Judges 2025

Andy Puncher is an Architect and Design Director with over 20 years’ experience working closely with Developers and Investment Funds delivering medium to large scale projects across London and the Southeast. 

Betty is a Senior Design Officer in the Greater London Authority’s Design Unit, working to promote quality and inclusion in the built environment through design review, research, and quality management. She was previously an architectural designer at Be First London, facilitating the development of responsive urban and architectural strategies to deliver social housing in Barking & Dagenham. Betty is also a founding member of PATCH, a multidisciplinary collective that transforms writing into spatial interventions and ephemeral events. She is a RIBA Journal Rising Star for 2022, chair of the New London Architecture NextGen Panel, and a member of the New London Sounding Board.

Chris Hildrey is the director of Hildrey Studio and the founder of ProxyAddress, a social enterprise providing those facing homelessness with stable address details to access critical services. His work has been awarded the RIBA President's Medal for Research, the D&AD Award for Humanitarian Aid, the Innovation in Politics Award for Human Rights, and was named one of the Beazley Designs of the Year 2019, one of the Guardian's Best Designs of 2022, and one of TIME Magazine's Best Inventions of 2021.

Cristina is an architect, author, and founding co-director of DK-CM. In 2021, she was shortlisted for the Moira Gemmill Prize in recognition of excellence in design for women designers under 45.Cristina has extensive experience working with public sector clients, particularly on delivering adaptive reuse and retrofit projects. Notable projects include the adaptive reuse of Harrow Arts Centre, Rebel Business School, Wroughton Academies, and currently, the retrofitting of Kilburn Mews and the Camber Sands Welcome Centre. She brings incisive knowledge of reading and diagnosing existing buildings to ensure whole-life carbon is maximised, and that buildings are future-proofed and resilient, and is an RIBA Conservation Registrant. Cristina won the School Prize for Social Entrepreneurship for her diploma project at London Metropolitan University. She has taught at Kingston University and Central Saint Martins, and has been a visiting lecturer and critic at the Architectural Association, Cambridge University, Syracuse University, and the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm. She writes a column for The Architects’ Journal, runs the Wild Cities campaign, is writing a book of short stories, and tends an allotment in Sussex.

Daisy Froud devises and facilitates collaborative tools and processes for architectural brief-development, community engagement and participatory design, helping ensure that decisions are taken about the future of places in intelligent, imaginative and equitable ways. Having started her career in community-led regeneration and environmental campaigning, from 2003 to 2014 she was a founding director of architecture practice AOC, before moving into solo practice. Daisy is a Mayoral Design Advocate to the Mayor of London/ GLA, acts as Independent Chair for the London Borough of Ealing Community Review Panel and the London Borough of Camden Euston Residents’ Advisory Group and sits on Historic England’s Historic Places Panel. Since 2007 she has been a Lecturer at The Bartlett School of Architecture teaching on spatial politics.

Danna Walker is the founder and CEO of Built By Us, an award-winning social enterprise that actively champions greater diversity and inclusion in the construction sector. Her career spans over 20 years in construction and the built environment, encompassing various roles, including electrician and Architect, and within the field of vocational education. She is currently co-chairing a workstream as part of the “Skills for a Sustainable Skyline Taskforce”. Danna is a former board member of Public Practice, a charity trustee, and an elected board member of the Architects Registration Board.

Danna was proud to be nominated for the Precious Awards 2015, which celebrates the achievements of women of colour. In 2018, she presented the BBC Radio 4 documentary The Architecture of Incarceration, which explored the philosophy and ethos of modern prison design and participated in a debate on Race and Our Public Space. In 2019 Built By Us won the prestigious National Mentoring Awards 2019, National Diversity Programme of the Year for the innovative FLUID Diversity Mentoring Programme.

