GLENN HOWELLS ARCHITECTS LIMITED - Key Persons
Adam co-leads a design studio in our Birmingham office and has extensive mixed-use, commercial and masterplanning experience, predominantly in Birmingham and the North West.
He has a broad range of design and project management skills and leads projects from early-stage concept design through to delivery. He also works across a variety of scales from large, complex urban regeneration sites through to individual bespoke buildings.
Adam has a keen interest in materials and detailing, and particularly in how traditional materials such as terracotta, can be used in conjunction with modern methods of construction. Most recently he has been overseeing Wellington Square in Leeds, a new mixed-use live / work destination of two tech-hub workplaces with a landmark 45-storey hexagonal tower-which is set to become the tallest building in Leeds. He was also Project Lead on the award-winning 125 Deansgate, which was built in a rich red terracotta to create a strikingly crafted office building in Manchester.
Adam qualified as an Architect in 2012, having trained at the University of Liverpool and Birmingham City University's School of Architecture and Design. He is a member of the BCO, having previously sat on the BCO NextGen Midlands Committee, where he was a keen advocate for promoting and raising design quality within the sector.
Alan has been at Howells for nearly two decades and during that time he has seen the practice grow from a small team to the creative collective we are today. He has built up a close working relationship with our architects and other modelmakers and this ensures that our models always communicate our design intentions.
His first models were for Liverpool Lime Street and Dunstable Library - the latter got sat on by the client and this taught Alan an early lesson on the transient nature of modelmaking! Since then, he has gone on to work on nearly every model made in-house using a variety of materials, including wood, foam, card, metal, acrylics and now powder through our 3-D printer.
Alan takes great pride in his modelmaking, with some models such as the recently completed Paradise Masterplan model, taking several months to complete and other foam massing models taking a couple of hours. While Alan works at small scales, he is always delighted to see our finished projects at full scale and reflect on the key role modelmaking plays in our design process.
Alan joined Howells in 2004 and has spent the last two decades delivering transformational placemaking projects across the UK. He has led on a wide variety of schemes and has a keen focus on how existing communities and contexts integrate with and inform the new places Howells creates. He has gained experience on a wide variety of major mixed-use projects, including Royal Wharf, the Birmingham Institute of Translational Medicine, Wirral Waters, the NEC and Salford Central masterplans. He has also delivered several residential and student housing schemes across the country.
He has led on urban integration of HS2 Birmingham Curzon Street into Birmingham's city core, as well as serving as Lead Architect for the HS2 Washwood Heath Depot, overseeing the design of HS2's Network Integrated Control Centre and railway Maintenance facilities in the Midlands region.
Alan is currently working with Birmingham City Council on Our Future City which is providing a once in a generation opportunity to influence a vision on the future of Birmingham over the next 20+ years. Following on from the successful Big City Plan, Our Future City will provide a template for a mix of strategic framework masterplans in the city core as well as a number of visionary transformational projects for local communities within the city.
Within the practice, Alan's precise nature makes him an integral member of our Howells Project Board, providing business-wide leadership on standards and protocol, quality insurance and delivery, including the relationship between RICS and RIBA. Outside the practice Alan is a keen mountaineer and climber.
Alex is interested in exploring solutions to the multiple issues which the construction industry, and the wider world, faces as we strive to deliver more responsible and intelligent places. He is focused on designing buildings that respond to the climate, extinction, and the housing crises, but which are also beautifully crafted and create great places for people to live and work.
At Howells, he has been putting this into practice through his involvement in Reimaging Canary Wharf, where we are connecting communities with water and nature, and our new masterplan for Edgware, where we are working to provide a sustainable and spirited town centre.
Alex completed his studies at Plymouth University and the University of Westminster, and worked on a range of cultural, workplace and housing projects, including Passivhaus and net-zero carbon projects before he joined us.
With a background in Fine Art, Andrew has always been fascinated with how words and images combine to tell a compelling story.
Following a period playing music in venues from London to New York and freelancing, Andrew found himself at Howells as a junior in our graphics team, subsequently working his way up to head the team. Today, as creative director, he works closely with our graphics and communications teams on our marketing material.
Based in London, outside the studio, he can regularly be found pounding the streets in marathons across Europe.
Areta's interest is in people, from clients, to her team and final users of the projects. Her values are based on openness, communication, honesty, and passion which sit at the base of the design with the aim to serve everyone with great value from start to finish.
As a Director, Areta heads up one of our London studios, where she has worked on several residential projects, including a unique small extension to a converted Victorian pub in a south-east London conservation area.
She regularly leads and manages key projects with recent examples including Brent Cross Town Plot 25, Blackwall Yard and Mill Harbour, a new urban village on the doorstep of Canary Wharf.
Currently, Areta is part of the School of Architecture Practice Mentor Scheme at the Royal College of Art. She also speaks four languages: Romanian, English, Italian and French.
Carolyn, a Director in our London office, has a strong appreciation of the grassroots culture and entrepreneurial spirit of close-knit communities, which she gained from her experience of running her own practice. This is often reflected in her work, as many of her projects have focused on the repair and restoration of urban spaces, the redevelopment of brownfield sites, and the connection between residents and businesses via the masterplanning of mixed-use schemes.
