Andrew Whalley

Andrew Whalley has played a pivotal role at Grimshaw since its inception, spearheading transformative projects across diverse sectors including education, performing arts, culture, sports, infrastructure, transportation, workplace design, and industrial design. His award-winning works include the International Terminal at Waterloo Station, London; the British Pavilion for the 1992 World Expo; the Eden Project in Cornwall, UK; the Space Centre Leicester, UK; the revitalisation of historic Paddington Station, London; the Danforth Plant Science Centre in St. Louis; Caixa Galicia Art Foundation, La Coruna, Spain; the Experimental and Performing Arts Building in Troy, New York; the Queens Museum in New York; the Fulton Centre in New York; Tomorrowland, Disney Shanghai;  Terra – The Sustainability Pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai, a groundbreaking net-zero building and the centrepiece of the Expo and, most recently the Futures Institute at Dollar Scotland a new centre for an opensource education program based on the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

In 2001, Andrew established Grimshaw’s New York studio and served as Partner in Charge during its first decade. Under his leadership, the studio was selected in 2003 as one of eight architectural practices for major public projects under Mayor Bloomberg’s DDC Design Excellence program. He was also Partner in charge of the New York Street furniture contract, undertaken with the Grimshaw Industrial Design Team and Cemusa, with over 3,500 new Bus Shelters and newsagent stands.

Andrew’s dedication to education and academia has been a consistent thread throughout his career. In the UK, he taught at the Royal College of Art and Imperial College London’s Industrial Design Department, led a unit at the Architectural Association for three years, and lectured at University College London for over five years. In the US, he has been a Visiting Professor at Washington University and frequently lectures at the University of Pennsylvania. Most recently, he concluded his tenure as an Adjunct Professor at Politecnico di Milano’s Department of Architecture and Urban Studies. His contributions extend to numerous academic publications on topics such as specialist structures, sustainability, smart cities, and urban design. Andrew also serves as an academic advisor to the UN-affiliated Consortium for Sustainable Urbanization.

In 2011, Andrew was appointed Deputy Chairman of Grimshaw, ascending to Chairman in 2019, succeeding Sir Nicholas Grimshaw. As Chairman, Andrew oversees the practice’s core design ethos, brand identity, and global relationships, enhancing Grimshaw’s international reputation. His leadership supports specialist departments in industrial design, cities, sustainability, computational technology, and communications.

Andrew is a registered architect in the UK and USA, a member of the AIA and RIBA, and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. In 2019, he was inducted into the AIA College of Fellows for Design and elected to the Board of the British Architectural Library Trust. He has received several prestigious honours, including an Honorary Doctorate of Letters from his alma mater, the Glasgow School of Art, and the 2021 Champion Award from the Consortium for Sustainable Urbanization. Andrew received an OBE (Officer of the Order of the British Empire) in Queen Elizabeth’s New Year Honours List, 2022, recognising Andrew’s services to architecture and environmental sustainability.