SIS Building, also called the MI6 Building, at Vauxhall Cross, London. Image © I Wei Huang via Shutterstock
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https://www.archdaily.com/1034605/british-post-modernist-architect-and-farrells-founder-terry-farrell-passes-away-at-87
Farrells, the London-based architecture and urban design practice, announced earlier today the death of its founder, architect Sir Terry Farrell. The firm highlighted Farrell’s commitment to questioning architectural convention and his advocacy for more responsible, contextual, and community-driven approaches to urban development, seeking creative alternatives to wholesale demolition and rebuild. His death follows that of his early collaborator Nicholas Grimshaw, with whom he founded the Farrell/Grimshaw Partnership in 1965. Together they produced functionalist, modern buildings defined by their structural clarity, before Farrell established his independent voice as one of the leading figures of British Post-Modernism, designing some of the movement’s most recognisable works, including London’s MI6 Building and the TV-am studios in Camden.
Peak Tower in Hong Kong. Image © Minghong via Wikimedia Commons, licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International, 3.0 Unported, 2.5 Generic, 2.0 Generic and 1.0 Generic licenseBorn in 1938 in Sale, Cheshire, and raised in Newcastle upon Tyne, Farrell studied architecture at Newcastle University, graduating in 1961, and later completed a Master’s in Urban Planning at the University of Pennsylvania. Influenced by the modernist architecture he encountered in the United States, he began his career working for the London County Council before forming his partnership with Grimshaw. In 1980, he founded Terry Farrell & Partners (later Farrells) and quickly gained prominence as a forerunner of the Post-Modern movement in Britain. Projects such as the TV-am Breakfast Television Centre (1983), Embankment Place (1990), and Vauxhall Cross (1994), the latter known internationally as the headquarters of MI6, combined humour and symbolism with a respectful approach to urban context. His practice would later expand internationally, delivering large-scale projects such as Beijing South Railway Station and KK100 in Shenzhen.
(Former) TV am studios (1981-3) by Terry Farrell and Co., Camden, London. Image © Steve Cadman via Flickr, under CC BY-SA 2.0 Creative Commons LicenseThroughout his career, Farrell remained committed to urbanism and the social dimensions of design. He consistently promoted the reuse of existing structures, advocating for regeneration over demolition, and pioneering models of inner-city renewal that integrated conservation, mixed-use, and public life. His urban design philosophy, visible in projects such as the Comyn Ching Triangle in Covent Garden and masterplans for Newcastle Quayside, was guided by a belief that cities evolve best through “layering” and community participation. According to his firm, he was a strong advocate for social mobility, believing that the class system in Britain remained a powerful force restricting opportunities for many and leading to a form of democratic impoverishment. Farrell’s ideas were crystallised in the Farrell Review of Architecture and the Built Environment (2014), commissioned by the UK government, which called for greater design literacy, policy reform, and the establishment of “urban rooms” in every city to help residents engage with their surroundings.
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My work these last 50 or so years has been heavily involved in creating a kinder, less doctrinaire world than that of the previous era of high modernism. It has been about layering, learning from the past, and regenerating with communities’ involvement from the bottom up. One thing I have learned is that we should make it easier for the aspiring child, because all too often, society is not fair and not remotely equal. – Sir Terry Farrell
Beijing South Station / TFP Farrells. Image © Fu Xing
KK100 / TFP Farrells. Image © Carsten Schael
Farrell was widely recognised for his contributions to both architecture and urban planning. He was appointed CBE in 1996 and knighted in 2001, and in 2013 was cited at the London Planning Awards for his outstanding contribution to planning and development. Further honours included the Royal Town Planning Institute’s Gold Medal (2017) and an Honorary Freedom of Newcastle (2016). In 2023, he opened the Farrell Centre at Newcastle University, a public gallery, research space, and “urban room” inspired by his own recommendations, shortly before his retirement. Through his built works, his writings, and his enduring influence on planning policy, Terry Farrell leaves a legacy defined by a lifelong belief that architecture and urbanism must evolve through dialogue with history, place, and community.