The Glasgow School of Art

Tom Emerson, 6a Architects
'We Were Never Modern' 

Tom Emerson (b. Paris 1970) studied architecture at the University of Bath, the Royal College of Art and the University of Cambridge. In 2010, he was appointed professor in architecture at the ETH in Zurich following 10 years of teaching at the Architectural Association in London and the University of Cambridge. He has lectured widely in the UK and published articles on architecture, literature and art.

6a Architects was founded by Tom Emerson and Stephanie Macdonald in 2001 after meeting at the Royal College of Art. The practice works at varied scales from product design to large scale urban projects but has developed a particular reputation for contemporary arts buildings and working in sensitive historic environments. Recent projects include the critically acclaimed extension of the South London Gallery and Raven Row, a new contemporary art centre in Spitalfields. 6a Architects is currently working on new galleries for the V&A Museum and the Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA). Recently 6a Architects has won three major architectural competitions: a new sustainable country house and park in Cambridgeshire, the redevelopment of a large industrial complex in Oval for the London Development Agency and a new building for Churchill College in Cambridge. 6a has won several European design awards including an RIBA Award 2011 and New London Architecture Award 2011 and has been published and exhibited extensively.

Hosted by The Mackintosh School of Architecture, the Architecture Friday Lecture Series looks beyond buildings and makes connections between architecture and wider issues like culture and the urban environment.