David is the founding partner of Architecture Doing Place, an architecture and urban design practice, who aim to produce beautiful buildings and spatial interventions from an immersion in the arts and contemporary architecture. Architecture Doing Place specialises in the arts, housing, education, community and urban design projects. David is a Mayor’s Design Advocate and a Board Trustee of the Architecture Foundation. He mentors widely including for Public Practice and the Royal College of Art. He has practiced architecture in the UK and the Middle East and is a confirmed urbanist.

Diba Salam is the Founder and Principal of StudioDS, a dynamic London based architectural studio with bureaus in Dubai and Bangkok. As signatories to the UN ‘Race to Zero’ campaign, StudioDS core values are routed in promoting UN SDGs through designing efficient, adaptive, and effective communities.

Diba is an active voice in promoting sustainable innovation and diversity in the built environment. Her commitment to Net Zero Carbon targets and the huge issues facing existing domestic buildings has led the studio’s adoption of Passivhaus and supporting UK homeowners.

Research through in house and collaboration is a core part of the studio values. Diba has carried out active roles supporting the built environment in the UK and internationally through her role with RIBA international committees, London Doughnut Economic Coalition Built Environment Lead and High Streets Co-lead, ACAN International Alliances Ambassador, UKGBC Leaders Network, and UKDBT Export Champion.

Eddie Blake is an architect and academic. He is Director at Studio Weave and teaches architecture at the London School of Architecture. His architectural work focuses on cultural/civic buildings and the public realm. He has taught both architectural design and theory at the Royal College of Art, Bartlett (UCL) and the Architectural Association.

Eddie Blake is also the chair of the Roman Road Trust, a built environment not-for-profit. He writes widely about architecture for the Guardian, Architectural Review, Icon, Metropolis, Tribune, and Real Review among other publications. Through the twin activities of architectural analysis and proposition Blake pursues a continuing interest in the way architecture embodies social and cultural ideas.

@eddieblake_now

www.studioweave.com

Fatima Mejbil is an internationally qualified architect based in Bradford, with over a decade of experience as a Lead Designer in the UK. She completed her Part III qualification at RIBA North West in 2019 and has since dedicated her career to delivering community-led regeneration projects in Bradford and across the UK. Known for her collaborative and ambitious approach, Fatima leads the design team at Faum Architecture to deliver innovative architectural solutions for the community in Bradford and beyond.

Having trained across two continents, gaining experience in both the Middle East and the UK, Fatima’s design ethos reflects her deep appreciation for cultural heritage and her commitment to designing spaces and forms that honor tradition while embracing contemporary innovation. Her work draws on diverse influences, celebrating the richness of different cultures while building connections and creating a sense of belonging. Fatima’s designs balance cultural preservation with forward-thinking approaches, offering a fresh take on heritage in a modern context.

Fatima is also a passionate advocate for diversity and social impact within the built environment. She served as a mentor for aspiring professionals through Women in Architecture UK (WIA) and regularly contributes as a guest lecturer at the University of Bradfords. She also contributes to regional development initiatives as a member of the Bradford Property & Economic Forum and as an ambassador for outreach programmes that serve underrepresented young professionals in the industry.

In her free time, Fatima channels her creativity into urban illustrations, blending traditional drawing while exploring digital techniques and AI. She also enjoys illustrating children›s books, showcasing her passion for storytelling and artistic expression.

Fatima’s work exemplifies how architecture can celebrate cultural identities, build meaningful connections, and redefine heritage through a contemporary lens.

Holly Lewis co-founded We Made That in 2006 and is a trusted voice in shaping healthy, fair and well-designed places. She is a registered architect and affiliate member of the Landscape Institute. Holly advocates for community involvement within the design process, empowering women in the built environment and equitable city-making. Holly is a national High Streets Task Force Expert, Mayor’s Design Advocate for the Greater London Authority and a Design Council Expert.

Jennifer is co-founder of O’DonnellBrown, a Glasgow based practice on a mission to bring about positive change in the communities they work with.

