Biography

BArch Design(HHons) MArch(Harvard) PG DipRM ARB RIBA FHEA

Creative, socially responsive, sustainable and ethical design practice, and collegiate research. learning and teaching are core to the ethos of the Portsmouth School of Architecture.  As the Head of School, I lead, support and work with colleagues and students to instil this ethos across our undergraduate and postgraduate courses in Architecture, Interior Architecture and Design, Masters and PhDs.  

My teaching, practice and research focus on integrated design education and practice, and cultural and environmental sustainability in Architecture, Landscape and Urban Design.  I co-lead the MA Architecture: Landscape and Urban Design pathway and the MArch Architecture & Landscape studios.  

Since joining the University of Portsmouth in 2012,  I have been involved in leading and teaching undergraduate and postgraduate design studios, professional practice, dissertation and history and theory modules.  My leadership roles have included Course Leader for the Master of Architecture (Part 2), the Final Examination in Professional Practice (Part 3), and Degree Apprenticeships.

Throughout my teaching career, I have been involved in practice. I am a director of craft:pegg, a multi-discipline design office working on urban, landscape, architecture, and art installations in the UK and the Middle East. Prior to setting up craft:pegg in 2004, I worked on a wide range of UK and international projects with Gustafson Porter, Martha Schwartz, Allies and Morrison, and other design firms in the UK and the US.  

I studied Architecture and Anthropology at the University of Florida, and completed my Master in Architecture at the Harvard Graduate School of Design.  I am working toward a Doctorate with a focus on professional identity, design education and practice.   My previous teaching experience includes leading undergraduate design studios at the University of East London and the Boston Architectural College, student teaching at the University of Florida, and landscape design workshops, drawing workshops, and design reviews in the UK and the US.

Research interests

• Architecture and Landscape
• Cultural Contexts and Sustainability
• Landscape Memorials
• Gamification and Scenario Based Learning in Design
• Professional Practice

My teaching and research reflect my experience and interest in collaborative and cross-discipline design. My design work, research and studios explore the inseparable relationship between landscape and architecture, using cultural, historical, and topographic concepts to design and support ecologically and economically sustainable places. I teach professional practice as an integrated design tool - enabling, supporting, and creating successful design projects through practice.