Architecture & Place shaping

As Creative Director & Architect at New Practice, I lead projects which centre communities and stakeholders, directly translating their values into practical design outcomes from public realm to buildings. I am interested in exploring exploring the balance between the needs of people in spaces, understood through active listening to clients and end users, with the needs of our planet by addressing the climate emergency. My architectural output seeks to deliver creative workspaces and community assets through adaptive reuse of existing structures, making the most of our rich histories and crucially maintaining social and cultural capital.

Selected Projects
Delivered with the teams at Pidgin Perfect (2011-2019)
and New Practice (2019-currently)

Kinning Park Complex

  • RIAS Award 2024 winning redevelopment of run-down Edwardian school building into a new functional, flexible and accessible community space, commended for New Practice’s “community first” approach, and how careful listening has led to cost-effective and discrete interventions that maximise social value.

    We have been working with KPC since 2017 to find a way to make sure their building is functional, flexible and accessible for generations to come. Our approach to the building is one of adaptive re-use. Making the most of the building's heritage and existing structure to create functional, flexible and accessible community and creative workspace across all three storeys.

  • 2017-2022

    Team: Becca Thomas, Marc Cairns, Micheal Pavlides, Maeve Dolan, Samuel Stair,

    Client: Kinning Park Complex SCIO

    Design Team: Armour Construction Consultants, Atelier Ten, James Martin Project Management, Max Fordham LLP, Narro Associates

Cumberland Street Station

  • The proposed adaptive re-use of a former train station in Glasgow’s Southside into a new cultural, community and commercial venue. Cumberland Street Station has been derelict since its closure on Valentines Day in 1966, and today the grandeur of this Category B listed building has faded, its internal spaces now in a state of disrepair.

    Since early 2021, New Practice have been working on the feasibility study for the conversion of this disused train station into a new hub space and multi-purpose venue. Located within Gorbals in Glasgow’s Southside, an area of significant ongoing regeneration, project seeks to merge industrious work and presentation space to support emerging forms of creative, environmental and social enterprise.

  • 2021-ongoing

    Team: Becca Thomas, Marc Cairns, Maeve Dolan, Zoe Grainge & Juliet Welshman

    Client: Many Studios CIC

    Design Team: Armour Construction Consultants, Civic Engineers, Newtwork Rail, Stallan-Brand, Submarine

Many Studios
3 Ross Street

  • With a modest £0.5 million construction budget available, Many Studios and New Practice made the most of the building’s heritage and existing structure to create functional, flexible and accessible creative workspace across the building.

    In consultation with Many Studios - who had operated a creative hub in Merchant City for 2 years - New Practice designed workspaces that would serve a wide range of practitioners and businesses providing spaces that focused on flexibility, functionality, usability whilst future-proofing the overall approach to the building to accommodate emerging trends in creative workspace.

  • 2013-2016

    Team: Becca Thomas & Marc Cairns

    Client: Many Studios CIC

    Design Team: Armour Construction Consultants, Narro Associates

Walk Up Avenue

  • Transforming a brownfield gap site in Craigmillar Town Centre into a biodiverse public space for gathering, play, community uses and commerce. Meanwhile Projects create activity on sites and in buildings which might otherwise lie empty. When these spaces are of genuine value and have long term benefits they become Worthwhile Projects.

    Located on the busy Niddrie Mains Road high street, Walk-Up Avenue is a boost of colour and nature including: sculptural entranceway, commercial unit, a stage facing onto a central plaza ‘market square’, play features and seating all nestled among extensive planting.

  • 2021-2022

    Team: Becca Thomas, Maeve Dolan & Samuel Stair

    Client: City of Edinburgh Council

    Design Team: Bridgewater Building Solutions, Liz Thomas Landscape Architect, Currie & Brown, Max Fordham LLP, Will Rudd Davidson

Sustainable Glasgow Landing

  • A large-scale outdoor exhibition arena showcasing green technologies from vertical farming to Passivhaus technologies, sustainable power generation and active travel solutions as part of the UN Climate Change Conference (COP26). In less than 8 weeks, the project brought to life a significant and prominent vacant site on The Clyde’s riverside, creating a flexible and accessible space for hosting local and global organisations responding to the climate crisis.

    Across the 17 days of the historic conference over 10,000 people, including; activists, international delegates, Glaswegians, government officials, visitors to the city and even the First Minister of Scotland explored the exhibition arena and enjoyed the incredible jam packed programme of free fringe programme of events which platformed important climate and social justice movements.

