Architecture Now – Pip Cheshire tribute

A tribute to Pip Cheshire: Notes on a life lived with gusto - Pete Bossley

Pete Bossley — Mon, 13 Apr 2026 21:00:00 +0000

David Mitchell. Ian Athfield. Marsh Cook. Now, Pip. Gone. For them, architecture was much more than a profession; it was life. Friendships, family, humanity, social agitation, personal ethics, politics and more, all entwined into a lifetime of exploration, debate, ideas and arguments. An enthusiasm to rub up against authority, to do things differently, to make lives better.

So where to begin? Fifty years of friendship, laughter, a few tears and the occasional argument. Shared joys and fears, a love of risks being taken and a dislike of sorry conservatism, a long-standing mutual respect.

A tribute to Pip Cheshire: Andrew Barrie

Andrew Barrie — Mon, 13 Apr 2026 21:00:00 +0000

To be in Pip’s orbit was to enter a world of stories. Arriving in Pip’s office after my years in Japan, I had left a world where ideas and explanations, even when they were metaphorical or poetic, were liked best when they were instantly understandable and had a sense of inevitability. With Pip, every idea he presented, whether making a design decision or arguing a point of view, was explained through or supported by a story — of a previous project, of an encounter with a client or a contractor, of an experience while travelling.

He was a natural-born raconteur and stories flowed out of him. He took as much pleasure in the stories of others as in his own, and a long design discussion or Friday night drinks played out as a ping-pong ofstories around whatever events or ideas were in the air. He once called me into a meeting to tell one of his favourite stories from my Japan days — about dealing, after a 72-hour work bender, with a rat trapped in my bathtub. It was not clear why that peculiar story was needed in that moment, but it presumably illustrated some point he was trying to convey to the meeting.

A tribute to Pip Cheshire: Christina van Bohemen

Mon, 13 Apr 2026 21:00:00 +0000

I first met Pip at a job interview on the last working day of 1996. He rang me at the end of that day to offer me a position at Jasmax. To begin my architectural career working closely with Pip was one of the best Christmas gifts I could have received — and it truly was a gift that kept on giving.

We later worked together on NZIA matters, first when he was Auckland Chair and, then, President. His counsel was invaluable when I later took on the role of President myself.

A tribute to Pip Cheshire: Daijang Tai and Surita Manoa

Mon, 13 Apr 2026 21:00:00 +0000

Ocean and Sand - Daijing Tai:

Before I studied architecture, I had imagined what an architect would look like: Philip Johnson’s round glasses, grey hair, rolled-up sleeves, thumping fist, strong opinions and, importantly, brush always in hand. That was you, Pip, when I first saw you in the university studio two decades ago, waving your arms over a pinned-up drawing. Now I’m an architect, working alongside you, building on lands you once fought on, I am deeply proud and I will need those glasses soon, too.