Personnel

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John Simpson

Professor John Simpson

Principal of Practice

Commander of the Victorian Order

BSc (Hons), University College London
Diploma in Architecture, University College London
Member of Royal Institute of British Architects
Professor of Architecture at University of Buckingham
Visiting Professor at the School of Architecture at Cambridge University
Fellow of Gonville & Caius College Cambridge

Extract from entry in Dictionary of Architecture, Compiled by Professor James Stevens Curl, Oxford University Press.

“English architect. Having rejected International Modernism he sought to show how the classical language of architecture could be used in contemporary economic, technical and functional requirements. His work is derived largely from Georgian sources and he made his name with Ashfold House in West Sussex (1991), influenced by Soane’s architecture.

Simpson had considerable influence in making the public aware of the New Classicism in the 1980s, especially with the exhibition Real Architecture at the Building Centre, London (1988). His works at Gonville and Caius College, at the University of Cambridge (1994-98), have added lustre to his reputation. In 2000, his Market Building, the first public building at the Prince of Wales’s Development in Poundbury, was completed. In 1999 his firm won the competition to redevelop the Queen’s Galleries and Royal Kitchens at Buckingham Palace, London which was completed in time for the opening of The Queen’s Golden Jubilee Celebration in 2002. Since then the practice has been commissioned to carry out work in the USA and has worked on a number of buildings on the upper East side of Manhattan on 5th Avenue in New York. The first, completed in 2005, has been described by the Landmarks Commission of New York as the first Traditionally Classical Building to be built in the city since the 1960’s and for which he was awarded the Palladio prize in 2007.”

John Simpson has been eminent in the urban design field, first coming to prominence with his design for Paternoster Square in the City of London in the early 1990’s. Since then, he has become the masterplanner for several new mixed-use urban extensions in England, such as Fairford Leys in Aylesbury for the Ernest Cook Trust. He was the adviser to Solihull Metropolitan Council for the new village at Dickens Heath, completed in 2010. He prepared the masterplan for Newcastle Great Park in Newcastle Upon Tyne and the new mixed-use urban extension to Swindon, known as the Swindon Southern Development Area, completed in 2008.

Pipistrelle Pavilion built at Barnes, London as part of a course that investigated the origins of Architecture run by John Simpson at the Prince of Wales Foundation

John Simpson pioneered mixed-use sustainable urban design long before it was adopted as government policy in the UK and his work appears within government best practice guidance documentation. He also pioneered the idea of design codes for establishing quality in design, which he first applied at Fairford Leys in Aylesbury.

In 2008 he was given the Arthur Ross Award by the Institute of Classical Architecture and Art in USA for lifetime achievement. Subsequently, he has redesigned the new museum at Kensington Palace, which was opened for Her Majesty’s Diamond Jubilee in 2012 and the new quadrangle at Eton College, which was opened by HM King Charles III, when he was The Prince of Wales in 2015. He won the competition to design a masterplan and new buildings for Peterhouse, the oldest college at the University of Cambridge, which was also opened by HM King Charles III, when he was The Prince of Wales in 2016. He won a similar competition for his masterplan and design proposals for new graduate and undergraduate facilities at Lady Margaret Hall at the University of Oxford, which was completed in two phases, the final phase opening in 2017.

As Part of their Tercentenary celebrations in 2016 H M Queen Elizabeth II opened his new Chapel and Cloister for the Royal Artillery at their regimental church at Larkhill. He extended the range of the buildings he has designed into the medical field with the Defence and National Rehabilitation Centre, the new national facility for the rehabilitation of injured services personnel in Nottinghamshire which was opened jointly by the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall and the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. The buildings for the new School of Architecture at the University of Notre Dame, in Indiana in the USA, the world’s leading institution teaching architects in the Classical tradition was completed in 2020. His new additions to the Royal College of Music opposite the Royal Albert Hall, involving new recital rooms, recording studios, a museum and other facilities for the school were opened by HM King Charles III, when he was The Prince of Wales in 2021.

Much of his work has involved working with new buildings designed within sensitive historic settings and with Listed buildings in conservation areas. Many of these buildings are Grade I Listed.