Under Jennifer’s leadership the studio has gained early and critical recognition, as the only UK finalist in 2019’s Architectural Review Emerging Architecture Awards, as a ‘stand-out practice’ in The Architect’s Journal 40 under 40, which recognises architecture’s brightest up-and-coming talent, and as a featured practice in The Architecture Foundation’s ‘New architects 4’, a major publication surveying the best British architectural practices established in the past ten years.

Jennifer has recently joined the Design Council’s network of experts and is looking forward to supporting the Design Council in their mission to make life better by design.

A graduate of the Mackintosh School of Architecture, Jennifer has maintained links with Glasgow’s architecture schools, both as visiting critic and design tutor. She is passionate about using these roles to help educate the next generation about the built environment and the social responsibility that comes with shaping it.

Jim Stephenson is an architectural photographer and film maker based in England, working all over the world.

His work is hallmarked by a keen eye for human interaction with architecture and the built environment and his photography and films lean toward a more documentary style. Over the years, he's cultivated a process based on observation, working calmly and allowing for the agility to document the small, fleeting moments of activity and passing light in architecture.

Larry Botchway is an architect, tutor and engagement enthusiast with experience in a variety of sectors. He co-founded the socially minded design and engagement practice POoR (Power Out of Restriction) collective, a position he balances with his role at Richmond and Wandsworth Councils as a Senior Planning Engagement Officer

Selected as one of the Royal Institute of British Architects rising stars of 2023 and an associate of Public Practice, he has significant experience in placemaking, designing buildings and developing urban strategies, with particular experience working with public sector clients across the UK, including Hackney Council, London Borough of Bexley and Basildon Borough Council. 

Having worked at We Made That, Haworth Tompkins Architects, and Perpendicular Architecture, Botchway has notable experience working with cultural institutions such as TATE, LW Theatres and the London Theatre Company.

Lucy Carmichael is Associate Director at De Matos Ryan where she leads on practice strategy, drawing on over 20 years’ experience supporting excellence in architecture and the built environment. Lucy became Chair of The London School of Architecture in December 2024 after sitting on the Board for two years. From 2013-2021 Lucy worked at the RIBA where she was RIBA Director of Practice for over 5 years, leading the programme promoting effective practice and professional standards, with a focus on sustainability, building safety, and equality, diversity and inclusion. Lucy worked at CABE from 2003-2010 where she set up and managed CABE’s London 2012 design review service and went on to carry out research for the Olympic Delivery Authority on delivering design excellence.

Lucy joined Bespoke Careers in 2010, initially working as an architectural assistant before transitioning into recruitment. Now a Director of the London Team, she brings extensive expertise and market knowledge to a diverse portfolio of clients, from high-profile firms to emerging practices. Lucy is also a passionate advocate for gender balance in the industry, actively collaborating with clients to achieve this goal.

Madeleine is an architect, curator and urbanist. Her studio, Madeleine Kessler Architecture, is dedicated to designing joyful people-centred places that contribute positively to our planet. Over the past decade she has led a number of award-winning projects including the co-curation of the British Pavilion at the 17th Venice Architecture Biennale. Trained as an architect and engineer, Madeleine sits on the National Infrastructure Commission’s Design Group and is the Arts & Culture Expert on a number of Design Review Panels across the UK. She is an Associate Lecturer at Central St Martin’s and the Architectural Association, Examiner for the Architects Registration Board, and previously a Visiting Professor at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology. She has won a number of awards including the RIBA Rising Star Award and Architects' Journal's 40 under 40.

Mark has designed and delivered multiple award-winning buildings across all scales and many sectors, leading the integration of Penoyre&Prasad into Perkins&Will over the last four years. Increasingly he has focussed his design efforts on large scale retrofit projects - as one of the key necessary contributions of the profession in enabling a low carbon future. He is now at the early stages of establishing and scoping a new practice, less.eco, which seeks to identify a sustainable business model for encouraging and helping clients to build less, to use less, and to truly minimise their planetary and carbon impacts.

