Sarah Wigglesworth

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Sarah Wigglesworth
MBE RDI
Born1957 (age 67–68)
London, UK
NationalityBritish
Alma mater University of Cambridge
OccupationArchitect
Partner Jeremy Till
AwardsFulbright Arts Fellowship, Royal Designer for Industry
PracticeSarah Wigglesworth Architects (1994–2024)
BuildingsStrawbale House, Highbury Roundhouse, Cremorne Rierside Centre, Sandal Magna Primary School
Website swarch.co.uk

Sarah Wigglesworth (born 16 May 1957, London) is a British architect. She was also a professor of architecture at the University of Sheffield until 2016. [1]

Contents

Career

Wigglesworth founded her own architectural practice in 1994. [2] Her practice has a reputation for sustainable architecture using alternative, low energy materials. [3] The practice designed the Straw Bale House in Islington, London, [4] as a home for Wigglesworth and her partner, Jeremy Till, as well as an office for Sarah Wigglesworth Architects. Constructed of straw bales, cement-filled sandbags, silicon-faced fibreglass cloth and gabions filled with recycled concrete, she described it as not "like a traditional green building." Her stated aim was "to bring green architecture into the mainstream by making it more urban and urbane." [4] The house featured in the first series of Grand Designs (1999) and Lina Stergiou's AAO exhibition at the Benaki Museum. [5] [6]

She was Professor of Architecture at the University of Sheffield from 1999 to 2016 where she founded the PhD BY Design in 2002. [7] Her academic work often blended with her 'live' projects and she describes her research focus as "revealing the workings of practice." [7] She led the Designing for Wellbeing in Environments for Later Life research project at the University of Sheffield, looking into the design of houses and neighbourhoods for older people. [1]

In 1991, Wigglesworth and Till were the first architects to be awarded the Fulbright Arts Fellowship. [2] Wigglesworth was appointed MBE in 2004 [3] and in 2012 became the first woman to receive the Royal Designer for Industry award for architecture. [8]

Alongside the Straw Bale House, Wigglesworth's Sandal Magna School has been described as an exemplar of passive, sustainable design. [9] Wigglesworth also places an emphasis on user involvement in the design of buildings. Her Mellor Primary School incorporates spaces for natural habitats and is designed to aid the school's curriculum and help pupils interact with the building. [10]

Sarah Wigglesworth is an advocate for the role of women in architecture. In 1995, she initiated of Desiring Practices: Architecture, Gender and the Interdisciplinary, [11] an exhibition, symposium, catalogue and book that explored gender differences in architectural practice. [12] She has criticised the architectural profession for failing properly to support female architecture students and practitioners. [13]

Notable works

Personal life

Wigglesworth grew up in north London, attending Camden School for Girls. [3] She studied architecture at the University of Cambridge from 1976 to 1983, graduating with distinction. [20]

Her long-term partner, Jeremy Till, is Head of Central Saint Martins and Pro Vice Chancellor of the University of the Arts London.

References

  1. 1 2 "People | DWELL". dwell.group.shef.ac.uk. Retrieved 31 January 2017.
  2. 1 2 "Sarah Wigglesworth". The Guardian. 25 June 2001. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 31 January 2017.
  3. 1 2 3 "Deconstructing Sarah". Building. No. 8. 2004. Retrieved 31 January 2017.
  4. 1 2 Lutyens, Dominic (12 January 2002). "Clutching at straws". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 31 January 2017.
  5. ↑ "Sarah Wigglesworth" in Lina Stergiou, ed., AAO Project: Ethics/Aesthetics (Athens: Benaki Museum and Papasotiriou, 2011), pp.348–53, Exhibition Catalogue ISBN   978-960-491-026-7
  6. ↑ Card, Nell (7 June 2020). "No house of straw: Sarah Wigglesworth's eco-home, 20 years on". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 11 March 2025.
  7. 1 2 3 "A1 Paper: Thinking Architecture | Blog | ADF | British Council" (blog). design.britishcouncil.org. 28 July 2011. Retrieved 31 January 2017.
  8. ↑ "Wigglesworth becomes Royal Designer for Industry". Architects Journal. Retrieved 31 January 2017.
  9. ↑ "Sarah Wigglesworth Architects: Sandal Magna School, Wakefield. | Architecture Today". www.architecturetoday.co.uk. Retrieved 31 January 2017.
  10. ↑ "From the archive – Glass interviews Britain's leading architect Sarah Wigglesworth". The Glass Magazine. 2 September 2016. Retrieved 31 January 2017.
  11. ↑ Katerina., Rüedi; Sarah., Wigglesworth; Duncan., McCorquodale (1 January 1996). Desiring practices : architecture, gender, and the interdisciplinary. Black Dog Pub. ISBN   0952177390. OCLC   37984409.
  12. ↑ "An interview with Sarah Wigglesworth | Abitare". Abitare. 25 April 2013. Retrieved 31 January 2017.
  13. ↑ "From the archive – Glass interviews Britain's leading architect Sarah Wigglesworth". The Glass Magazine. 2 September 2016. Retrieved 31 January 2017.
  14. ↑ "Classroom of the future, Mossbrook School, Sheffield". www.architecture.com. Retrieved 31 January 2017.
  15. ↑ "Siobhan Davies Dance building wins award – LondonDance". LondonDance. Retrieved 31 January 2017.
  16. ↑ "Cremorne Riverside Centre". www.architecture.com. Retrieved 31 January 2017.
  17. ↑ "Heathfield Children's Centre". www.architecture.com. Retrieved 31 January 2017.
  18. 1 2 "Sandal Magna School". www.architecture.com. Retrieved 31 January 2017.
  19. ↑ "Corrugated metal skin added to a former factory housing artists' studios". Dezeen. 23 January 2016. Retrieved 31 January 2017.
  20. ↑ Maggie., Toy (1 January 2001). The architect : women in contemporary architecture. Wiley-Academy. ISBN   0471495441. OCLC   44101931.
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