Modernist architect and university professor / Venezuela
Jimmy Alcock
Caracas-born architect behind the Poliedro de Caracas and the Parque Cristal buildingBorn 1932The architect
Jimmy Alcock
Jimmy Alcock (Walter James Alcock Pérez) was born in Caracas in 1932 and is often described as a British-Venezuelan architect. He studied in Caracas and in England, then graduated from the School of Architecture and Urbanism at the Universidad Central de Venezuela in 1959. After working with professor José Miguel Galia, he opened his own practice in 1962 and later taught at his alma mater.
His buildings are noted for clear, strongly defined volumes and for a close relationship with their setting. Much of his best-known work stands in Caracas, from the commercial complex at Las Mercedes to a geodesic sports dome and a glass-clad office cube facing Parque del Este. His peers have recognised him several times, including with Venezuela’s National Architecture Prize in 1993.
- Born
- 14 September 1932, Caracas
- Studied
- Universidad Central de Venezuela (architect, 1959)
- Own practice
- Founded 1962; later joined by architect Frank Alcock San Román (1988)
- Recognition
- National Architecture Prize of Venezuela (1993); Medalla Páez de las Artes (2020)
Selected works
Buildings to know.
Photo: EL Guarito, CC BY-SA 3.0
1969–1971 (design) · Las Mercedes, Caracas
Centro Comercial Paseo Las Mercedes
A commercial centre planned alongside the Holiday Inn hotel in the Las Mercedes district. Part of it now houses the Trasnocho Cultural, an arts space with cinema, theatre and galleries that opened in 2001.
Photo: Carlos E. Perez S.L, CC BY-SA 4.0
1974 · La Rinconada, Caracas
Poliedro de Caracas
A multi-purpose arena under a geodesic dome about 145 metres across, inspired by the ideas of Buckminster Fuller. Alcock led the design, working with Roberto Andrade and Héctor Hermida Díaz, and it was inaugurated in March 1974.
Photo: Wilfredor, CC0
1977–1986 · Los Palos Grandes, Caracas
Edificio Parque Cristal
A 17-storey cube-shaped office building wrapped in glass, facing Parque del Este. It occupies a full city block and includes passageways and a public plaza.
Image credits
- Poliedro de Caracas.jpg, by Carlos E. Perez S.L, CC BY-SA 4.0. View on Wikimedia Commons
- Jimmy Alcock portrait.jpg, by Clarissa Alcock Bronfman, CC BY-SA 4.0. View on Wikimedia Commons
- Paseo Las Mercedes Diciembre 2012 004.jpg, by EL Guarito, CC BY-SA 3.0. View on Wikimedia Commons
- Parque Cristal, Caracas.JPG, by Wilfredor, CC0. View on Wikimedia Commons
Sources
This profile is compiled from public sources and written in our own words.