A London-founded architecture practice, started in 1980 by Sir Nicholas Grimshaw, known for the Eden Project, Waterloo International Terminal and Paddington Station works.
Grimshaw is an architecture practice that began in London in 1980 as Nicholas Grimshaw & Partners. Wikipedia describes it as one of the pioneers of high-tech architecture, where structure and engineering are visible and celebrated. Its focus includes transport and infrastructure, and sustainability. Its UK work includes the Eden Project in Cornwall, Thermae Bath Spa, Waterloo International Terminal, Paddington Station, London Bridge Station, Heathrow Terminal 2B, Manchester Airport Terminal 3, and university buildings for University College London and the London School of Economics.
Nicholas Grimshaw founded the practice and received the RIBA Royal Gold Medal for architecture; news reports say he died aged 85. We did not find a formal mission statement or list of values in the pages we read, so we have not invented one. What the practice says through its work is an interest in nature as an influence: its exhibitions explore biomimicry (copying how nature solves problems), biophilia and ecosystems, and its Sustainability Pavilion for Expo 2020 Dubai was described as an innovative net-zero building.
Grimshaw lists seven studios worldwide: Los Angeles, New York, London, Paris, Dubai, Melbourne and Sydney. The UK studio is in London and the page we read lists no other UK office. The practice employs over 600 people in total, according to the same page, and 21 partners are named, including chairman Andrew Whalley. The page does not say how many staff work in London.
As for culture, the practice's own pages gave little. The partnership is large and international, with long-serving partners such as Andrew Whalley, who was named chairman. The practice also says publicly that it stopped work on Istanbul Airport during construction, which shows it has had to take difficult decisions about the projects it works on.
Roles in a practice like this include architects, architectural assistants, technologists who work out how buildings are put together, urban and landscape designers, interior designers, visualisers and model makers, project managers, and the finance and human resources people who support them. Because much of its work is in transport and infrastructure, curiosity about trains, airports and public spaces is a good fit alongside art, maths and physics. Its London studio sits alongside colleagues in Dubai, Paris, New York, Los Angeles, Melbourne and Sydney, so people there work on international projects as well as UK ones. Check the practice website for openings.
Website: grimshaw.global
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