I first discovered my interest in Urban Design while training to be a Town Planner at the University of Manchester. During one lecture we were shown a photograph of the sloping, shell-shaped Piazza del Campo in Siena. This framed ‘field’ caught my imagination and ignited a passion for public space that is still going strong 25 years later.
After studying Urban Design at TU Delft in Holland and the University of Westminster in London, I joined Atkins, working on large-scale masterplans in China, Portugal, Abu Dhabi and Brazil. At Alsop, I established and led the ‘BIG Architecture’ team, formulating radical urban strategies that challenged conventional thinking about places. And then, in 2004, I set up Studio Egret West with Christophe Egret. Since then I’ve delivered a myriad of place-specific strategies through the symbiosis of architecture, urban design and landscape.
I’m well aware of the need to balance creativity with sound commercial sense and to juggle competing agendas. I’m an enthusiastic and persuasive presenter, and, as a lateral-thinking urbanist, I often take a mediating role, helping those involved in complex, multi-faceted projects to “see the wood for the trees”.
I sat on the steering group of RIBA Building Futures and contributed to numerous research projects including “Facing Up to Rising Sea Levels”. As part of the CABE London 2012 Design Review Panel, I reviewed the London 2012 Olympic and Legacy Projects. After leading the London Underground Design Idiom, I now sit on the TfL Design Governance Board. And I’m proud to be one of the Mayor of London’s Design Advocates addressing the challenges facing our built environment. I believe that it is our responsibility as designers, advisers and storytellers to empower decision makers with a way of thinking that leads to resilient, high-quality and memorable places.