David Chipperfield, born in London in 1953, studied architecture at the Kingston School of Art and the Architectural Association School of Architecture in London before founding his own practice in 1985. In addition to design work, David Chipperfield has taught and lectured worldwide at schools of architecture. In 2012 he curated the 13th International Architecture Exhibition of the Venice Biennale. Among the accolades he received is the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany awarded in 2009. In 2010 he was knighted for services to architecture in the UK and Germany. In 2011 he received the RIBA Royal Gold Medal for Architecture, and in 2013, the Praemium Imperiale from the Japan Art Association, both given in recognition of a lifetime's work.