  • 2021

    Team: Becca Thomas, Maeve Dolan & Samuel Stair

    Client: Glasgow City Council for COP26

    Design Team: Inhouse, Inhouse CIC

Awards:

  • RIAS Award [winner] 2024

  • Activism Award [shortlist], Archiboo Awards 2024

  • Best Team [winner], Archiboo Awards 2024

  • Health & Community Project [finalist], AJ Retrofit Awards 2023

  • Public Realm and Landscaping [finalist], Scottish Design Awards 2023

  • Retrofit [finalist], Scottish Design Awards 2023

  • Creative Retrofit [finalist], The Pineapples 2023

  • Health & Community Project [finalist], AJ Retrofit Awards 2023

  • Community and Faith Project [finalist], AJ Awards 2022

  • Best Small Works Under £250K [finalist], GIA Awards 2022

  • Best Leisure & Arts [finalist], GIA Awards 2022

  • Best in Community Engagement [finalist], The Pineapples 2021

  • Best Small Works Under £250K [finalist], GIA Awards 2021

  • Best Partnership [finalist], Landscape Institute Awards 2021

  • Best Newcomer, Archiboo Awards 2020

  • Best Digital Workspace, Archiboo Awards 2020

  • Scottish Quality in Planning Award, 2012 & 2018

  • The Herald Scotland, Legacy Award, 2014

  • Royal Scottish Academy Medal for Architecture, 2012

  • A Corner for Johnstone | Public Space and Temporary Activation

  • Banchetto: A Play in Three Acts [Act I] | Scotland + Venice at Venice Biennale

  • York Road | Competition Entry for Redevelopment & Adaptive Reuse

  • Subtle Shifts | Temporary Activation & Public Space

  • The Shilling Ground | Public Space Design & Art

  • Lines for Kilmarnock with Jackie Kay | Public Space and Art Intervention

  • Banchetto: A Play in Three Acts [Act III] | Scotland + Venice at Venice Biennale

  • Wee Architect | Engagement & Learning

  • Kirkwall Markers | Public Space and Art Interventions

  • Memory Monsters | Engagement & Event

  • George Square | Community & Stakeholder Engagement

  • Round About Bradford | Competition Entry for Meanwhile Theatre Event

  • Banchetto: A Play in Three Acts [Act II] | Scotland + Venice at Venice Biennale

  • Garnethill & Sauchiehall Community Projects | Public Space & Art Interventions

  • Bike Shop | Interior Architecture & Design

A Building for your Community is built by New Practice with input from collaborators and friends across the built environment professions.

The series is designed for community members, groups and organisations looking to learn how to best approach the transformation and improvement of community-led spaces, buildings and other assets.

A Building for your Community shares information, ideas, questions and answers about community-led development

Selected Media, Writing & Events

In Dialogue

  • City Making 2: Leadership. Part of the City Making event series organised by Maccreanor Lavington and New Practice with Stallan-Brand at Oxford House. Summer 2024 [provocation and panelist]

  • How to be an Architect. University of Strathclyde. Spring 2024 [talk]

  • Moving forwards or Backwards? Urban Bites / Urbanism Society at University of Glasgow. Spring 2024 [provocation and panelist]

  • How to be an Architect. ArcSoc, University of Edinburgh. Spring 2024 [talk]

  • Building Community. Andy Macmillan Memorial Lecture for RIAS and A+DS at Greyfriars Charteris Centre Edinburgh. Winter 2023 [lecture]

  • My Journey to Architecture, a story of success and failure. Edinburgh School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture. Summer 2023 [lecture]

  • Language in Design. Strathclyde Espacios Increibles at University of Strathclyde. Spring 2023 [talk and judge]

  • My Journey to Architecture, a story of success and failure. PRAXXIS at Manchester Metropolitan University. Spring 2023 [lecture]

  • Working Spaces. Glasgow School of Art. Spring 2023 [provocation and panelist]

  • The Value of Architecture. RIAS Convention. Autumn 2022 [speaker and panelist]

  • Planning and Participatory Design. Guerilla Tactics. November 2021 [talk]

  • The Power of Community in the City. BBC Reporting Scotland, 2020 [press]

  • In Practice. Association of Dundee Architecture Students, 2019 [lecture]

  • Future Maps & Open Data in Architecture. Scottish Government #OpenDataEDB, 2014 [talk]

  • Journey to Practice. University of Strathclyde, 2012 and 2020 [lectures]

  • Critical Dialogues. University of Strathclyde, 2012 [lecture]

In Print

Events & Activities

  • X Trillion Screening at Glasgow Film Theatre, Summer 2024 [panelist]

  • Building Community. Village Halls Conference, Scottish Voluntary and Charitable Organisations (SCVO). Spring 2024 [talk, panelist and workshops]

  • RIAS & A+DS Student Awards 2023. Winter 2023 [guest judge, lecture and host]

  • Climate Champions Podcast. Architects Journal. Autumn 2021 [podcast]

  • Glasgow 2030? Silicon Swalley 002, 2020 [talk]

  • Discourse: Enabling Talent & Opportunity. A New Chapter & Glasgow Institute of Architects, 2018 [panel]

  • Playing with Place at The Lighthouse, 2017 [exhibition]

  • Syn-Forum #2 Athens. European Creative Hubs Network, January 2016 [research]

  • Wee Architect for Atkins at The Briggait, 2016 [facilitation]

  • Pecha Kucha 24. Society by Design, 2015 [talk]

  • Critical Dialogues at The Lighthouse, 2012 & 2015 [exhibition & modelmaking]

  • Future of Architecture Education, for Architecture Place Division at Scottish Government, 2014 [research & facilitation]

  • Quick Beam Album Launch, at Govanhill Baths, 2013 [design & install]

  • Gathering Wastelands. EASA 2012 [facilitation]

  • Scottish Architecture Students Assembly, 2010 & 2011 [facilitation]