Form, matter and David Chipperfield

In his introduction toForm Matters, the catalogue accompanying his Design Museum exhibition, which began in London in October 2009 and culminated its tour in Italy earlier this year, David Chipperfield is at once very clear to state that ‘the work of an architect is measured by built work’; but he also emphasises that the body of work shown is ‘the consequence not of individual genius, but of the collaborative efforts of our office and our partners, unified in the belief that architecture can pursue ideas, concern itself with its physical potential and maintain the economic criteria that make these projects possible’. It is a tribute that also implies the organisational structure required to run offices in London, Berlin, Milan and Shanghai and to design and build projects in Europe, North America, Asia and Africa.