Jan Kaplicky, an innovative architect who worked with both Norman Foster and Richard Rogers died on Wednesday in Prague. You may not have heard of Kaplicky, but you'll probably recognise a few of his buildings. The Czech designer's most famous work in the UK is probably the bubble-coated Selfridges building in Birmingham, but his practice, Future Systems, was also behind several London commissions. Chief among them is Lord's Media Centre. The futuristic space podule won the RIBA Stirling Prize for architecture in 1999. Other London landmarks include the floating bridge at Canary Wharf, New Look Oxford Street and the recently completed 367 Oxford Street. Kaplicky, who lived in London for 40 years, died aged 71 after collapsing on a Prague street. Many of Kaplicky's designs were just too bold to ever be built. Imagine the outcry if the Blob had been erected in Trafalgar Square.