Matthew Turner is the AJ Coach. A registered architect with extensive practice experience within and beyond architecture, he runs buildingonarchitecture.com, a leading careers advice consultancy for architects, as well as being a money coach with the UK's leading personal financial coaching service.

Mike qualified as an architect in 1989, the year he set up his practice; he graduated from the Royal College of Art in 1986 after receiving first-class honours at Leeds Polytechnic, having completed an apprenticeship as an architectural technician with training at Bath Technical College. His interest in nature led to his qualification as a landscape architect in 2014. He has taught for many years, including a decade at the University of Bath and as a unit master at the Architectural Association and the University of Westminster. He has been an external examiner for the master’s courses at UCL and a longstanding visiting critic. He completed his PhD in the Engineering Department at the University of Bath and is currently a visiting professor at the Manchester School of Architecture and Sheffield University.

Memberships Royal Institute of British Architects; Chartered Member Landscape; Architects Registration Board; RSA, Royal Society for Arts, Manufactures, and Commerce; The Worshipful Company of Chartered Architects; The Architecture Club

Education Doctor of Philosophy, Architecture & Civil Engineering, University of Bath, 2022 CMLI, Landscape Architect, 2011 RIBA Architect, Part III, Polytechnique of Central London, 1989 Master of Architecture, Royal College of Art, 1986 First Class, BA (Hons) Architecture, Metropolitan University of Leeds, 1983 TEC Bath Technical College, Merit, 1980

Appointments Manchester School of Architecture, Visiting Professor, 2025; Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL, Bio-ID External Examiner, 2023-27; Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL, External Examiner MArch, 2016-19; University of Bath, Teaching Fellow and Lecturer, 2012-22; University of Westminster Diploma Studio Visiting Lecturer, 2013-15; University of Bath, Visiting Tutor and Lecturer, 2009-12; RIBA Awards Regional Jury Chair, 2007, 2009, 2010; University of Cambridge, Visiting Critic, 2008-11; UCL Bartlett Unit 17, Visiting Critic, 2005 – 2017; Architectural Association School of Architecture, Unit Master, 2001 – 2004; founded Tonkin Liu London, 2002- present; Architecture Foundation, Architectural Advisor, 2000 – 2001; London University, Unit Master, 1998-99; Chinese University, Hong Kong, Part-time Lecturer, 1996-98; found Tonkin Hong Kong, 1992-98; founded Tonkin Architects London, 1989-2002; Architectural Assistant, Nigel Coates; Branson Coates 1986-87; Architectural Assistant, Eva Jiřičná Architects, 1987-88; Architectural Technician, Astam Design, 1977-80.

Publications The Nature of Place, PhD University of Bath, 2022; The Evolution of Shell Lace Structure, 2014, Tonkin Liu; Asking Looking Playing Making, 1989, Black Dog Press.

Nimi Attanayake is director and co-founder of nimtim architects, starting the practice in 2014 alongside her husband Tim. A qualified garden and landscape designer, she leads nimtim landscapes as well as their engagement work across London. Nimi is a judge for the Architects’ Journal and an external examiner at both Manchester University and University College London. She is also a member of a number of Design Review Panels including for Design South East and Frame Projects sitting on Panels for London Boroughs such as Camden, Waltham Forest and Barking & Dagenham. nimtim architects was recognised as one of the Architects’ Journal’s '40 under 40' in 2020 and is on London Mayor's Architecture and Urbanism framework. 

Pepper co-founded BiBO to explore more inclusive modes of placemaking practice and consequently developed an “urban room” in Wiltshire intended to gain a deeper understanding of commercial, economic, social, and political contexts which influence the making/un-making of place.

Ramsey Yassa, is an architect from North London. He was born to Egyptian parents after they emigrated to the UK in the 1970s. His mother is an author of children’s books and his father is a restaurateur. Ramsey’s unique upbringing in inner city London is reflected in his exploration of play and narrative through design.

