Derek Walker | |
---|---|
Born | Blackburn, Lancashire | 15 June 1929
Died | 11 May 2015 85) | (aged
Nationality | British |
Alma mater | Leeds Art School |
Occupation | Architect |
Known for | Milton Keynes Chief Architect |
Notable work | Royal Armouries Museum, Leeds |
Spouse(s) |
|
Children | Matthew Walker, Alex Walker |
Derek John Walker (15 June 1929 – 11 May 2015) was a British architect primarily associated with urban planning and leisure facilities architecture, through his firm Derek Walker Associates.
After completing his national service, Walker went on to study architecture at Leeds Art School; whilst there he met his first wife Jill Messenger. He then studied planning at the University of Pennsylvania before returning to the UK in 1960 to set up an architectural practice in Leeds. [1]
From 1970 to 1976 Walker was Chief Architect and planner of the new town Milton Keynes. [2] He recruited a team and over seven years produced a landscaping strategy for the 'new city', eleven village plans, the structure for the programme for producing 3000 houses per year with supporting community, leisure, retail and sporting and cultural facilities.
Amongst his many buildings, possibly the most celebrated was the Central Milton Keynes Shopping Centre. [3] [4] At the time of its opening in 1979 it was a unique concept for 1,000,000 sq ft (93,000 m2) of retail space with a plan generated around covered landscaped streets. The team for this complex included Stuart Mosscrop, Christopher Woodward and Syd Green. [5] In July 2010, the building was recognised with a Grade II listing, to applause from the 20th Century Society and other conservationists. [6]
In 1980 Walker was involved with Norman Foster and Frank Newby in a controversial scheme to expand the Whitney Museum in New York City using air rights purchased from nearby properties to build a mixed-use skyscraper which would include a new wing for the museum. When a furore developed, the museum denied it had solicited the team. [7]
He ran the architecture course at the Royal College of Art between 1984 and 1990. [1]
Walker was the architect for the Royal Armouries Museum in Leeds, a £42.5million project which opened to the public in 1996. [8]
Walker was born on 15 June 1929 in Blackburn, Lancashire, [11] however he and his family moved to Leeds in West Yorkshire when he was very young.
He was first married to the artist Jill Messenger; they had two sons. [12] He was married secondly and his third wife was Eve Happold. [13]
Walker was a lifelong sports fanatic with a passion for cricket, and was a supporter of Leeds United FC.[ citation needed ]
This section needs additional citations for verification .(January 2018) |
Milton Keynes is the largest settlement in Buckinghamshire, England, 50 miles (80 km) north-west of London. At the 2011 Census, the population of its urban area was almost 230,000. The River Great Ouse forms its northern boundary; a tributary, the River Ouzel, meanders through its linear parks and balancing lakes. Approximately 25% of the urban area is parkland or woodland and includes two Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs).
Léon Krier CVO is a Luxembourgish architect, architectural theorist and urban planner, a prominent critic of architectural Modernism and advocate of New Traditional Architecture and New Urbanism. Krier combines an international architecture & planning practice with writing and teaching. He is well-known for his master plan for Poundbury, in Dorset, England. He is the younger brother of architect Rob Krier.
Central Milton Keynes is the central business district of Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England and a civil parish in its own right, with a town council.
Milton Keynes Development Corporation (MKDC) was a development corporation operating from 1967 to 1992 oversee the planning and early development of Milton Keynes, a new town midway between London and Birmingham.
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The Central Milton Keynes shopping area is a regional shopping centre located in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England which is about 50 miles (80 km) north-west of London. It comprises two adjacent shopping centres, the grade II listed building thecentre:mk which opened in 1979, and Midsummer Place opened in 2000. The centre:mk is anchored by John Lewis and Marks & Spencer. The complex is the 14th largest shopping centre in the UK, with the size of 120,773 sq metres.
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