Given his commitment to education, John Simpson taught at the Prince of Wales’s Foundation in the 1990s using his practice as a training ground for young students. Since 2016 he has tutored, been a visiting lecturer and juror at the School of Architecture at the University of Notre Dame in the US. In 2018 he was appointed professor of Architecture at the University of Buckingham and was director of the UoB Summer School in Architecture and Urban Design in London in 2018. Also in 2019 he organized together with the Axel and Margaret Ax:son Johnson Foundation a conference in Venice entitled “City, Civility and Capitalism”. In 2021 he was appointed visiting professor at the School of Architecture at Cambridge University and a member of the board of the Ax:son Johnson Centre for the Study of Classical Architecture at Cambridge University. He is also a Fellow of Gonville & Caius College Cambridge.

    Publications about John Simpson's work include:

  • THE QUEEN’S GALLERY BUCKINGHAM PALACE and other works by Professor David Watkin and Dr Richard John, published by Papdakis. 2002.
  • THE ARCHITECTURE OF JOHN SIMPSON, The timeless language of Classicism by Professor David Watkin, published by Rizzoli. 2018
  • THE ACADEMY, celebrating the work of John Simpson by Clive Aslet, published by Triglyph Books, 2020.
  • BUILDING BEAUTIFUL, Classical Houses by John Simpson by Clive Aslet, published by Rizzoli 2021.
  • The following awards have been accumulated over recent years:

  • Finalist Award for the Wolfson Economics Prize 2021
  • The Palladio Award for Best New Design & Construction 2021
  • The Acanthus Award for Best Institutional or Commercial Architecture 2019
  • Brick Development Association Best Craftsmanship Awards 2015
  • Brick Development Association Best Craftsmanship Awards 2014
  • Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors Award for Building Conservation 2013
  • Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors Award for a building providing a major Community Benefit 2013
  • Georgian Group Award for the Restoration of a Georgian Garden/Landscape 2012
  • Georgian Award for Best New Classical Building 2010
  • Philippe Rotthier European Prize for Architecture 2008
  • Award of Excellence from the Society of American Registered Architects 2008
  • The Arthur Ross Award: Institute of Classical Architecture 2008
  • The Carnegie Hill Neighbors' Award for Architectural Excellence 2007
  • The Palladio Award 2007
  • The Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea Environment Award 2004
  • RIBA Award for the Queen's Gallery 2003
  • The Royal Fine Arts Trust Building of the Year Award 2003
  • The Worshipful Company of Masons Award 2003
  • The Georgian Group Best New Classical Building 2003
  • RICS Conservation Award for the work at Gonville Court at Gonville and Caius College Cambridge 1999
  • American Institute of Architects Honor Award for Urban Design 1996
Joanna Wachowiak

Joanna Wachowiak

Director

MA, RIBA

Diploma in Architecture, Prince of Wales Institute, London
MA, University of Wales, Cardiff
Diploma in Architecture, Institute of Architecture & Urban Design, Lodz, Poland
Member of the Polish Association of Architects
Member of the Royal Institute of British Architects
The Prince’s Foundation Fellow
Member of the International Network for Traditional Buildings, Architecture and Urbanism

Joanna Wachowiak joined the practice in 1994, becoming a Project Architect working on the West Range of Gonville Court at Gonville and Caius College, University of Cambridge, a £6m project involving new student and fellows' accommodation, the refurbishment of the senior Combination Room, JCR, College Bar, Hall, Servery and kitchens in the Grade I Listed historic core of the College. She later worked on the new Market Hall Building in Poundbury, completed in 2000, which comprised of a multi-purpose hall and market building in the Main Square in Phase I.

In 2000, as an Associate in the practice, she was responsible for the work at the Queen's Gallery at Buckingham Palace, a £22m contract involving new galleries for The Royal Collection at Buckingham Palace, a Grade I Listed building. The project included new educational facilities, lecture hall, shop, and additional, digital gallery facilities.

In 2002, as Associate Director, she became responsible for the project at 68 Vincent Square, an £18m residential development in a conservation area involving two Grade II Listed Buildings, and for the Carhart Mansion in Manhattan, New York. She was also responsible for the redevelopment project at the Royal Worcester Porcelain Works in Worcester, a £20m mixed-use development, involving Listed buildings in a conservation area, and for the refurbishment and new buildings at Peterhouse, Cambridge, a £9m project involving new student and Fellows' accommodation, and associated facilities at the College.

