Eric Parry

Personal life

Born in Kuwait City, Kuwait on 24 March 1952, to British parents Marion and Eric Parry, Parry's father was Chief Medical Officer in the Kuwaiti health service between 1948 and 1962. In his book Context: Architecture and the Genius of Place (2015), Parry alludes to his memories of growing up in Kuwait within sight of the nomadic life of Bedouin tribes. Later moving to Britain, Parry was educated in Shrewsbury. From 1970, he attended Newcastle University, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts' degree in Architecture in 1973. He later registered with the Royal College of Arts, where he obtained his Master of Arts in 1978. Parry completed his formal architectural education at the Architectural Association School of Architecture, where he was taught by Dalibor Vesely and Peter Carl, both of whom he would again later encounter while teaching in Cambridge. Parry obtained his Diploma in Architecture by the Architectural Association in 1980. He taught at the Cambridge Department of Architecture from 1983 to 1997, as a Lecturer in architecture. Parry was conferred an honorary Master of Arts by the University of Cambridge, and is a member of Peterhouse, Cambridge. In 2006, Parry was elected at the Royal Academy of Arts, and in 2012 received the degree of Doctor of Arts Honoris Causa from the University of Bath.

Professional life

Eric Parry began his professional life as a Lecturer at the Department of Architecture, University of Cambridge from 1983 to 1997. Since then he has taught at numerous universities, including the Graduate School of Design, Harvard University, the University of Houston and the Tokyo Institute of Technology, Japan. He founded Eric Parry Architects in London in 1983. His early work included Artists' Studios in London for Antony Gormley and Tom Phillips, completed in 1988, as well as a private rehabilitation of the Château de Paulin in Tarn, France, which included the work of sculptor Stephen Cox. From this period dates also his masterplan for Pembroke College, Cambridge that was followed in 1993 by the project for the College's New Lodge and Student Accommodation. This was accompanied by a number of invited competition entries, namely for the extension of the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge (1993), and to rebuild St George's Hall, Windsor Castle after the fire of 1992.

Parry's body of work also includes the corporate and commercial projects for W3 Stockley Park, completed in 1991, additional offices and conference rooms for the Royal Lancaster Hotel, London, and a complex of apartments for Damai Suria, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, completed in 1997. This work lead to further commissions, such as the office buildings in London for 30 Finsbury Square, completed in 2002 as well as 23 Savile Row, 60 Threadneedle Street, 50 New Bond Street, all of which were completed in 2009. This involvement with the corporate world included the project for the new London Stock Exchange. At the same time, on the historical and educational fronts Parry developed a number of projects for schools, from the Bedford School Library and Music School to Wells Cathedral School Cedar's Hall completed in 2007. The cultural side to the practice is reflected in Parry's projects for London art galleries such as the Timothy Taylor Gallery in Dering Street and Carlos Place, as well as the restoration and renewal of St Martin-in-the-Fields, completed in 2008, and the Holburne Museum in Bath, Somerset. Parry's later work includes the residential building N10 for the East Village, London, formerly Olympic Village during the London 2012 Games. In 2013, Parry's completion of One Eagle Place, Piccadilly, was announced in the press, featuring a cornice by Turner Prize winner, artist Richard Deacon. The news were followed by Parry's completion of the neighboring 8 St James's Square, a building that broke the UK office rent record.

Work

The following projects are listed in Eric Parry Architects' monographs Volume 1 (2002), Volume 2 (2011) and Volume 3 (2015):

Completed

Under construction

Proposals

Design

Parry's work as a designer has accompanied his projects for the Sebastian + Barquet furniture gallery and Iringan Hijau in Kuala Lumpur which featured the Z-handles and Z-levers. Parry also designed furniture for the Timothy Taylor Gallery, the Timothy Taylor Table, and for the Four Seasons Hotel Spa in Park Lane. The practice also boasts two series of Vigilia Benches and Sanctuary Benches designed by Parry for St Martin-in-the-Fields. A Holburne Museum Bench was also designed for the Holburne Museum.

Books

In 2015, Eric Parry published Context: Architecture and the Genius of Place describing his approach to architecture. Parry previously published two monographs on the practice's work, Volume 1 and Volume 2, with texts by Dalibor Vesely and Wilfried Wang. By the beginning of 2016, a Volume 3 was released, featuring an introduction by Dalibor Vesely and with main text by Edwin Heathcote.

Short films

Parry has produced two series of short films reflecting on the City of Westminster and the City of London, as well as on the Holburne Museum in Bath, and on the construction of 4 Pancras Square. Parry has also hosted a series of seminars documented in film with Joseph Rykwert, Dalibor Vesely, Robin Middleton, Peter Carl, Alberto Pérez-Gómez and David Leatherbarrow.

Awards