Ramsey founded NOOMA Studio in 2019, an interdisciplinary design studio founded on the principles of collectivity and human-centred design. NOOMA studio has featured in the RIBA J’s Rising Stars for ‘Innovation in Collaborative Practice’ and The Architects’ Journal’s list of 40 Under 40 as ‘one of architectures brightest up and coming talents’.

Robin Nicholson is a Fellow of the cooperative architecture practice, Cullinan Studio, which he joined in 1979. He is Convenor of the multi-disciplinary built and natural environment think-tank, The Edge; he chairs the Cambridgeshire Quality Panel and is an Hon. Prof. at the University of Nottingham.

Previously he was a Vice-President of the RIBA (1992-94), Chairman of the Construction Industry Council (1998-2000), a founder member of the Movement for Innovation Board (1998-2001), a CABE Commissioner (2002-10) and a Non-Executive Director of the NHBC (2007-14)

Russell Curtis is a founding director of RCKa, specialising in housing, community projects, mixed-use buildings, and complex infill development. His spatial research has received widespread media coverage including appearances on radio and television.

Sarah Featherstone BA Hons Dip Arch (UCL)
Sarah is an architect and co-Director of Featherstone Young, a practice with expertise in place-making and social engagement. She is also a member of VeloCity, an all-women, multidisciplinary team re-imagining the village for the 21^st century, creating new homes and working environments in healthy and socially cohesive places. Her projects include the award winning Tŷ Pawb (Everybody’s House), a new model for an arts venue in Wrexham, and a campus for the newly formed Black Mountains College set in the Brecon Beacons National Park. Sarah teaches at Central St Martins, UAL and the Welsh School of Architecture and is on various local authority Design Review panels. Her teaching and practice reflect her interest in the way people shape their environments and how architecture can stimulate, rather than dictate, activity and social interaction.

Shankari Raj, known to most as Shanks, is peerless within her generation, as a leading architect, teacher and agitator. Shankari Raj has been trying to make the world a better place through architectural design since she founded her practice Nudge. Enhancing and empowering social change is at the forefront of the design across Nudge’s portfolio, encompassing a people centred, curatorial approach. She was born in Srilanka and grown up in Nigeria, Oman, Toronto and London before settling in Bristol. In 2021 she won the prestigious award of 40 Under 40 by the Architects Journal. Over the last decade Shanks has consistently focused on and engaged with community-based projects, helping cultivate them from the ground up. Her aim being to develop and deliver better places for people, which are safe, occupied and beautiful. As such the philosophy of Nudge is guided by the concept of collaboration and co-design, which recognises that the spirit of a space is always shaped by the people who use it. In this, the aspects which make a space thrive are grounded with the people, identity, community and the locality. Often working with limited budgets on temporary use projects for community organisations, Shanks has a skill in stretching available funds, roping in volunteers, and collaborating with University students to make maximum impact to benefit the community.

Shaun is co-founder and director at West Port, a young and up-and-coming architectural practice based in Northwest London. Shaun holds a strong interest in the broadening of both the educational and professional routes into architectural and design practice. American born and of Nigerian descent, Shaun has had a eccletic lived experience, including his time spent studying and working in Sweden, Scotland, and Germany which fuels his desire to see from the perspective of those less-equipped to influence the physical make-up of their neighbourhood. Founded in 2016, West Port under his leadership have been awarded RIBA Practice of the Month (March 2019), are an AJ 40 Under 40 Practice (2020), have been profiled in the publication, New Architects 4 (Architecture Foundation, 2021) and have been shortlisted on or successfully won several bids and competitions in both the public and private sectors.

Teri is Director of TOCA and previously led on large scale residential and mixed-use schemes as Principal Architect at Circle. A fellow of RIBA, Design Council Expert and on the Expert Advisory Group of Historic England, she has judged several UK and international project awards. Also a chartered project professional, representing Clients on design reviews of complex projects, she is passionate about sustainability, inclusive design and building performance in use. Supporting and developing the next generation is also important to her.

