TRIBUTES have been paid to the Scottish architect Gareth Hoskins, who died at the weekend aged 48.
The man responsible for the award-winning redesign of the National Museum of Scotland failed to recover after suffering a heart attack at a fencing event in Edinburgh on January 3.
Hoskins trained as an architect at the Glasgow School of Art and at Florence University. Following six years as an associate with Penoyre and Prasad in London, he set up Hoskins Architects in Glasgow in 1998 and built up one of the leading design practices in the UK.
Hoskins was an advisor to the Royal Institute of British Architects, a design panel member for Architecture and Design Scotland, and between 2006 and 2010 held the post of the Scottish Government’s National Healthcare Design Champion.
He won the UK Young Architect of the Year award in 2000, UK Architect of the Year in 2006, and was awarded an OBE for services to architecture in 2010.
Hoskins Architects issued a statement confirming his death, adding: “It is with great sadness that we confirm that Gareth Hoskins OBE, the founder and Managing Director of Hoskins Architects, has died.
“Gareth, who was 48, took ill at an event in Edinburgh on Sunday 3rd January and, despite receiving the best care possible in Edinburgh Royal Infirmary, he passed away on Saturday.
“Everyone at Hoskins Architects is deeply shocked and saddened by this untimely loss. Our thoughts are with Gareth’s family.”
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon was among those paying their condolences. She tweeted: “Very sad to hear of the death of Gareth Hoskins, one of Scotland’s finest architects. My thoughts with his family.”
President of the The Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland Willie Watt said: “Gareth’s prolific and award-winning firm has been among the leading architectural practices in Scotland for nearly two decades.
“Gareth’s international reputation was growing steadily and he was a tremendous ambassador for Scottish architecture. Scottish architecture is much the lesser with his parting.”
Fiona Hyslop, Cabinet Secretary for Culture, Europe and External Affairs, said: “Gareth Hoskins was an outstanding architect. His death at such a young age is a shock to the profession and a great loss for our country.
“His many highly-regarded projects have contributed a great deal to improving the quality of the built environment here in Scotland as well as raising the profile of Scottish architecture internationally.’
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