Deborah Saunt

WORK HISTORY

EDUCATION

SKILLS

ABOUT DEBORAH SAUNT

I am an advocate for city-thinking, buildings, landscape, people and the planet, and the co-founder of the architecture, landscape and research studio DSDHAThe projects I lead are about people and their relationship with nature and the built environment. Our work spans from crafting beautiful and sustainable buildings, welcoming landscapes, and whole new neighbourhoods to writing the brief that will shape how a space might be used long into the future. Our aim is to foster positive change and empower communities, creating social value through collaboration and meaningful engagement, often looking at how relationships and partnerships can make best use of the city’s latent spatial potential. Above all, we seek opportunities that bring wider benefits to all.Our recent and ongoing projects include: the reinvention of the National Youth Theatre’s London headquarters; the redesign of the public realm around the Royal Albert Hall; the refurbishment of London’s iconic Economist Plaza in St James; the regeneration of a 600-home estate for London Borough of Southwark with a strong focus on engagement; the remodelling of White Horse Square at Wembley Stadium; the public realm framework for the West End, including the reimagining of Tottenham Court Road; the creation of Cundy Street Quarter, a new 2.4-acre mixed-tenure neighbourhood in Westminster; and Exchange Square, a new park for the City of London above Liverpool Street Station.Much of my current work is concerned with democratising architecture, having set up the Jane Drew Prize in Architecture, and helping to redefine the role of architecture in the 21st century – addressing people’s emerging needs in the context of rapidly shifting environmental, technological and social conditions. I am a Founding Director of the London School of Architecture, which focuses on broadening access to the profession and building new collaborative forms of research and practice. I regularly talk and write on issues of diversity and innovation in the built environment. I gained a Fellowship in the Built Environment from the Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851 and have held academic appointments at Yale School of Architecture, Universidad de Navarra, École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne and the University of Cambridge.