The staff of the British Library were saddened to hear of the death,
on Monday 14 May, of Sir Colin St John Wilson, the hugely influential
architect best known for designing the British Library at St Pancras.
Lynne Brindley, Chief Executive, writes:
"Sir Colin (Sandy) St John Wilson spent a large part of his
career working on the British Library building at St Pancras. It
stands as a confident, iconic, and befitting home for the greatest
national library in the world and is a tangible symbol of the enduring
value of all libraries at the beginning of the Information Age.
The Library is an inspirational place – for visitors and staff
alike – and was recently described with awe as ‘the
cathedral of knowledge’. It is a welcoming, uplifting and
hugely popular space, with more than 4,000 people using the Reading
Rooms each day, and attracting well over 1,000 visitors a day.
As such it is a welcome addition to the cultural and intellectual
landscape of London and stands appropriately at the gateway to Europe
and the largest regeneration project in London.
The building was short-listed for the 1998 RIBA Stirling prize
and Sandy’s knighthood in the same year brought overdue national
and international recognition of Sandy’s extraordinary achievement,
vindicating his long and arduous journey to fulfil his vision.
It has been my privilege to watch the building live, grow and adapt
to quite unforeseen uses over the past seven years."
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