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Broadcasting Place architect awarded honorary degree
Peter, who was born in Saxton and attended Tadcaster Grammar School, is a founding partner of the firm and is widely regarded as a key pioneer in the field of environmental design, with more than 30 years' experience in low energy architecture.
A trustee of the Yorkshire Sculpture Park and in charge of the architectural developments there, Peter was also involved in Stanbrook Abbey in North Yorkshire, a new monastery for a community of Benedictine nuns comprising residential accommodation, a church, chapter house and ancillary buildings.
He was also instrumental in the development of Leeds Met's Broadcasting Place, which was named the Best Tall Building in the World in 2011 by the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH).
Speaking about receiving the award, Peter said: "It really is a genuine honour to get this award. I've been very lucky and had a great career. I'm from just outside Leeds so it's really nice to be back here.
"It's a tough world out there for graduating architects but it was a tough world when I started, which was 1978, and we were in the depths of a recession then. It's quite a good discipline to start your career in a recession. To actually have to struggle a little bit isn't that bad and the good news is that it is much better than it was five years ago.
"Apart from getting the award for Broadcasting Place, our company's greatest achievement was getting the Stirling Prize for Architecture for the best building in Europe for a housing scheme in Cambridge which was the crowning glory after 25 years of practice.
"The most significant project we are now working on is the renovation of the Southbank Centre in London which is very high profile and that's a great honour to get that job. We're also working on a new engineering school for the University of Toronto."
In his firm's latest book, which Peter co-authored, entitled: 'Education, Architecture, Urbanism: Three University Projects', he discusses the link between his experience of growing up in Leeds and the development of Broadcasting Place's design and form.
Peter has been a Professor at the University of Bath for 12 years and he previously taught at the University of Oregon.
Educated at the University of Cambridge and Yale University, he established Feilden Clegg Bradley with Richard Feilden in 1978. The firm's designs have been recognised with numerous awards including in 2008 the prestigious RIBA Stirling Prize.
Past and present projects include the Central Office for the National Trust in Swindon, the Leventis Art Gallery in Cyprus, Gloucester Docks, a new school of architecture and planning at the University of British Columbia, and a 900-bed student housing scheme for the University of Seattle.
In addition Feilden Clegg Bradley has also been involved in charitable architectural work in Uganda, Malawi, Ethiopia, South Africa, Namibia, Yemen and Southern India. Through the Richard Feilden Foundation, the firm completed two schools in Uganda and are now working on a new vocational secondary school in the south west of the country.
Peter, who is a founding member of the British Council for School Environments, was also the primary author of 'Feilden Clegg Bradley: The Environmental Handbook'. Published in 2007, the book chronicles the firm's experience over the last three decades, while also serving as a key text book on leading-edge sustainable design.
He is the Sir Arthur Marshall visiting Professor of Sustainable Urban Design at the University of Cambridge and was made a Royal Designer for Industry in 2010.
Others receiving honorary degrees from Leeds Metropolitan include comedy writer and performer Barry Cryer OBE; Leeds businessman and charity activist, Edward Ziff and Olympic triathlon coach Malcolm Brown MBE.