Carolyn has worked on both the original East Village Masterplan as well as the redevelopment of the N18 & N19 blocks and is currently leading on a number of mixed-use feasibility studies in East London. She brings with her over 16 years of US-based professional experience.
Job Titles:
- Associate
- Interior Designer
Charlotte is passionate about design that curates, supports, and enhances the human experience to create places that people want to live and work in. She is driven by strong, simple, well executed design that employs visual sensitivity and considered use of materiality that is symbiotic with buildings' use and architecture.
At Howells, Charlotte leads the Interior Design Studio, working to ensure design quality and seamless integration with architectural ideas. Charlotte is responsible for overseeing resourcing, information production and delivery of interior projects for our clients that span a variety of sectors, scales and design stages - from early concept through to completion. Each project is approached from first principles - to understand the context, emerging architecture, client values and aspirations - to inform and enhance the internal geometry, materiality and human experience.
Charlotte also has experience of refurbishing and reimagining existing, historic buildings. Embracing the history and existing fabric of a building and exploring how that can offer rich inspiration for new, meaningful interventions that breathe life and purpose in to forgotten spaces and places.
Outside of Howells, Charlotte is a judge for the SBID International Design Awards 2023.
Job Titles:
- Senior Architectural Technologist
Chris specialises in technical detailing and co-ordination of construction projects, specifically residential, retail, leisure, and office sectors. Chris is based in our Birmingham office and carries out comprehensive reviews of all projects from planning, tender and construction stages to ensure compliance. Chris guides our studios towards best practice to achieve a high level of technical excellence and is passionate about ensuring our drawing packages are drafted clearly and concisely while also passing on the drafting presentation skills he learned from the formative years in his career using Rotring pens and tracing sheets!
Chris is also a mentor to some of our younger technical staff and is an Associate member of the Chartered Institute of Architectural Technologists (ACIAT).
Cristina is a key part of our delivery team, having extensive experience in the technical delivery stages of projects. She is currently expanding her knowledge on the early stages of development and leads projects from conception to completion.
She currently leads on Our Future City, Birmingham Vision for 2040 and Millers Quay in Wirral Waters. She has also contributed to the award-winning One Bayshilll Road in Cheltenham and delivered numerous student accommodation projects including Straits Village in Nottingham and Unite Selly Oak in Birmingham.
Daniel's projects often focus on sustainability, affordable family accommodation, low-carbon housing, and large-scale regeneration. A key driver for these projects has been his approach to involve potential residents or occupiers from the start, and throughout the project, to take on board feedback and develop the best possible places for people to live and work.
Daniel is based in our Birmingham office, with his projects predominately located in East London and Ireland. He has designed and delivered multiple award-winning, mixed-use, residential-led projects that range from the small-scale Triangle, Swindon development to the large-scale London City Island and the new HQ for English National Ballet.
Outside of Howells, Daniel has presented at numerous industry events for organisations including the Academy of Urbanism, Brick Development Association, Welsh School of Architecture, University of Nottingham and New London Architecture. He is also a member of the Royal Institute of Architects of Ireland and has been a Part III examiner at Birmingham City University.
Since 2022 Daniel has been chair of the Midlands board of LandAid, a charity focusing on ending youth homelessness by bringing together the property industry to support charities delivering life-changing services for young people who are or have been homeless. At LandAid he leads a board of volunteer trustees from across the property sector and champions fundraising events such as the annual SleepOut, 10k run and Football tournament.
Darren champions good practice and excellent project management in his multi-faceted role overseeing quality assurance, contracts and risk across both design offices and all of our projects.
Darren has been involved in several educational, arts and cultural projects including English National Ballet, Moss House at University College Birmingham, Studio 144 Guildhall Square Southampton, Bramall Music Building at The University of Birmingham, the Welcome Building and STIHL Walkway at Westonbirt Arboretum and TouchBase Selly Oak.
He joined us in 1996 after completing his studies at the University of Nottingham's School of Architecture.
Dav is driven by a passion for helping regional towns and cities to meet their potential and to ensure they play their pivotal role in the UK, promoting healthy environments, active movement, and quality of place. His integrity of exploring ideas to make places for landscaping and buildings is considered both at macro and micro scales.
Dav has been with the practice since 1999 and became a Partner in 2015. He leads the Birmingham studio and oversees the design of major urban regeneration projects including delivery of Birmingham's Paradise development in the city's civic heart, along with the Curzon/HS2 and Martineau Galleries masterplans in the east. He has significant experience in residential and commercial sectors including award-winning schemes such as Manchester's One St Peter's Square, 125 Deansgate and Birmingham's Two Chamberlain Square and Port Loop.
He regularly sits on awards panels, including the RIBA National and International Awards, and as a judge for the Housing Design Awards and was previously a judge for the BCO Midlands and East Anglia region.
Dav regularly speaks and writes on topics that are important to him. He recently took part in a debate on the ‘City without Cars' for New London Architecture and writes a regular column for Building Design from a regional design perspective.
