Jonathan Speirs lost his fight against cancer on June 18, 2012. He was 54. Speirs trained as an architect at the Scott Sutherland School of Architecture, Aberdeen and Edinburgh College of Art, Edinburgh. He co-founded the pioneering lighting design practice Lighting Design Partnership (LDP) in 1984 not long after qualifying as an architect. He left LDP in 1992 to form Jonathan Speirs and Associates in Edinburgh and in 1993 formed a working partnership with Mark Major in London which developed into Speirs + Major.
His work has been honored with a number of international and national lighting awards, including two International Association of Lighting Designer’s Radiance Awards. He was also voted the Lighting Dimensions International Architectural Lighting Designer of the Year Award in 1997.
His is survived by his wife Liz, daughters Lucie and Erin, his father, sister and brothers.
In recognition of Speirs’ achievements, a small group of friends have established the Jonathan Speirs Scholarship Trust to raise money to provide financial support to aspiring young architects to enter the lighting profession. Details of this fund will be made available on the Speirs + Major website www.speirsandmajor.com.