Toko is a multifaceted individual making significant contributions to the field of architecture, education, and advocacy for sustainable design. As an associate at Kaner Olette Architects, he plays a pivotal role in numerous projects spanning private residential dwellings to public buildings. Noteworthy among these is the recent creation of a restaurant, cafe, and farm shop for the well-known Knepp Estate as well as work on the historic Decimus Burton designed Trinity Theatre and Arts Centre in Tunbridge Wells.In addition to his professional practice, Toko lectures at the University for the Creative Arts, where he teaches the architectural technology unit to undergraduate students, fostering a new generation of architects to tackle contemporary challenges within architecture. Furthermore, Toko lends his guidance to aspiring architects through involvement in RIBA Part 3 teaching.Toko contributes regularly to the Architects Journal. Covering a diverse array of topics ranging from issues of racism and diversity to architectural maintenance and specialisation, provoking meaningful dialogue and positive change.

Tszwai So is a London-based artist, architect, and filmmaker known for his deeply emotive works across various media. His Belarusian Memorial Chapel in London is celebrated as a cultural landmark by Belarusians worldwide. In 2018, he won a European Parliament-backed competition to design the Pan-European Memorial for Victims of 20th-Century Totalitarianism in Brussels. His film E-motion-AI City premiered at the 2021 Venice Biennale. In 2023, he completed The Blue, a revered hotel retrofit in Taipei, and co-authored Remembrance Now with Michele Woodger, published by Lund Humphries. His acclaimed hand drawings are held in the collections of the V&A Museum and Yad Vashem. He teaches architecture at the University of Cambridge at master's level.

Vanessa Norwood is a curator and consultant. She has shaped public and professional discourse on architecture through a series of critically acclaimed exhibitions. Vanessa works with clients from the built environment sector including architects, manufacturers, makers and cultural institutions towards building a low-carbon future. As Head of Exhibitions at the Architectural Association Vanessa was a pioneer of urban installations, overseeing a series of temporary pavilions in Bedford Square. She was co-curator of the exhibition Venice Takeaway for the British Pavilion at the 13th International Architecture Biennale. Vanessa was Creative Director at the Building Centre, London between 2018 and 2023. She writes on the subject of architecture with a focus on materials and is a guest juror at international awards, competitions and student juries.

Artist Wolfgang Buttress creates multi-sensory artworks that draw inspiration from our evolving relationship with the ‘natural’ world. He explores and interprets scientific discoveries, collaborating with architects, landscape architects, scientists and musicians to create human-centered experiences.

Wolfgang has produced artworks on four continents including Europe, Australia, Japan and the U.S. He is well known for the UK Pavilion (Milan EXPO 2015) and The Hive, a collaboration with physicist Dr Martin Bencsik, BDP, Hoare Lea and Simmonds Studio which expresses the life of a bee hive in real time through form, sound and light.

The Hive is now permanently installed at Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, London, England, the project has won 27 national and international awards including gold medal for best in show at World EXPO 2015. Current projects include sculptures in Taiwan, U.S, Australia and United Kingdom.

Younha is a Technical Director leading the Environmental Design Team at Atelier Ten’s London office. Over her 17 years with the firm, she has specialised in developing strategic sustainability frameworks and delivering complex institutional, cultural, commercial, mixed-use, and masterplan projects across the globe.

As a benchmarking practice leader at Atelier Ten, Younha has been leading the integration of multiple benchmarking systems—including BREEAM, LEED, and WELL—into design and construction processes, utilising these systems as effective design frameworks.

Her portfolio includes projects such as creating a bespoke sustainability brief for British Land, managing the site-wide sustainability management plan for the Chelsea Barracks project in London (Europe’s first LEED Neighborhood Development Platinum project), and completing Space House, London’s largest Grade II listed commercial building to achieve BREEAM Outstanding. Recently, she has been deeply involved in refurbishment projects in London, focusing on applying circular economy principles and net zero carbon emissions targets.