David's experience is in large-scale, high-profile projects, having worked with a previous practice on the masterplan for King's Cross, and the delivery of Two Pancras Square. He is passionate about growing new communities and pieces of city, having worked on developments at Meridian Water and the Aylesbury Estate in London, and Westgate in Oxford.
Since joining our Birmingham office, David has been leading our efforts on Octagon, an ambitious design that is projected to be the tallest building the UK outside of London and Manchester, as well as working on the main depot for HS2 at Washwood Heath. He's also spearheaded our masterplan for the National Exhibition Centre, a Birmingham based development that will provide 5000 homes.
David has studied at both Liverpool and Cambridge University. He is also an event leader for charity, running bicycle rides across the UK and Europe.
Francesca is interested in how spaces can affect how people behave and interact with each other and how good quality design can transform this experience.
At Howells, Francesca works on a macro master planning scale right down to the micro interior details on a selection of high-profile projects, including the RIBA-award-winning Moss House for University College Birmingham, Two Chamberlain Square and One Centenary Way at Paradise Birmingham, Port Loop and Kidbrooke, London.
Francesca is committed to mentoring and sharing knowledge with the younger generation. She is a key member of our annual Summer School design review panel and leads interior design workshops to provide encouragement, advice and inspiration to the young participants. She hosts a work experience placement with Birmingham City University second-year students and has worked with the "I Can Be" charity to offer a career insight to girls at primary school.
Before joining us, Francesca studied architecture at Oxford Brookes University and worked for a specialist workplace interior design practice. Outside of Howells, Francesca is a member of the BCO's NextGen Midlands Committee and regularly attends built environment events.
Fraser's extensive experience in concept design, early-stage development and project delivery has made him an important part of one of our Birmingham Studios, which he co-leads as a Director.
He is currently working on Typhoo Wharf and Goods Yard. Fraser has also worked on completed projects including i9 Wolverhampton; Hythe at Wirral Waters; Wirral Metropolitan College; London City Island; Ty Admiral in Cardiff and Gloucester Services.
Fraser has studied at the University of Bath, the Welsh School of Architecture in Cardiff and completed his Part III at Birmingham City University's School of Architecture and Design.
George's interests lie in the development of a unique narrative around each project, giving them a distinctive identity while still ensuring each scheme respects and ties into its local context. George also enjoys the process of building a working relationship with clients, ensuring satisfaction at each stage of the design process.
Since joining us, George has worked on a broad range of schemes, including i9, a flagship commercial building in Wolverhampton, now occupied by the Ministry of Housing, as well as UNEX, our residential masterplan situated on the riverside of the Thames. Recently, George has been working on Dove Lane, a scheme in Bristol which seeks to re-stitch a vacant plot in the heart of St Paul's, and developing a build-to-rent project at Port Loop.
Outside of practice, George is an ambassador for LandAid, helping to promote the work of the charity which has included coordinate a West Midlands football tournament with proceeds going to the youth homelessness charity. Originally from Bedford, he studied for both his Part I and Part II qualifications in Liverpool and qualified as an architect in 2019.
Job Titles:
- Senior Communications Coordinator
Greg works closely with the Communications and Graphics teams, helping to create engaging content for social media and the website as well as coordinating press and media activity, internal and external events, and internal communications.
He has a broad range of communications experience, having previously worked in the public and higher education sectors, seeking to tell stories through engaging text and imagery.
Greg has a keen interest in photography, the built environment and design, which has led him to pursue a career in the world of architecture. As a result, he is often either commissioning or taking photographs of our projects, architectural models and people.
Ian likes to focus on the interaction between craft and technology; techne, a term that refers to making or doing. He is intrigued by the process by which sketches and diagrams translate into physical architecture during the construction and design process.
Having joined us as an Associate, Ian brings a broad range of knowledge to the projects he works on, including arts, education, commercial offices, sustainable, and civic buildings. He has contributed to several of our art and theatre projects, including the award-winning Market Place Theatre in Armagh and Courtyard Theatre, Hereford. Currently Ian is working on Birmingham's Perry Barr Village and London's Kidbrooke Station Square.
Ian studied in Plymouth and at Mississippi State and won the RIBA President's Dissertation prize. He has practised in London, Berlin, Norwich, Bristol, and Worcester.
Job Titles:
- Senior Architectural Technologist
Jason's design philosophy is underpinned from concept through to completion by a rigorous approach to detail and the pursuit of beautiful simplicity.
Jason leads a studio in our London office, with an emphasis on large, residential-led, mixed-use developments. His key projects include the new urban village in Canary Wharf, Mill Harbour, and a new 3500 home transformational masterplan in London.
Jason trained at the Scott Sutherland School of Architecture and is a member of the London Borough of Merton Design Review Panel and the London Borough of Wandsworth Design Review Panel.
Job Titles:
- Senior Digital Design Coordinator
Job Titles:
- People and Performance Manager
Job Titles:
- Senior Architectural Designer
Job Titles:
- Associate and Sustainability Lead
Job Titles:
- Senior Architectural Technologist