Keith Griffiths (architect)

Keith Griffiths RIBA FHKIA (born October 1954) is a British architect who founded and chairs Aedas, one of the largest global architecture and design practices.[1] Since 1983 and for most of his career he has resided in Hong Kong.

Keith Griffiths
Born
Keith Griffiths

October 1954
Merthyr Tydfil, Wales
NationalityBritish (Welsh)
OccupationArchitect
PracticeAedas
Websitewww.aedas.com

Early life and education

Griffiths was born to Emrys and Jane Griffiths in October 1954[2] in Merthyr Tydfil, Wales. He was brought up in the small cathedral city of St Davids, in Wales.[3] He attended Ysgol Dewi Sant, St Davids School and read architecture at St John's College, University of Cambridge[4] where he received a Masters in Architecture in 1976 and a Diploma in Architecture in 1979. In 1979 he registered as an architect (ARB) and became a member of the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA). He was awarded a fellowship of the Hong Kong Institute of Architects (HKIA) in 2001.[5]

Career

From 1978 to 1980 Griffiths worked for Arup Associates before joining Foster and Partners in London as a member of the design team for the new Hongkong and Shanghai Bank headquarters (HSBC) in Hong Kong.[6] In 1985, Keith Griffiths and Anthony Hackett set up Hackett and Griffiths in Hong Kong.[7] Hackett and Griffiths first commission was the new Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club sailing Centre at Middle Island. Further commissions included LandMark 2, Bangkok in 1987 for First Pacific Land; Pacific Plaza, Singapore in 1988 for LET Pacific (formerly London and Edinburgh Trust);[8] Gaysorn Shopping Centre, Bangkok in 1988 for Gaysorn Property Company Ltd.[9]

In 1992 Griffiths joined LPT Architects,[10] which has offices in Singapore and Kuala Lumpur, and designed the John Hancock Tower in Singapore.[11]

In 1999 Griffiths acquired LPT Architects, which grew to 250 staff by 2000 with offices in Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia and Vietnam.

To create a global design practice, Griffiths invited the UK practice of Abbey Holford Rowe to jointly own a new design company and in 2002 Griffiths rebranded the company as Aedas.[12] Its operations grew from 550 employees in 2002 to 1,800 staff in 2008.[13] In 2012, the former Abbey Holford Rowe left Aedas and in 2015, Aedas acquired UK practice RHWL and Arts Team,[14] one of the leading designers of arts and cultural facilities in Europe.

In late 2015, Griffiths was appointed Honorary Advisor for the inaugural Belt and Road Summit co-organised by the Hong Kong SAR Government and Hong Kong Trade Development Council.[15] He proposed to build ultra high-density connected and vibrant hubs within our cities that accommodate our ever changing needs by providing public space at many levels and by fusing outdated concepts of high-rise towns into a vertical city and delivered a talk for TEDx in Shanghai.[16] The full paper 'City Hub' was published by the CTBUH in November 2016.[17]

In 2016, Griffiths led Aedas to the seventh world’s largest architectural practices, with 1250 staff and 12 offices.[18]

Griffiths-Roch Foundation

In 2009, Griffiths established the Griffiths-Roch Foundation to purchase and restore historic buildings in the St. Davids peninsula of Pembrokeshire, Wales as luxury hotels. In 2012 the Foundation completed restoration upon the 12th century Grade 1 listed Roch Castle and Grade 2* listed former Tudorbethan vicarage of Penrhiw. These two historic buildings are operated by the Retreats Group as Roch Castle Hotel and Penrhiw Hotel. A further property in St Davids, the 18th century Grade 2 listed Twr y Felin windmill and hotel has completed restoration and opened in 2016.[19]

In 2015, Griffiths established the Oriel Gallery at Twr y Felin Hotel.[19] The gallery's permanent collection complements the Graham Sutherland collection held at the adjacent Oriel y Parc Gallery and Visitor Centre. The collection includes work of contemporary urban artists including Harry Adams, Phil Ashcroft, Mr Jago, Remi Rough and Xens, who were commissioned to create work inspired by the Pembrokeshire landscape.[20] Charles Edwards, aka Pure Evil, also created nine pieces of work portraying famous Welsh people for the gallery [21] which also houses the work of his father John Edwards. The gallery also owns a large collection of the work of Brendan Stuart Burns, Welsh Artist of the Year 2003, who created during his two-year residency in 2008/09 at the Oriel y Parc Gallery in St Davids, focusing upon Caerfai Bay. These works are exhibited at the nearby Penrhiw Hotel.[22]

Honours

In 2012, Griffiths was named Honorary Fellow of University of Wales, Trinity Saint David in recognition of his contribution in restoring important historic buildings in Wales as exclusive five star hotels and retreats.[23] In 2014, Griffiths was named Honorary Fellow of Cardiff University, Wales.[24]

References
  1. The 100 largest architecture firms in the world WA100 2014
  2. "Ia Appointments (Free information from Companies House)".
  3. "World-renowned architect Keith Griffiths has a dream for Pembrokeshire". Wales Online news. 29 April 2009.
  4. "Award-winning architect shares insights into urban planning - StJohns". www.joh.cam.ac.uk. Retrieved 2 October 2018.
  5. "The Hong Kong Institutes of Architects - List of Architectural Practices". 218.188.25.84. Retrieved 2 October 2018.
  6. "Q&A: Keith Griffiths, Aedas". 19 November 2014.
  7. "- Millennium Group". www.millenniumgroup.net. Retrieved 2 October 2018.
  8. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 19 May 2014. Retrieved 19 May 2014.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  9. Sinclair 2005, p. 176.
  10. "Hong Kong multimillionaire favorite architect". 10 November 2011.
  11. "Building directory". EMPORIS GMBH, Germany. Retrieved 17 May 2014.
  12. "Upscaling for the asian century". [Architectural Review, EMAP], UK. Retrieved 4 December 2013.
  13. "AD Interviews: Keith Griffiths, Chairman of Aedas, on Approaching Densification in London". 22 July 2014. Retrieved 22 July 2014.
  14. "Aedas snaps up RHWL". Retrieved 22 June 2014.
  15. "Honorary Advisors". Retrieved 18 March 2016.
  16. "Surprising Cities/Keith Griffiths/TEDxFuxingPark". Retrieved 18 March 2016.
  17. "City Hubs/Keith Griffiths" (PDF). Retrieved 7 November 2016.
  18. "WA100 2016: The Big List". The World's Largest Architecture Practices. UK: Building Design. 18 December 2015. Retrieved 25 April 2016.
  19. "St Davids landmark to be transformed into luxury hotel". 28 January 2015.
  20. "Hotel design: Twr y Felin Hotel". 22 July 2016. Retrieved 22 April 2017.
  21. "Exclusive Pure Evil pieces go on display at new art hotel". Retrieved 20 December 2016.
  22. "Hide away in luxury near St Davids". 28 January 2015.
  23. Hui, Jerry (February 2014). " Building Cultural Landscape ". Capital Entrepreneur , p. 55
  24. "Honoring Exceptional Individuals". Archived from the original on 26 July 2014. Retrieved 17 July 2014.

Further reading
  • Sinclaire, Kevin (2005). Making Connections: Aedas architects in Asia. Aedas. ISBN 978-9-889-88080-4.
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