (1982–5), Thames Reach Housing, London (1984–7), various buildings at Thames Wharf, London (1984–9), the Centre Commercial St Herblain, Nantes, France (1986–8), the Kabuki-Cho Building, Tokyo, Japan (1987–93), Marseilles Airport, France (1989–92), the Law Courts, Bordeaux, France (1992–8); No. 88 Wood Street, London (1993–99), Daimler-Benz Offices and Housing, Berlin, Germany (1993–99), Lloyd's Register Headquarters, London (1993–2000), Montevetro Residential Complex, Battersea, London (1994–2000), The Millennium Experience (The ‘Dome’, which is not a dome, but a sort of tent), London (1996–9), Broadwick House, Soho, London (1997–2002), Designer Retail Outlet Centre, Ashford, Kent (1996–2000), the National Assembly for Wales (1999–2005), Nat Barajas Airport, Madrid, Spain (1997–2005), Law Courts, Antwerp, Belgium (1999–2005), Hotel and Conference Centre, Barcelona, Spain (1999–2004), Paddington Waterside, London (1999–2006), and very many other buildings. The firm (RRP) has also been involved in preparing master-plans for several cities (e.g. the Su Jia Zui district of Shanghai, China) and areas (e.g. Terminal 5, Heathrow Airport, London). Rogers himself has been involved in chairing a British Government-sponsored ‘Urban Task Force’ to provide a vision for urban regeneration and development.

Bibliography

Appleyard (1986);
British Council (1991);
Burdett (ed.) (1996);
Kalman (1994);
Jodidio (1996a);
K. Powell (1994, 1999, 2001);
Rogers (1990, 1996);
Rogers & and Power (2000);
Richard Rogers Partnership;
Silver (1994);
Sudjic (1986, 1995)