Richard Rogers: My London

The architect chills out in Chelsea and wants to make the Tube free
Hannah Nathanson19 July 2013

Home is…

Wherever my family gather.

Where do you live?

In Chelsea, in a Georgian terrace. I love the views of the neighbouring green space (although I wish it were open to the public) and the light that fills the house.

Favourite pub?

My local, the Coopers Arms on Flood Street, for a pint of Young’s bitter.

First thing you do when you arrive back?

I always head up to our roof terrace and visit our son Bo’s memorial tree.

Best meal?

Lunch at The River Café is still perfection. The salmon baked in salt is fantastic and the ice cream irresistible. I love it best when my wife Ruthie is working there, and when I can sit outside by the vegetable garden enjoying the sunshine, river and company.

Building you’d like to buy?

I am very happy where I am but if I had to choose, Tate Modern.

Earliest memory?

I remember my mother taking me to see the Picasso show in the 1940s and I was impressed by the life and vibrancy of it all. It was a bit too avant-garde for most Londoners at the time but since then the city has become a centre for modern culture.

What would you do as Mayor for the day?

Create more public spaces for all to enjoy and offer free transport around the city. I would also set an affordable housing programme in motion. These are the most important issues our city is struggling with.

Last show you saw?

Written on Skin by George Benjamin, at the Royal Opera House, which was very impressive. I also thoroughly enjoyed a production of We Will Rock You by the children of Highbury Grove School not long ago. My granddaughter Ivy was particularly excellent.

Best piece of advice?

‘Be passionate about your work and your life’ was instilled in me by my mother Dada, who was a potter. She also introduced me to the arts and encouraged me to embrace the new.

Favourite discovery?

The Ranelagh Gardens in Chelsea provide plenty of opportunities to walk, think and relax.

Building you’d like to be locked in overnight?

That would have to be The River Café, as long as the kitchen had been left unlocked.

Favourite shops?

John Sandoe Books for a great range of literature, the personal service and the fact that they will find you anything. Issey Miyake for clothes, because the designs are simple and the pleats elegant; my favourite white shirts come from there. Miyake wanted my mother to be a model for him when she was 85!

What do you collect?

Paintings by friends and artists such as Philip Guston, Cy Twombly and Reinhardt Voight, as well as pre-Colombian sculpture.

What’s your biggest extravagance?

Travelling with my wife and holidays in Italy and Mexico with my family — there are 20 of us!

Who do you call when you want to have fun?

I don’t need to call anyone, I just walk along the South Bank from the Royal Festival Hall to Tower Bridge. In my opinion it is the best walk in the world, with so many shops, bars, cafés and cultural venues to visit.

At the moment you are….

Opening an exhibition for the Royal Academy of Arts about my work. I hope it will convey what I’ve tried to achieve as an architect and through my urbanism. I feel that what one stands for is more important than what one achieves.

Who’s your hero?

My parents, my wife, my kids and my grandchildren. Family is everything, although I’ve been fortunate enough to have worked with some of the most amazing minds over the years including Renzo Piano, John Young, Graham Stirk and Ivan Harbour.

Animal you’d like to be?

A bird so I could fly over our city and observe the life and architecture below. It would be a great way to gain access to London’s private green spaces.

Richard Rogers RA: Inside Out is at the Royal Academy of Arts until 13 October; adults £8 (royalacademy.org.uk)

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