David Rock (architect)

David Annison Rock (27 May 1929 – 15 November 2025) was an English architect, graphic designer, illustrator and painter, who was twice RIBA vice-president (1986–1987 and 1995–1997) and RIBA president from 1997 to 1999.

Life and career

Rock was born in Sunderland on 27 May 1929.[1] After school, he went to the Newcastle University School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape (then part of Durham University) from 1947 to 1952,[2] leaving with a first-class honours.[3] He studied under Lord Holford and Peter Smithson who described him as "the most naturally gifted and talented architect he'd ever met".[4] He then worked for Basil Spence for five years.[3]

He joined Grenfell Baines & Hargreaves in 1959 as Associate Partner to open its first London office; this office initially operated out of Rock's flat in Earls Court. Rock was responsible for expanding Building Design Partnership's (BDP) London office during the 1960s,[3] becoming an equity partner in 1964.

He resigned from BDP in 1971 and went into partnership with another former BDP architect, John Townsend,[3] an expert on bürolandschaft. In 1972, Rock Townsend opened Workspace, developing the idea of multidisciplinary working by providing office space for small design businesses;[3][5] a former Sanderson wallpaper factory in Chiswick, west London was converted into the Barley Mow Centre, providing workspaces for craftspeople, designers and architects.[3] In the 1980s, Rock Townsend designed the postmodern Angel Square development in Islington[3] (partially demolished in the 2020s).[6]

Rock was a supporter of the radical architecture group Archigram in the 1960s and 1970s. He nominated them for the RIBA Royal Gold Medal, which they received in 2002,[7] describing the group as "a necessary irritant".[8]

Rock left Rock Townsend in 1993, and, after two separate terms as RIBA vice-president (1986–87 and 1995–97), was RIBA president between 1997 and 1999.[3] During his presidency, he oversaw the handover of over one million items from the RIBA archive to the V&A,[3] and chaired the Stirling Prize panel that awarded the 1998 Building of the Year title to the Imperial War Museum Duxford in Cambridgeshire.[9]

Chair of the Scottish Society of Architect Artists,[5] an exhibition of Rock's paintings, including early student and postgraduate drawings through to more recent works, was held at the Eleven Spitalfields Gallery in east London in 2022.[3][10]

Rock died on 15 November 2025, at the age of 96.[5][3]

References

  1. ^ Slessor, Catherine (12 December 2025). "David Rock obituary". The Guardian. Retrieved 12 December 2025.
  2. ^ "History of Art". University of Warwick. Retrieved 20 February 2023.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Wilmore, James (24 November 2025). "Tributes paid as 'visionary' former RIBA president David Rock dies". The Architects’ Journal. Retrieved 24 November 2025.
  4. ^ Pearce, David (1987), "Profile: David Rock", The Architect (April) London: RIBA, p 32.
  5. ^ a b c Williamson, Chris (20 November 2025). "David Rock PPRIBA (1929 to 2025)". RIBA News. Retrieved 25 November 2025.
  6. ^ Youde, Kate (7 September 2022). "AHMM wins planning approval for contentious Angel Square redevelopment". Architects' Journal. Retrieved 24 November 2025.
  7. ^ ARCHIGRAM - RIBA Royal Gold Medalists 2002 Archived 26 May 2011 at the Wayback Machine Citation by David Rock. Retrieved 11 April 2007.
  8. ^ Glancey, Jonathan (14 February 2002). "Architects reward the pop art dreamers". Guardian. Retrieved 25 November 2025.
  9. ^ "UK Air museum beats British Library to prize". BBC News. 19 November 1998. Retrieved 25 November 2025.
  10. ^ Stathaki, Ellie (13 October 2022). "David Rock exhibition, London". Wallpaper*. Retrieved 25 November 2025.
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