Royal College of Art Honorands are awarded for their significant contribution to culture and industry both internationally and in the UK. Leading figures from the spheres of fine art, design, fashion, textiles and the applied arts and humanities and philanthropy are among those honoured by the College in recognition of their achievements this year.
The highly distinguished figures will join nearly 500 students who are receiving postgraduate degrees from Sir James Dyson at his first graduation ceremony as RCA Provost at the Royal Albert Hall in London.
Sir Idris Pearce CBE, former president of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors and Chairman of the Buildings and Estates Committee; Edmund de Waal, potter, ceramic artist and acclaimed author; and Professor Saeed Zahedi are appointed Senior Fellows. Those receiving Honorary Fellowships include Professor David Gann of Imperial College London, Design Council Chief Executive David Kester, philanthropist Theresa Sackler and businessman and collector Nelson Woo.
German-born photographer, sculptor and filmmaker Thomas Demand studied at Dusseldorf Academy and Goldsmiths College. In 2004 he represented Germany at the São Paulo Biennale. Exhibitions include the first solo exhibition by a contemporary artist at the Museum of Modern Art, New York, following its reopening in 2005. Currently his work is the subject of a major solo show at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo.
Thomas Heatherwick RDI has had an illustrious career as a designer, engineer, architect and artist. His work includes the UK Pavilion at the 2010 Shanghai Expo and redesigning London's iconic Routemaster bus. An alumnus of the RCA, Heatherwick received an MA in Furniture in 1994, the same year that he set up his eponymous studio. The coveted D&AD Yellow Pencil (1997) and Prince Philip Designers Prize (2006) are among numerous accolades and awards received by Heatherwick.
One of Britain's most highly regarded structural engineers, Professor Tony Hunt’s career in engineering spans more than 50 years, playing a key role in developing the structural style most associated with British High Tech and the work of Norman Foster, Richard Rogers and Nicholas Grimshaw. His work includes the award-winning Schlumberger Research Facility in Cambridge, Waterloo International Station and The Eden Project, Cornwall.
Kazuyo Sejima was born in Ibaraki prefecture in Japan. She launched her own practice in 1987 and was named ‘young architect of the year’ in Japan in 1992. Awards include the Schelling Architekturpries in 2000, the Rolf Schock Prize in 2005 and in 2010 Sejima won the Pritzker Prize with Ryue Nishizawa, with whom she co-founded celebrated practice SANAA. That same year, Sejima was appointed Director of the Architecture Sector for the Venice Biennale, becoming the first woman ever selected for this position.