David Chipperfield studied at Kingston School of Art and the Architectural Association in London. After graduating he worked at the practices of Douglas Stephen, Richard Rogers and Norman Foster, established David Chipperfield Architects in 1984 and the practice currently has over 180 staff at its offices in London, Berlin, Milan and Shanghai.
 
The practice has won over 50 national and international competitions and many international awards and citations for design excellence, including RIBA, RFAC and AIA awards and the RIBA Stirling Prize 2007. In 1993 David Chipperfield was awarded the Andrea Palladio Prize and in 1999, the Heinrich Tessenow Gold Medal. In 2004 he was made an Honorary Member of the Florence Academy of Art and Design, and was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for services to architecture. He was appointed Royal Designer for Industry (RDI) in 2006, and in 2007 he was made an Honorary Fellow of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) and an Honorary Member of the Bund Deutscher Architekten (BDA). He was elected a Royal Academician (RA) in 2008 and awarded an Honorary Doctorate from Kingston University. In 2009 he was awarded the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany – the highest tribute that can be paid to individuals for service to the nation – and in the UK New Year Honours 2010 was named Knight Bachelor for services to architecture in the UK and Germany.