Sadie Morgan

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Sadie Morgan - photo by Clive Little ARPS

Sadie Morgan (born 28 February 1969) is an English designer, businessperson and spokesperson. She co-founded dRMM Architects in 1995 with Alex de Rijke and Philip Marsh, is Design Chair for High Speed Two (HS2) UK and a board member on the National Infrastructure Commission (NIC) UK.

Early life and education

Morgan grew up in Kent, England, in a cooperative community set up by her grandfather, a psychiatrist and progressive socialist. Morgan’s father was an architect and her mother is a designer and design lecturer. She studied at Kingston Polytechnic between 1989 and 1991, and in 1993 completed an MA at the Royal College of Art, London, UK.

dRMM Architects

During her studies, Morgan met Alex de Rijke and Philip Marsh, and with them discovered a common interest in how materiality impacts the experience of architecture. In response to a competition to design a public education building for the London Docklands Development Corporation (LDDC), the three designers founded dRMM Architects in 1995. They won the competition and after a series of small-scale projects completed their first building – No. One Centaur Street – in 2003.

No. One Centaur Street, for which Morgan was design director, received praise from industry critics Jonathan Glancey and Barrie Evans , and won seven awards including the RIBA London Building of the Year and the ‘’AJ First Building Award’’. In 2004 the studio won ‘’Best New Architectural Firm’’, and in 2005 the ‘’MIPIM Next Generation Award’’.

Notable projects have included civic and educational buildings, such as the Blackpool Tower of Love, Kingsdale School in Southwark and Clapham Manor Primary School (shortlisted for the 2010 RIBA Stirling Prize), as well as significant work in the residential sector, individual dwellings such as the Sliding House and Woodblock House and large-scale housing developments. Recent work has included buildings in four of London’s most significant regeneration schemes: the Olympic Village, King’s Cross, Battersea Power Station and Elephant & Castle, the latter winning the award for Best Housing Design at the 2015 Brick Awards.

The practice has won several RIBA Awards, the BD Education Architect of the Year in 2013, the overall Architect of the Year Award in 2013-2014 and, most recently, the Housing Architect of the Year for 2014-2015.

In 2013, Morgan become the fourth female President of the Architectural Association (AA) and the youngest ever individual to hold the position. Prior to her Presidency, Morgan was Honorary Treasurer of the AA between 2009 and 2013.

Government advisor roles

In March 2015, the UK’s Secretary of State for Transport appointed Morgan Design Chair for High Speed Two (HS2) to oversee the design of the £36 billion project, from stations to trains, and to make sure the HS2 Design Vision is adhered to throughout the lifespan of the project. Following her appointment, she recruited a group of approximately thirty design experts to form the HS2 Design Panel.

In October 2015, Chancellor George Osborne announced Morgan’s inclusion on the government’s National Infrastructure Commission (NIC), tasked with producing a report at the start of each five-year Parliament to offer recommendations for priority infrastructure projects. The budget for infrastructure projects in the UK up to 2020 has been set at £100 billion.

Morgan’s fellow commissioners are Lord Heseltine, Sir John Armitt, Professor Tim Besley, Demis Hassabis, Bridget Rosewell and Sir Paul Ruddock.

Advocacy for women in architecture

Morgan co-founded dRMM at the age of 26 – one of the youngest women to do so amongst her peers – and has maintained a gender-balanced workforce within the studio since foundation.

Morgan is involved in a number of mentor programmes including a forum set up to help young women further themselves in the construction industry. She invests considerable time in activities that promote women in property – she has lectured at a number of UK secondary schools and is an external examiner at the University of Westminster, London and the University of Kent. Morgan is a trustee of the Creative Education Trust, a non-profit education charity that supports schools in improving standards and academic performance.

In 2015 she joined the board of PedELLE, a cycling group specially created for women to network, and has cycled extensively to promote the role of women in design and property, and to raise money for charity. In 2012 she was the only woman aboard the winning GB sailing team for the Commodores Cup, having won the class in the Fastnet race the previous year.

In 2013 Morgan was part of an art project by photographer Ivan Jones, charting the current roles played by women within the international architectural industry.

Press and lecturing

Morgan has written feature articles for the Financial Times, London Evening Standard, The Observer, New London Quarterly, and the Architects’ Journal, and has appeared numerous times on BBC Radio 4. She has lectured in institutions including the Royal College of Art, Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA), London Metropolitan University, Glasgow School of Art, the World Architecture Festival and Inside Festival. She has a member of the RIBA National Awards Advisory Panel, appeared live on BBC News in 2014 and 2015, and was an expert interviewee for the RIBA feature production entitled, The Role of the Architect.

Awards and recognition

Morgan was shortlisted for the Architects' Journal's Woman Architect of the Year in 2014, and won a 2015 Confederation of British Industries (CBI) First Women Award in recognition of her twenty-year career and her contribution to the built environment. She is a Fellow of the Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce.

External links

• dRMM Architects
• Creative Education Trust
• PedELLE