Czech-born émigré architect Jan Kaplicky, who has died aged 71, was known for a series of extraordinary and influential buildings including the Lord’s Media Stand and Birmingham Selfridges.

As a child, born into a middle-class family in Prague in 1937, Kaplicky was fascinated by technology and that obsession went on to mould one of the most interesting careers in modern architecture. After qualifying as an architect in Prague in 1964 and working in private practice, unusual in that era of big state bureaux, he became embroiled in the events of the Prague uprising of 1968, fleeing to Britain. He soon found work with Denys Lasdun, working on the design of London’s National Theatre, then moved on to work with Richard Rogers and Renzo Piano (from 1971 to 1973) on the Centre Pompidou in Paris.