Sadie Morgan
Sadie Anna Morgan OBE (born 28 February 1969) is an English designer. In 1995 she founded dRMM, the RIBA Stirling Prize[1] winning architecture practice, with Alex de Rijke and Philip Marsh.
Morgan is the chair of the Independent Design Panel for High Speed Two (HS2) UK, and a board member of both the National Infrastructure Commission (NIC) UK and the Thames Estuary 2050 Growth Commission.[2] She is one of the Mayor's Design Advocates for the Greater London Authority (GLA), a Non-Executive Director of the Major Projects Association, a Professor of Professional Practice at London University of Westminster, and a Fellow of the UK Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce. In 2019, she cofounded the Quality of Life Foundation.[3][4]
The developer Dicle Guntas and Sadie Morgan launched a new initiative, Forefront, to activate underused urban spaces, transforming overlooked areas into vibrant, community-focused places in August 2025.[5]
Early life and education
[edit]Morgan grew up in Kent, England, in a cooperative community set up by her grandfather, a psychiatrist and progressive socialist.[citation needed] 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.[citation needed] In 2016 she was awarded an honorary doctorate from the London South Bank University.
dRMM Architects
[edit]
Morgan met Alex de Rijke and Philip Marsh during her studies at Kingston Polytechnic. 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.[6] They won the competition and after a series of small-scale projects completed their first building – No. One Centaur Street – in 2003.[7]
No. One Centaur Street, for which Morgan was design director, received praise from industry critics Jonathan Glancey[8] and Barrie Evans,[9] 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".[10]
Other dRMM projects have included civic and educational buildings, such as the community-led Hastings Pier (winner of the 2017 RIBA Stirling Prize),[1] Kingsdale School in Southwark,[11] cancer care centre Maggie's Oldham and Clapham Manor Primary School (shortlisted for the 2010 RIBA Stirling Prize).[12]
The practice has also undertaken residential projects, including individual dwellings such as the Sliding House[13] and Woodblock House,[14] and large-scale housing developments, including Trafalgar Place in Elephant & Castle[15] (shortlisted for the 2016 RIBA Stirling Prize and winner of the Development of the Year Award at the 2016 British Home Awards), Faraday House at Battersea Power Station[16] and Wick Lane in Hackney Wick.
The practice won the "BD Education Architect of the Year" in 2014, the overall "BD Architect of the Year Award" in 2014 and, most recently, the "BD Housing Architect of the Year" in 2015.[10] As well as winning several National RIBA Awards, the practice has received the UK's top architecture award, the RIBA Stirling Prize, for which it received two further nominations.
In 2013, Morgan became the fourth female President of the Architectural Association School of Architecture (AA) and the youngest individual to hold the position.[17] Prior to her Presidency, Morgan was Honorary Treasurer of the AA between 2009 and 2013.[18]
To mark their 30 year anniversary in June 2025, Sadie Morgan stepped down as director of dRMM.[19]
Government advisor
[edit]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 and to ensure the HS2 Design Vision is adhered to throughout the lifespan of the project.[20] 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.[21] The budget for infrastructure projects in the UK up to 2020 has been set at £100 billion. Morgan's fellow commissioners include Lord Adonis (Chair), Sir John Armitt (Deputy Chair), Dame Kate Barker, Professor Tim Besley, Professor David Fisk, Andy Green, Dr Demis Hassabis, Julia Prescot and Bridget Rosewell.[22]
In 2016, Morgan was made commissioner on the Thames Estuary 2050 Growth Commission and in 2017 became a Mayor's Design Advocate for the Greater London Authority.[23]
in August 2019, Sadie Morgan was appointed a member of the Homes England board, a non-departmental public body that funds new affordable housing in England.
Advocacy
[edit]Morgan co-founded dRMM at the age of 26 and has maintained a gender-balanced workforce within the studio since foundation.[24]
In 2015 she joined the board of PedELLE, a cycling group specially created for women to network, and has cycled to promote the role of women in design and property, and to raise money for charity.[25]
Through her government advisory roles, she advocates the importance of design that connects back to people and place, and in 2017 she joined a panel of built environment specialists to respond to the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, as he launched his Good Growth by Design vision for the future of London.[26]
Quality of Life Foundation
[edit]In 2019, Morgan co-founded with brother Matthew Morgan,[27] the Quality of Life Foundation, a charity promoting healthier and more sustainable homes and neighbourhoods[3]. Its Quality of Life Framework, developed with URBED,[28] identifies six themes—Control, Health, Nature, Wonder, Movement and Belonging—as measures for better design and planning.[29][30] Under her leadership the Foundation has expanded its board and influence across housing and infrastructure sectors,[31] published guidance on community consultation, and advocated for post-occupancy feedback in housing design.[29]
Press and lectures
[edit]Morgan is a regular columnist for the Estates Gazette and Building magazine, she has written feature articles for the Financial Times,[32] London Evening Standard, The Observer, New London Quarterly,[33] and the Architects' Journal,[34] and has appeared numerous times on BBC Radio 4. She has lectured at 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 was a member of the RIBA National Awards Advisory Panel from 2013 to 2016, and was an expert interviewee for the RIBA feature production entitled, The Role of the Architect.[citation needed] Morgan is an external examiner at the University of Westminster, London and the University of Kent.[citation needed]
Morgan is an Expert Assessor for the NLA New London Awards, she sits on the Advisory Board at the London South Bank University,[citation needed] and is a professor at the University of Westminster, London.
