In memoriam: architect Sir Michael Hopkins (1935 – 2023)

Architect Sir Michael Hopkins died 'peacefully on 17 June 2023 at the age of 88, surrounded by his family', it has been announced. The pioneering figure of 20th-century architecture worked in the UK and abroad on era-defining projects that won him many accolades, including the prestigious RIBA Royal Gold Medal in 1994 (the same honour was this year awarded to Yasmeen Lari); a CBE in 1989, followed by a knighthood in1995 for services to architecture; and he was elected a Royal Academician in 1992.

Michael Hopkins: an architectural pioneer

Michael Hopkins founded London studio Hopkins Architects together with his architectural partner and wife Patty Hopkins (the duo share the RIBA Gold Medal recognition) in 1976. Along with several established British architects who set up a practice around the same time (including Richard Rogers, Norman Foster, Nicholas Grimshaw and Terry Farrell), the Hopkinses are widely considered key proponents of and instrumental in developing the High Tech movement that defined much of the 20th century – the pair's own home, Hopkins House, in north London's Hampstead, is an important early example of the genre. 

'I first met Michael in the AA refectory – he was a tall, stylish, somewhat enigmatic figure. We worked together and shared a life with a beautiful family for 61 years. Michael was obsessive about architecture and tenacious in refining a design until he was absolutely satisfied with it.  He was usually (and annoyingly) right. He made the world - and the buildings so many people live work, and learn in - more beautiful. We will miss him more than we can imagine,' said Patty Hopkins.

Hopkins House's open plan, boxy shape and utilitarian, almost industrial look are now iconic, and received a Grade II* listing in 2018. The project was completed soon after the couple had founded their practice. 

More work soon followed, with seminal examples in the Hopkins portfolio including the Lord's Cricket Ground Mound Stand (1987), Westminster Underground Station (1999), Portcullis House (1999), Kroon Hall in Yale, and the Long House for Living Architecture (2011). 

In a statement, the principals at Hopkins Architects said: 'Michael will be sadly missed by all of us who were lucky enough to have worked with him. He was consistently rigorous in his thinking, brilliant in his analysis and fearlessly creative in his designing. To have worked with him on so many projects was an education like no other and an absolute privilege.

'With Michael the process was always intensely focused and the conversation that led to the buildings always began as a voyage of discovery typically centred on establishing a sense of place, about how to make historic connections, how to put the materials together in an honest and contemporary way so that the building would appear calm and make immediate sense to the end user. Nothing was ever taken for granted. He was greatly respected both as an architect and as a person of integrity and we will all miss him enormously.'

hopkins.co.uk