This site is an archive of material charting the continuing work and design research of Karl Singporewala. The catalogues of drawings are continually being updated, offering the user a chance to peruse an imageography of past, present and future projects, drawing styles, exhibitions and discourse. Architects are rarely authors of buildings, as they are ultimately constructed by others. The only thing they can truly command is their drawings. |
Doppel Communion wins RWA Art Prize
December 2020
Karl's new work, Doppel Communion, has won the inaugural Black Asian and Minoroty Ethnic Art Prize at the Royal West of England Academy of Art at this year’s open exhibition. Many thanks to the judges and team at the RWA. The exhibition opens 2 January 2020.
Editions are available for sale direct from the Royal West of England Academy of Art.
The King of Spades - TLC Charity Auction
December 2020
Karl has created a new unique art work for a charity auction to raise funds for Transplant Links Community. 54 artists and celebrities have been selected each to create a artwork based on a deck of cards. To his delight, Karl was given the King of Spades.
The piece is to be auctioned live on Friday 11 December online by Ewbank's Auction House from 9.30am.
The Hawksmoor Collection
September 2020
For this year's Article 25 10x10 art auction Karl created a series of brass etching studies of the front elevations of Hawkmoor’s six churches designed and built as part of the 1711 parliament Act for the building of Fifty New Churches in the Cities of London and Westminster or the Suburbs thereof. The auction raised over £34,000 for the charity. Congratulations to the lucky bidder.
Rose Vitrine Studies
March 2020
New small affordable studies for sale.
Charity Auction for new work at RIBA
November 2019
Two pieces at Royal West Academy Open 167
October 2019
La flèche de Notre-Dame de Paris
June 2019
Karl's new piece La flèche de Notre-Dame de Paris is to be featured in the entrance foyer of the Royal West Academy of Art to coincide with a new major exhibition charting the history of fire in British art from 1692 - 2019.
Originally created as study piece with Anthony Grieveson, the sculpture is a to-scale depiction of the spire at Notre-Dame in Paris which was destroyed by fire in April 2019.
The exhibition Fire: Flashes to Ashes will run from 15 June - 1 September 2019. Other artists included in the exhibition include:
Roger Ackling, William Bankes Fortescue RWA RBA, Wilhelmina Barns-Graham CBE RWA Hon, Siân Bowen, Sophie Clements, John Cleveley the Elder, John Robert Cozens, John Collier OBE RP ROI, Mat Collishaw, Stephen Cripps, Jeremy Deller, Toni Davey RWA, Michael Faraday, Stanhope Alexander Forbes RA RWA, Douglas Gordon, Ralph Hedley RBA, Susan Hiller, David Inshaw RWA, John Latham, Aoife van Linden Tol, John Martin, Anthony McCall, Nadège Mériau, John Minton, Catherine Morland, David Nash RA, John Nash CBE RA, Rachael Nee RWA, Cornelia Parker OBE RA, Sarah Pickering, James Pimperton, John Piper CH, James Baker Pyne RBA, Eric Ravilious, Claude Rogers OBE RWA, Aura Satz, Godfried Schalcken, Samuel Scott, Rolinda Sharples RBA Hon, Tim Shaw RA RWA Hon, Stanley Spencer CBE RA, Emma Stibbon RA RWA, Marianne Stokes, Graham Sutherland OM, J. M. W. Turner RA, Karl Weschke, Joseph Wright of Derby ARA.
Architecture will be the death of me
February 2019
Architecture will be the death of me is a new sculpture made from acrylic and wax.
Click the image for more information.
Postcards from the Edge I & II sold at auction
December 2018
An edition of Postcard from the Edge I and II has been sold at auction for the charity Article 25. The piece was exhibited and sold at a live auction held at Twenty Two Bishopsgate London. Congratulations to the lucky bidder.
TLC Playing Cards for sale
November 2018
You can now purchase a deck of playing cards featuring all the art works produced for the TLC chairty auction. Highlights include Grayson Perry's Joker, Quentin Blake's King of Hearts, Dan Hiller's King of Diamonds, Katie Ponder's Queen of Hearts, Remy Nurse's Seven of Clubs and a painting by Patrick Stewart for the back of every card.
The Bus Scenario at Royal West Academy of Art (RWA)
October 2018
An edition of The Bus Scenario is being sold and exhibited at the Royal West Academy of Art (RWA Bristol) until December. Karl is proud to be exhibiting along side longtime friend and collaborator Jose Garrido.
Ace of Diamonds - TLC Charity Auction
August 2018
Karl is to design an art work for a charity auction to raise funds for Transplant Links Community. 52 artists and celebrities have been selected each to create a artwork based on a deck of cards. To his delight, Karl was given the Ace of Diamonds.