As a Director, Joanna’s subsequent work has included the new masterplans for Kensington Palace and Eton College, both nominated for numerous awards. She headed the John Simpson Architects design team for the Defence and National Rehabilitation Centre, the 40,000 sqm development within the curtilage of the Grade II* Listed Stanford Hall, and the Royal College of Music courtyard redevelopment. Her residential work included a 380-unit development in Val d'Europe, Serris, France and a conversion and restoration of a complete row of terraced buildings, Grade I Listed, that formed part of the Nash set piece design for Regent's Park, London

Prior to joining the Practice, she worked for Wisniewski and Gorgul Architects and Urban Designers in Poland on the urban plan for the Lagiewniki area of Lodz. After coming to England, she worked for Alan Baxter & Associates on the masterplan for Poundbury, before joining John Simpson Architects in 1994. Joanna is also involved in teaching and has worked as a tutor at The Prince of Wales's Summer School in London, Chinon and Viterbo.

View of new Market Hall Building at Poundbury, Dorchester, UK
Tiffany Abernathy

Tiffany Abernathy

Director of US Projects

B.ARCH, M.ARCH, GradDiplCons(AA)

B.Arch, University of Miami, Coral Gables, Florida, USA & Rome, Italy. M.Arch, University of Notre Dame, South Bend, Indiana, USA & Rome, Italy. GradDiplCons, Architectural Association School of Architecture, London, UK. Affiliated Fellow at the American Academy in Rome, Italy. The Institute of Classical Architecture & Classical America, Supporting Member The Prince's Foundation Professional Fellow

Tiffany is a graduate of the University of Miami School of Architecture and the University of Notre Dame Graduate School of Architecture. Her Master's thesis concentrated on the rehabilitation of the San Isidro neighbourhood in Havana, Cuba and was completed under the supervision of Michael Lykoudis, Dean of the University of Notre Dame and Victor Deupi, the former Arthur Ross Director of Education for the Institute of Classical Architecture & Art (ICAA). She received a Tinker Pre-Dissertation Award 2002-2003 from the Kellogg Institute for International Studies at the University of Notre Dame for her ‘sensitivity and ambition to examine the social concerns and policies in such a complex region' for her proposal in Havana. Subsequently, she was granted a fellowship under Robin Rhodes, Associate Professor of Art History and concurrent Associate Professor of Architecture to study the Seventh Century Temple on Temple Hill in Ancient Corinth, Greece in 2003. Having moved to London to work for Porphyrios Associates, she joined the practice in early 2004. In 2005 she became an Associate of the practice as well as receiving the inaugural Rieger-Graham Prize from the ICAA. Tiffany completed her Rome Prize Fellowship in 2006 and was made Principal Associate in 2007.

Tiffany has worked on many projects for the practice, including the Carhart Mansion on East 95th Street and the interior renovation of The Stanhope into 26 custom-designed residences in New York. She was the project coordinator for the new masterplan at Lady Margaret Hall, University of Oxford, the construction of which is in progress for Phase II. While finishing her postgraduate diploma at the AA in 2014, she spent six months at Purcell working on the restoration of Battersea Power Station before returning to her role as Design Coordinator for the masterplan and new buildings for the School of Architecture at the University of Notre Dame. She was made Director of US Projects at John Simpson Architects in 2014.

Tiffany is a Michael C. Duda Visiting Professor of the Practice at University of Notre Dame School of Architecture.

Victoria Lee

Victoria Landeryou

Associate Director

B.ARCH, DIP.ARCH RIBA

BA Hons, University of Newcastle. Certificate of Architecture, University of Newcastle. PG.Dip Architecture, London South Bank University. Professional PG. Dip Architecture, University of Westminster

Victoria joined the practice after graduating in 2006 and has worked on many projects for the practice, including the Pipe Partridge Building at Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford, the re-presentation of Kensington Palace, a prestigious private residence in Knightsbridge and the new building in Gisbourne Court at Peterhouse, Cambridge. She has also worked on a new 73 acre urban design development in Dublin.

In 2012 Victoria was made an Associate and was responsible for the construction phase of the work at Eton College, Windsor. The £19m new McCrum Yard was opened by HM King Charles III, when he was The Prince of Wales in 2015. She also worked on the £300m project at the Defence and National Rehabilitation Centre at Stanford Hall.

In 2015 Victoria was made Associate Director and was responsible for the construction and contract administration of the East Courtyard Project at the Royal College of Music, which was opened by HM King Charles III, when he was The Prince of Wales in 2021.

Victoria is also an examiner for the Architects Registration Board for Parts I and II, is on the ARB Competency Standards Group Panel, is a Part III examiner for the University of Westminster and has taught at Coventry University and University of Greenwich.