Recent Research

Co-creating Age-friendly Social Housing

PARC (Pathways, Practices and Architectures)

Care Provision Fit for a Future Climate

The Mathematization of Daylighting: a history of British architects' use of the daylight factor

Maximising the Benefits of Passivhaus: a guide to supporting older occupants

Daylighting in Older People's Housing

Conditioning Demand

Extra-care Housing for People with Sight Loss: lighting and design

EVOLVE Tool - Evaluation of Older People's Living Environments

I completed my PhD in Architecture at the University of Sheffield, under the supervision of Professor Peter Blundell Jones. I subsequently worked as a Research Associate at the University of Sheffield from 2007, before moving to the University of Manchester in 2011. I became a Lecturer in Architectural Studies in 2015 and was promoted to Senior Lecturer in 2021. I have been Head of Architecture since 2022.

My primary interest is in how architectural researchers can engage with some of the major issues facing society, particularly in relation to occupants’ health and wellbeing. Much of my research has explored the production and consumption of architecture. In considering the experiences of building users, a particular focus has been on the implications of an ageing population for housing design, aiming to enhance older occupants’ health, wellbeing and independence. I have also explored the role of building design in minimising the spread of infection in healthcare settings. In investigating the production of architecture, I have studied the ways in which architects construct user representations of occupants and script these representations into building-designs. I have also studied some of the ways in which building standards have shaped the built environment, particularly in relation to daylighting, and explored the use of intuition in architects’ working practices.

Much of my research has focused on the production of design guidance and the study of its effects on the built environment.