Others included in the exhibition and auction are:
Grayson Perry CBE RA, Sir Patrick Stewart OBE, Sir Quentin Blake CBE FCSD FRSL RDI, Baroness Floella Benjamin, Joanna Lumley OBE FRGS, Bear Grylls, Jake and Dinos Chapman, Lizzie Riches, Dynamo Magician, Yinka Shonibare MBE RA, Dan Hillier, Annie Boisseau RBA, Ade Adesina, Mick Rooney RA, Deborah Westmancoat, George Large RBA RI, Anthony Frost, Jackie Berridge, Carole Griffin RBA, Bridget Moore Sen RBA NEAC RWS, Celia Cook, Clare Mackie, Holly Frean, Christine Stark, Francesca Centioni, Sonia Martin, John Nolan, Aimee Jewitt-Harris, Fraser Crawford, Nana Shiomi, Robert Fitzmaurice, Emma D’Arcey, Anastasia Lewis, Hazel Partridge, Jem Stevens, Richard Galloway, Tamsin Relly, Fiona Bradford, Sophie Molyneux, John Renshaw, John Hainsworth, Martin Ridgwell RE, James Faure-Walker, Peter Rasmussen, Vanessa Gardiner, Sue Munson, John Howard, Peggy Cozzi, Katie Ponder, Jennie Jewitt-Harris, Sharon Drew, Martin Leman, Remy Nurse, Lars Fassinger, Alexander Vorobyev, Hannah Kokoschka, Sasha Mataya, The Baron Gilvan, Brendan Neiland, Ian Chamberlain, Peter Randall-Page
The piece Karl has created will be exhibited at Ewbank's Auction House from 8th - 12th October. The live auction will proceed at 7pm on the 12th October.
Core and Shell at The Prince's Trust for INTBAU
June 2018
Core and Shell has been exhibited and sold at the The Prince's Trust INTBAU exhibition on London Identity in association with the London Festival of Architecture 2018. All proceeds will go to the charity.
Boris Johnson, Brexit is not a V sign from the cliffs of Dover
April 2018
The Interpretor has been featured on Astragal pages of the Architects Journal thanks to recent speech by Boris Johnson.
The Jubilee Stations at OLQOH
March 2018
Fifteen art works created by Karl and 300+ pupils at Our Lady Queen of Heaven Primary School in West Sussex to celebrate their 60th anniversary. Click image for more photographs.
The Interpretor - A Brexit Monument / Memorial
March 2018
Karl and Anthony Grieveson have been shortlisted for the international Brexit Monument (Memorial) competition organised by the Paris School of Architecture.
New Beckenham Canopy Design
February 2018
With collaborator Anthony Grieveson, Karl has designed a new canopy for Beckenham Green in Bromley.
Dissemination for Amsterdam Lighting Festival
January 2018
Karl has been helping sculptor Tim Morgan produce an entry for the 2018 Amsterdam Lighting Festival. Dissemination uses glass rods and fibre optics to transmit light / shadow / messages from one location to other.
Lilibet's Legacy to be auctioned for charity
December 2017
For 2017's 10x10 Article 25 charity auction Karl was asked to create an artwork based around the London Olympic site which includes the Queen Elizabeth Park. Karl's sculpture, Lilibet's Legacy will be auctioned live following an exhibition at the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) headquarters.
New work at the Camden Image Gallery
November 2017
The Bus Scenario - a new sculpture by Karl will be for sale at the Camden Image Gallery in London, UK during the month of November. The exhibition will be organised by ArtCan and curated by artist Kate Enters.
Exhibition at Saatchi Gallery London
September 2017
Karl will be exhibiting four pieces of work at the Saatchi Gallery London until 17th September 2017. His work will be represented by the Saphira & Ventura Gallery New York and will be hung along side pieces by Keith Haring, Suzi Fadel Nassif and Neil Kerman. Visit Gallery 2 to see his work.
Franklin's Morals of Chess (Ruby)
Architecture aims for Eternity
Double win at the RICS Awards 2017
May 2017
Karl and iRAL are delighted that the Sainsbury Wellcome Centre for Neural Circuits and Behaviour at UCL has been awarded the 2017 RICS Project of the Year (London) Winner and is also winner of the RICS Design throught Innovation Award 2017.
The judges described the Sainsbury Wellcome Centre for Neural Circuits and Behaviour as highly rational, very efficient and beautifully detailed. The judges expressed the design to be highly adaptable, but also attractive to the world’s leading scientists to come and work there. They also said that the laboratories are a unique combination of facilities, for theoretical and experimental scientists to work collaboratively, and are the result of intensive research.
Click here for the press release
IABSE 2017 - Published work
April 2017
Karl has co-authored and published his first paper at the IABSE 2017 Conference in Bath. Based around 'Creativity and Collaboration'.
Titled - Translucent Pre-fabricated Structural Cast Glass: A new unitised U-channel assembly, he will present at the IABSE Conference 19-20th April which is focused upon instilling imagination and innovation in structural design. He will describe a new type of structural cast glass assembly with high thermal performance, good light transmission and acoustic rating that forms a large part of the Sainsbury Wellcome Centre facades. The assembly represents an innovation in large unitized U-channel cast glass elements that have been fabricated and sealed off-site and installed on site in modules.
