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Colin was Emeritus Professor of Architecture and Urbanism at The Bartlett and widely respected as a visionary architect, urban planner and educator. He was celebrated for his commitment to challenging conventional architectural norms and pushing the boundaries of what buildings could be, notably with his acclaimed work, the Kunsthaus Graz. The award-winning art gallery in Graz, Austria – co-designed with Peter Cook and dubbed the ‘Friendly Alien' – is a striking example of his creative vision. Its biomorphic form and innovative façade became a landmark of contemporary architecture, embodying his belief that buildings should be playful, provocative and responsive to their surroundings.

In addition to his architectural practice, Colin was a dedicated and well-loved educator. He joined The Bartlett in 1998 and inspired generations of students for almost two decades with his distinctive approach to design. As Professor of Urban Design, he was instrumental in the formation and directorship of the Urban Design MArch and led the successful Unit 18 on the Architecture MArch programme for several years with a number of teaching partners. He continued his academic career at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, where he led their Architecture and Urbanism programme.

Colin inspired countless students and colleagues throughout his life, and his absence will be felt profoundly by all who were fortunate enough to know him. The tributes below shared by friends and colleagues are a testament to his impact and legacy.

Jonathan Kendall

I was deeply saddened to learn of Colin's death. He taught me at The Bartlett and for more than dozen years afterwards we worked together as colleagues. It was a privilege – and a continuation of my education – to teach alongside him. He was urbane and charming and had a globetrotting and exotic backstory including his work with Archigram, planning mega-projects in the desert for Parsons and delivering La Villette with Bernard Tschumi.

Other personality types with that back-catalogue of achievements might have been aloof and arrogant, but Colin was quite the opposite. He was a relentless optimist, generous with his time and attention and astonishingly open-minded. He nurtured creative, exploratory and experimental approaches to architecture; the Urban Design master’s programme he created was very much in his own image as one that tried to break down boundaries of discipline and scale. He was not in the least didactic. His approach to teaching was to support students to explore and express agendas responding to their passions, not his.

I know, from reactions I have already seen, how many friends, students and former colleagues now dispersed around the world are remembering him with immense fondness as a key person in their lives and careers. We kept in intermittent contact through his subsequent time in Hong Kong, and more recently after he returned to Paris. My deepest condolences to Dominique and the wider family.

Marcos Cruz, Professor of Innovative Environments

Colin was known to everybody for his exceptional kindness towards students and colleagues, his sharp eye for good design and his great intellectual sharpness when commenting on work.

I recall Colin in his corner room on the first floor of Wates House. The room was white and rather minimal with only a few big drawings of student work hanging on the walls. The room was occupied by a very large empty table with a black telephone, a few pens and a black lamp where Colin sat. Besides being his working space and where he gave tutorials, it was also used for other situations, including a portfolio review and, most importantly, for the meetings of the Kunsthaus Graz competition project which was entirely conceived in his room.

Another amazing memory goes back to the International Lecture Series where Colin was a regular attendee. At the end of each lecture Colin always had an incredible question to ask. With a friendly smile on his face, he articulated each thought by contextualising it historically and putting the finger on a topic that was critical to the whole architecture scene. It became such a habit that at some point we suggested that somebody should one day write a book on ‘Colin Fournier – Questions of Architecture’, which we were certain would be a great success.

Colin will be greatly missed. 

Pablo Sendra, Associate Professor in Planning and Urban Design

It was very sad to hear about Colin’s death. He taught me on the Urban Design MArch at The Bartlett and I have many fond memories of him.

Colin was a kind person. Despite the programme’s large cohort, he maintained a strong pastoral care role and in his ‘eyeball sessions’ made time for one-to-one conversations with every single student. He had kept the creative and fresh thinking from his time with Archigram, encouraging us to be experimental and have fun while thinking about urban design. His ‘friendly alien’, as he called the Kunsthaus in Graz, was a testimony of his approach to design. 

Colin showed us the diversity of The Bartlett. During the course, we had contributions from The Centre for Advanced Spatial Analysis (CASA), The Bartlett School of Planning, the Energy Institute and Space Syntax. Colin has had an impact on many of his students and he will be missed.

Image: Colin Fournier in his Kunsthaus Graz, 2023 (Kunsthaus Graz/J.J. Kucek)