The Hepworth Gallery, Wakefield
Built 2009
Designed by David Chipperfield Architects
David Chipperfield was selected as the 2023 Laureate of the Pritzker Architecture Prize. Described as “architecture’s highest international accolade” .
His buildings are “characterised by elegance, restraint, a sense of permanence and refined detailing.”
Elegance and restraint. Two words which succinctly define his work.
I have visited the Hepworth Gallery a few times. Sometimes just to experience the building. Sometimes to see an excellent exhibition such as Bill Brandt / Henry Moore in 2020. Like San Michele Cemetery, the elegance of its materials and the restraint of both the exterior and interior are, to me, a thing of beauty.
David Chipperfield is perhaps better known abroad than here in the UK. The then German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, introduced him to British Prime Minster, David Cameron, in 2013 as “one of our most famous German architects”. Despite him being born in London.
