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Sir Terry Farrell, Architect of MI6 Headquarters and Postmodern Pioneer, Dies at 87

Farrells confirmed his death, prompting tributes to a career that fused flamboyant design with influential planning ideas.

Overview

  • Farrells announced on September 29 that its founder had died at 87, describing him as a “maverick” and leading architect-planner.
  • Noted works span London’s MI6/SIS headquarters, TV-am studios, Embankment Place above Charing Cross, the Home Office on Marsham Street, and The Deep in Hull.
  • He shaped policy debates through the 2014 Farrell Review and promoted public ‘urban rooms,’ later realized in the Farrell Centre at Newcastle University in 2023.
  • From the 1990s his practice expanded in East Asia with projects including Hong Kong’s Peak Tower, the KK100 skyscraper in Shenzhen, and major rail hubs in Beijing and Guangzhou.
  • Honours included an OBE (1978), CBE (1996), a 2001 knighthood, and the RTPI Gold Medal, following an early partnership with Nicholas Grimshaw, who also died earlier this month.