Thomas Heatherwick has been heralded as one of Britain’s most original creative talents. He is the founder of Heatherwick Studio which has brought design, architecture and engineering, along with a dash of sculpture and urban planning, all under the roof of a single practice, and won a global reputation for transformation, experimentation and surprise.

In July 2012 at the opening ceremony to the London Olympics the world gasped as Heatherwick Studio’s cauldron came together from 204 copper elements that were set alight and rose up to merge into one giant flame. That same year the studio’s sleek update of the Routemaster bus arrived on the streets of London. Combining the practicality of a double staircase with retro glamour and a quietly purring hybrid engine, the New Bus for London has succeeded in its aim of restoring dignity to public transport.

The studio is now working on large-scale projects across the world, including a new park and performance space on the Hudson River in New York, two mixed-use developments in Shanghai and a museum of contemporary African art in Cape Town.