Malta Farsons project at MIPIM
March 2017
The listed Maltese Brewery project Karl leads on at iRAL - Farsons Business Park and Old Brewhouse will be showcased at MIPIM 2017 in Cannes as part of the UK Department of International Trade Pavilion.
Photo: Trident Business Park and Farsons Brewhouse - model by iRAL
The Guns of Brixton
November 2016
For this year's 10x10 Article 25 charity auction Karl was asked to create an artwork based around the area of Brixton, London.The Guns of Brixton is what he produced.
The piece will be auctioned on Tuesday 29th November during an exhibition at the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA HQ) Portland Place, London.
To date, Karl's art work has raised over £10,000 for the chairty.
Other artists raising money for Article 25 this year include: Anthony Gormley, Rafael Viñoly, Eric Parry, Ed Cullinan, Wolfgang Buttress, Norman Ackroyd, Ian Ritchie and many others.
Click the image below to find out more about this year's piece:
Palmyra Unbuilt selected as a 'highlight' of RWA exhibition
October 2016
Palmyra Unbuilt, Syria has been selected as a top 10 highlight from this year's RWA exhibition in Bristol. To read the full article at Epigram, click the image below.
Double win at the LEAF Awards 2016
October 2016
Karl and iRAL are delighted that the Sainsbury Wellcome Centre for Neural Circuits and Behaviour at UCL is the 2016 Overall Winner of the Leading European Architecture Forum (LEAF) Awards and also winner of the LEAF Façade Design & Engineering Award.
Winning trophies from the LEAF awards are beautiful vases designed by the late by Dame Zaha Hadid
BCI Major Building of the Year Award Winner 2016
October 2016
The Sainsbury Wellcome Centre for Neural Circuits and Behaviour at UCL has won the major construction prize at this year's British Construction Industry (BCI) Awards.
The judges comment: “Poetic and pragmatic, a very worthy winner” –
Karl and the iRAL team is proud to celebrate the 2016 BCI Major Building of the Year Award (over £50m) with all those involved. A great team effort.
Karl Singporewala with Ian Ritchie, Gordon Talbot, Chris Russell and the rest of the SWC team
Royal West Academy, Bristol 2016
September 2016
An edition of Palmyra Unbuilt, Syria will be exhibited at the Royal West Academy, Bristol until the end of November 2016.
Architecture Room, Summer Exhibition 2016
August 2016
Palmyra Unbuilt and Devlin's Piers in the Architecture Room at the Summer Exhibition 2016
Royal Academicians Louisa Hutton and Ian Ritchie
Palmyra Unbuilt and Devlin's Piers in the Architecture Room at the Summer Exhibition 2016
Royal Academy of Arts, Summer Exhibition 2016
June 2016
Karl has had two pieces selected for the 2016 Royal Academy of Arts Summer Exhibition:
Palmyra Unbuilt, Syria and Devlin's Piers.
Palmyra Unbuilt, Syria (2016)
April 2016
One of Karl's current projects at Ian Ritchie Architects is the masterplan for the Old Royal Naval College in Greenwich. It's a UNESCO World Heritage Site in London. Working on site and falling in love with the buildings by Wren and Hawksmoor got him thinking about all the UNESCO world heritage sites he has not yet visited in the world.
"one day I would love to see them all"
Sadly, one such UNESCO site in Syria was largely destroyed during the current civil war; 2000 years of history just swept away.
"It's another one of those occasions where I struggle to vocalise how it makes me feel... so I made something"
SWC at UCL featured on Architecture Today
March 2016
Sainsbury Wellcome Centre for Neural Circuits and Behaviour at UCL just made the front cover of March's issue of Architecture Today. You can read Peter Cook's review of our building here.
Devlin's Piers (2016) - Revisiting Deformation Histories
February 2016
First shots of Devlin's Piers added to catalogue. More information soon.
Article 25 raises £51,000 in 10x10 artist auction
January 2016
Huge congratulations to the highest bidder of Till death us do part. Selling for £1,700.00, Article 25 raised a total of £51,000.00 on the night at the RIBA on Portland Place, London. The money raised at 10x10 London 2015 will support Article 25’s healthcare building projects in the developing world.
Till death us do part
November 2015
For this year's 10x10 Article 25 charity auction Karl was asked to create an artwork based around the Tower of London. Till death us do part is what he produced.
The piece will be auctioned on Tuesday 1st December during an exhibition at the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA HQ) Portland Place, London.
Other artists raising money for Article 25 include: Anthony Gormley, Rafael Viñoly, Eric Parry, Ed Cullinan, Wolfgang Buttress, Norman Ackroyd, Ian Ritchie and many others.
feature projects: