And, speaking to The Herald this week, his son Nick paid tribute to his father, saying that he had been "very well-liked and will be very much missed."
Computer engineer and musician Nick (24) said: "His death came completely out of the blue. Everyone is totally shocked by it.
"He used to quote from a Woody Allen film that he didn't know when he was going to die but when he did, he didn't want to be there.
"In a sense he wasn't because it was so sudden and I think he would have been grateful that he wasn't stuck in hospital for six months or anything like that.
"The Millennium Centre was the pinnacle of his career so I suppose he went out when he was at his peak.
"He masterminded the project from concept to completion and although it was exhausting he told his secretary that he was having the best time of his life."
John Monk (57) was born in the original Frimley Park Hospital, and died last week in the current one after suffering a heart attack in his sister's garden.
He studied architecture at Kingston University after which he started his own furniture company and worked as an associate at London-based company Higgins and Ney, before turning solely to architecture and design.
He moved to Chiddingfold, where he designed and built his family's home. More recently, Mr Monk had been living with partner Tina in Greenhill Way, Farnham.
He was a partner in the Haworth King Partnership, based in Weaver's Yard, Farnham, working alongside Brian Haworth, with whom he had studied at Kingston.
Mr Haworth said: "John and I have been mates forever and I have known him for more than 35 years since we were teenagers. We have been left feeling absolutely desolate by John's death because there was no warning of it at all.
"He was definitely the team leader on the Millennium Centre, it was his design and his vision."
The centre is due to be opened by Virginia Bottomley MP today (Friday) at 12 pm and a plaque will be unveiled to mark the occasion. But Mr Haworth said a second plaque will be made dedicating the site to Mr Monk.
Colin Knight, a director of Farnham Estates, which owns the Millennium Centre, said: "Everyone here is absolutely stunned. He was a close personal friend of mine which makes it worse.
"I think it is right that things should go ahead as planned because John would have wanted that. He worked tirelessly to get this project done on time and everyone is totally gutted."
Mr Monk leaves behind his mother Kathleen and two sisters Kaye and Eileen as well as sons Nick and William (21). His funeral will be held at Aldershot Crematorium on Wednesday next week (June 30).
The family have requested that only flowers from close family or friends be sent to the funeral but anyone who would like to give something in Mr Monk's memory is asked to give a donation to the British Heart Foundation.
Nick said: "Will and I are going to miss him terribly and we will both try and do with our lives what he would have wanted us to do."