Honours, awards and recognition
[edit]Morgan was shortlisted for the Architects' Journal's Woman Architect of the Year in 2014,[35] and won a 2015 Confederation of British Industry (CBI) First Women Award in recognition of her twenty-year career and her contribution to the built environment.[36] She is a Fellow of the Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce.[37] In 2016 she was appointed Visiting Professor of Interior Architecture at the University of Westminster.[38]
In 2016 she was awarded an honorary doctorate from the London South Bank University, was named one of Debrett's 500 most influential people in Britain and became the first woman to receive the Building Magazine Personality of the Year Award. In 2017 she received the New London Architecture (NLA) New Londoner of the Year Award for her work in championing design at the highest political level.
In 2019, Morgan was awarded the 'AJ100 Contribution to the Profession' award,[39] as well as the inaugural 'Female Architectural Leader of the Year' award at the Building Design awards.[40]
Morgan was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2020 New Year Honours for services to the advocacy of design in the built environment.[41]
References
[edit]- ^ a b Wainwright, Oliver. "Walking tall: Hastings pier wins the Stirling architecture prize". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 31 October 2017.
- ^ "Sadie Morgan". National Infrastructure Commission.
- ^ a b Rosser, Emma (3 October 2019). "Morgan launches Quality of Life Foundation". Estates Gazette. Retrieved 2 October 2025.
- ^ Majhail, Kieren (10 June 2019). "How can we reach quality housing in quantity?". www.ribaj.com. Retrieved 2 October 2025.
- ^ Lowe, Tom. "Sadie Morgan and developer Dicle Guntas launch initiative to activate underused spaces". Building Design. Retrieved 4 October 2025.
- ^ LibBrooks (30 September 2003). "50 women to watch: part three". The Guardian. Retrieved 15 January 2016.
- ^ "No. One Centaur Street – dRMM". Archived from the original on 22 September 2018. Retrieved 31 October 2017.
- ^ Jonathan Glancey (24 March 2003). "Roger Zogolovitch's One Centaur Street - my dream place". The Guardian.
- ^ "Terrace Meets Flat". Architects Journal. 3 July 2003.
- ^ a b "Awards – dRMM de Rijke Marsh Morgan Architects".
- ^ "Kingsdale School Transformation – dRMM".
- ^ "Clapham Manor Primary School – dRMM".
- ^ "Sliding House – dRMM".
- ^ "WoodBlock House – dRMM".
- ^ "Trafalgar Place – dRMM".
- ^ "Battersea Power Station Phase One RS-1B – dRMM".
- ^ "Past Presidents of the AA". Architectural Association.
- ^ "AA XX 100". Architectural Association. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016.
- ^ Flatman, Ben. "Sadie Morgan steps down as director as dRMM announces leadership restructure". Building Design. Retrieved 4 October 2025.
- ^ Enda Mullen (24 March 2015). "Sadie Morgan to chair HS2 Design Panel". Birmingham Post.
- ^ "Chancellor visits York to announce £100bn investment in roads, rail and flood defences". ITV News.
- ^ "Infrastructure at heart of Spending Review as Chancellor launches National Infrastructure Commission". HM Treasury.
- ^ "Heseltine reveals big hitters to transform the Thames Estuary".
- ^ "People – dRMM de Rijke Marsh Morgan Architects".
- ^ Morgan, Sadie (16 June 2014). "Sadie Morgan on the pedElle cycle ride to Venice". The Architects’ Journal. Retrieved 4 October 2025.
- ^ "Sir David Adjaye + Sadie Morgan join London Mayor Sadiq Khan's "Good Growth by Design"". Archinect. Retrieved 4 October 2025.
- ^ Flatman, Ben. "Sadie Morgan's Quality of Life Foundation seeks new chair for board of trustees". Building Design. Retrieved 4 October 2025.
- ^ "The Quality of Life Foundation Framework | URBED". urbed.coop. Retrieved 3 October 2025.
- ^ a b Flatman, Ben. "Post-occupancy feedback should guide housing design, report urges". Building Design. Retrieved 3 October 2025.
- ^ Publica. "Publica". Publica. Retrieved 3 October 2025.
- ^ Gardiner, Joey. "Quality of Life Foundation beefs up board". Housing Today. Retrieved 3 October 2025.
- ^ "Grey is not the only colour". Financial Times. 12 September 2014.
- ^ "Issue 16". New London Quarterly. 2013. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 12 January 2016.
- ^ "Sadie Morgan's stories". Architects' Journal.
- ^ "Woman Architect of the Year shortlist: Sadie Morgan". Architects' Journal. 10 January 2014.
- ^ "Sadie Morgan receives First Woman Award". Architects Journal. 17 June 2015.
- ^ "Congress / New chair of HS2 Design Panel, Sadie Morgan, to speak". Academy of Urbanism. 27 April 2015.
- ^ "Award-winning architect Sadie Morgan joins the University of Westminster". University of Westminster.[permanent dead link]
- ^ Buxton, Pamela (19 June 2019). "Sadie Morgan honoured with AJ100 Contribution to the Profession award". Architects' Journal. Retrieved 16 August 2019.
- ^ "Sadie Morgan named Female Architectural Leader 2019". Building Design. 1 May 2019. Retrieved 16 August 2019.
- ^ "No. 62866". The London Gazette (Supplement). 28 December 2019. p. N14.