David Chipperfield has described his firm’s design approach as “trying to make something that’s abstract and contemporary on the one hand but completely inspired by its own task and function.” Now working worldwide, the firm has offices in London, Berlin, Milan, and Shanghai. The firm’s recently completed Museum of Modern Literature in Marbach, Germany was just awarded the 2007 Stirling Prize. The firm’s America’s Cup Building, Veles e Vents in Valencia, Spain was also shortlisted. Other recent and current projects include the Des Moines Public Library in Iowa and the Master Plan for Berlin’s Museum Island.

David Chipperfield studied at Kingston School of Art and the Architectural Association in London. After graduating he worked at the practices of Douglas Stephen, Richard Rogers, and Norman Foster. David Chipperfield Architects was established in 1984 and the practice currently has over 150 staff. The practice has won over 40 national and international competitions and many international awards and citations for design excellence, including RIBA, RFAC & AIA awards.

In addition to the 2007 Stirling Prize, David Chipperfield has been awarded the Andrea Palladio Prize in 1993 and in 1999 the Heinrich Tessenow Gold Medal. In 2004 he was made an Honorary Member of the Florence Academy of Art and Design and was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for services to architecture. In 2006 he was appointed Royal Designer for Industry (RDI), and in 2007 he was made an Honorary Fellow of the American Institute of Architects (Hon. FAIA).

David Chipperfield has taught and lectured extensively in Europe and the USA. He has been Professor of Architecture at the Staatliche Akademie der Bildenden Kunste, Stuttgart, and visiting Professor of Architecture at Harvard University, USA, University of Graz, Austria, University of Naples, Italy, Royal College of Art, London, UK, Ecole Polytechnique, Lausanne, Switzerland, Art Institute Chicago, USA, Naples School of Architecture, Italy, and Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago, USA. In addition, David Chipperfield held the Mies van der Rohe Chair at the Escola Tècnica of Barcelona in 2003 and is currently honorary professor at the University of the Arts London.