The Mayor’s Design Advocates and Advocate Organisations
The Mayor’s Design Advocates (MDAs) are independent experts who will ensure quality buildings and public spaces that benefit Londoners are at the heart of the capital’s recovery from the pandemic.
The Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has appointed a new cohort of 42 Mayor’s Design Advocates to work on the Good Growth by Design programme. They support Good Growth across London and address the challenges facing’s our built environment.
The aim is for London’s public organisations to create quality buildings and public spaces that will enrich London’s communities now and in the future.
The goals of the Mayor’s Design Advocates include:
- promoting the aims of the Good Growth by Design programme and its six parts
- setting ambitious design standards
- investigating the challenges facing London’s built environment
- conducting rigorous design reviews
- advocating for the quality of the built environment
Who are the Mayor’s Design Advocates?
We have chosen 42 built environment professionals based on their skills and experience to help the Mayor support London’s growth. They are independent and impartial, and will provide support, advice, critique and expertise on London’s built environment.
The Mayor’s Design Advocates offer a broad range of expertise from across the sector. They include practitioners, academics, policymakers and those from community-led initiatives, and bring experience from both the public and private sector.
Fifty-five percent of advocates are women, and forty-five percent are from an ethnic minority background.
Advocate Organisations
We have also identified several Advocate Organisations who are doing important work that aligns with the Good Growth by Design programme. These include:
- providing design review services
- encouraging debate around London’s built environment
- promoting best practice
- providing public sector partners with training and skills
- advocating for diversity in the profession
- conducting research relevant to good growth in the capital
These organisations will use and supplement their existing platforms and networks to promote the Good Growth programme, and associated projects. They will support, host and take part in topic-specific sounding boards and roundtables as part of this process. We can also commission them to support design research and co-publish design enquiries.
Our Advocate Organisations are:
- Architects for Change: Architects for Change is one of the thirteen RIBA expert advisory groups and focuses on Equality Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) within the profession.
- London Festival of Architecture: The London Festival of Architecture celebrates London as a global hub for architecture. It presents a lively and diverse programme of public events across London aiming to democratise discussions around architecture, test new ideas, and uncover and promote new talent.
- New London Architecture: New London Architecture is a centre for excellence in the built environment. As an organisation it aims to improve the quality of people's lives by making London a better place to live, work and visit. This is done through its public gallery, its programme of events and exhibitions, and through research outputs.
- Public Practice: Public Practice is a social enterprise with a mission to build the public sector's capacity to improve the quality, equality and sustainability of places. It aims to work towards this mission by diversifying people, building skills, connecting practice and sharing knowledge.
- Future of London: Future of London aims to help build better cities through knowledge, networks and leadership. This is done across disciplines, organisations and sectors. Future of London is an independent network for regeneration, housing, infrastructure and economic development practitioners. It acts as a hub for sector intelligence, connection and professional development with a mandate to prepare the next wave of cross-sector city leaders.
- Urban Design London: Urban Design London is a not-for-profit organisation that aims to help those who deliver, manage or influence places to recognise, aspire to and achieve high-quality, well-designed spaces that work for people. The organisation gives members access to training events, design review services and resources.
- Open City: Open City is a charity dedicated to making London and its architecture more open, accessible and equitable. It works to engage citizens, particularly from under-represented backgrounds, in architecture and city-making. Open City's education projects and programmes such as the Open House Festival aim to open up buildings, conversations and careers to all.
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