Image: Cmglee/Wikipedia
Irvine Sellar, the chairman of Sellar Group, died on Sunday aged 82 following a short illness. Sellar was best known for The Shard, which was completed in 2012.
He was a massive presence on the UK property scene and his son James will now become head of the Sellar Group which his father founded in 1991.
A spokesperson for Irvine Sellar said: “Irvine will always be remembered for his determination ‘against all odds’ to create and develop The Shard, a building that changed London’s skyline forever.
www.sellarproperty.com
“The property industry has lost an immense and irreplaceable character whose sheer grit and determination will leave a huge void in a sector known for big characters.”
His scheme for the UK’s tallest building was given the green light in November 2003. It was completed in 2012, after four years of construction.
Sellar leaves behind a wife, three children and five grandchildren.
Ken Shuttleworth, founder of architect Make, said: “Such terrible news to start the week to … Irvine Sellar passed away. Our thoughts are with his family. RIP Irvine we will all miss you.”
Co-founder of Exemplar and immediate past chairman of Westminster Property Association, Daniel Van Gelder, said: “Another week, another friend gone. RIP Irvine Sellar who made it from nothing, through nothing but tenacity and hard work.”
Southwark Council leader Peter John said on Twitter: “Very sad to learn of the death of Irvine Sellar, the man who changed the landscape of Southwark and London. A determined visionary.”
Stephen Pycroft, Mace’s executive chairman, said: “I was deeply saddened to hear of the sudden death of Irvine Sellar. He was one of life’s characters and The Shard epitomised the impact he made in London both as a developer and as a person. I came to know him well during the period when Mace were appointed to deliver The Shard and we developed a close working relationship.
“He was one of a kind. Above his desk, he had a framed quote from George Bernard Shaw: ‘The reasonable man adapts himself to the world: the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man.’ I had the utmost respect for Irvine and he will be sadly missed.”
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