Station specialist Jan Landolt dies at 58

Adam Brown, co-founder, Landolt + Brown

Jan and I first met in the school classroom at the age of seven and remained close friends during our university years, often helping each other with Rotring pens and tracing sheet as his deadlines at Canterbury were looming, or mine at Edinburgh University were on the horizon. As Jan set off for Hong Kong in 1992, I started as a Part 2 assistant with Jamie Troughton and John McAslan (latterly John McAslan + Partners) where I stayed, as Jan did at Foster + Partners, for the next 15 years. We launched our own practice in 2006 from a tiny shared room in a tumble-down warehouse behind Fosters’ office in Battersea, with one assistant, moving to our own studio in Borough Market in 2007. The practice has remained Southwark-based ever since.

Jan’s outstanding technical capabilities and his understanding of complex project environments were major contributors to Landolt + Brown’s reputation in the infrastructure and regeneration sectors. He led several of the practice’s most complex commissions, including three surface stations on the eastern arm of the Elizabeth Line and the fit-out of Bank Bloomberg Underground Station, as well as development-related projects for NR property, TfL property, LCR and Solum.

Under Jan’s direction, the practice has received numerous design accolades including Civic Trust, RIBA National, World Architecture News and New London Architecture awards, along with several construction industry awards.

Jan was a man of great humanity and kindness. He was a deep thinker and always approached his work with great foresight, fighting tirelessly for the sake of good design. In the last few days, so many have written to say they learned so much from Jan. As a dear friend, he will leave great emptiness at home and in our studio. As an architect, I will be much the poorer without his exceptional ability and knowledge to lean on. He was the wisest of sounding boards and I will always remember him as my own right hand.

Jan is survived by his wife, Petra, and three grown children, all of whom have gone on to become talented designers in their own right, due no doubt to Jan’s passion for design excellence.

Mike Jelliffe and Jonathan Parr, senior partners, Foster + Partners

Having first met Jan while he was a very capable year-out student working at Powell & Moya, he was an obvious choice when he applied to join the young Foster Asia office, in Hong Kong, in 1992. Right from the start, Jan was fully engaged in the design and technical aspects of Chek Lap Kok airport’s vertical and horizontal transport system. This was no mean feat for a young architect who had recently completed his diploma at Canterbury. He went on to join the Kowloon and China Railway Station team and, once again, excelled in designing all the internal cladding systems and took on the demanding site supervision role for the project.

Outside the office, Jan and his partner Petra were a pivotal part of the Foster Asia family, which played such an important role in our lives while living and working in Hong Kong. Jan had a brilliant sense of humour as well as a love for life and fun, which was ever-present.

Source:Shutterstock/cktravels.com

Tottenham Hale bus station by Landolt + Brown

On returning to Foster + Partners’ London office in 1996, Jan joined the Citibank team designing the first office building in the second phase of Canary Wharf. Here, he brought all the skills that he had learnt in Hong Kong to the fast-track construction environment of the UK, and was soon leading detailed design sessions with engineers and contractors. He was in his element, and his success meant he quickly took on a major role, leading the coordination on the HSBC tower in Canada Square, which he saw through from inception to completion. While doing all this, he would also be designing and building his own home projects for his growing young family. His energy and commitment were unquestionable, and he always found the time to mentor the younger architects within his teams.

Jan was soon promoted to partner and worked extensively on projects on the east coast of the US, where his talents quickly captured the attention of our American clients. He was sorely missed when he left Foster + Partners in 2006 to set up Landolt + Brown with his long-time friend, Adam.

Jan was a talented and intuitive designer with an incredible ability to see his way through any technical problem, while always remaining an exceptional friend to so many at Foster + Partners.

Benny O’Looney, founder, Benny O'Looney Architects

Jan and Adam seemed, to me, a high-powered partnership –Jan bringing significant technical experience from his years at Foster + Partners, and Adam bringing a strong sense of design and empathy with historic buildings from his senior role at John McAslan’s.

Their different backgrounds complemented each other, giving energy and momentum to their work with a particular passion for detailing. A part of Jan Landolt’s legacy is a series of striking, modern, railway projects in London used by hundreds of people each day.

Jack Pringle, RIBA chair

Jan was a clearly talented technical architect who made a great contribution to the fabric of London’s modern transport network. My thoughts are with all those he knew and worked with.

Landolt + Brown’s West Hampstead Thameslink Station in north London