Farrell Review Champions

We are immensely grateful to the many industry leaders, panellists and experts who have agreed to act as ‘Champions’ for certain themes and recommendations within the Review. These Champions have made great progress in recent month by developing position papers looking into how industry and Government can take forward these chosen themes.

Please see below for information about each Champion and, where possible, a link to download their Farrell Review Position Paper.

School Education & Teacher Training 

  • Drafted & Championed by: Victoria Thornton, Founding Director, Open-City, & Charlie Peel, FAR Project Co-ordinator
  • Proposes the re-launch of the Engaging Places website to disseminate high quality resources, stimulate debate and allow for curriculum innovation by teachers

The PLACE Alliance 

  • Drafted & Championed by: Professor Matthew Carmona, UCL Bartlett
  • Sets out detail on the newly established industry-led membership body, including its objectives, mission and achievements to date

PLACE Network with Virtual Urban Rooms 

  • Drafted & Championed by Richard Connor, Assembly Studios; Dan Hill, Future Cities Catapult; and Simon Mabey, Arup
  • Sets out proposal for virtual urban rooms, so that every town, city and region can have a virtual place to visit to debate the past, present and future of that place

Proactive Planning and Public Service 

  • Championed & Drafted by: Finn Williams, GLA
  • Proposes a new national programme to embed talented young PLACE professionals within local authorities and develop the public sector’s capacity for proactive planning

PLACE Review 

  • Championed & Drafted by: David Tittle, Chief Executive, MADE
  • Proposes a forum to bring together Design Network members, professional bodies, the Design Council and the FAR team to explore how PLACE Reviews of new and existing buildings and places can be introduced

Valuing Design Quality

  • Championed & Drafted by: Alison Brooks, Founding Director, Alison Brooks Architects Ltd
  • Sets out emerging thinking around how to define ‘design quality’ and proposes radical reform of the RICS method of measuring value to take account of spatial, material and environmental attributes that consumers value


International Forum of Architecture 

  • Drafted & Championed by: Pat Brown, London Festival of Architecture
  • Sets out the current position and planning to take forward the FAR recommendation to develop an International Festival of Architecture

Improving the Quality of Local Decision-Making & Design Literacy 

  • Drafted & Championed by: Cllr Sue Vincent, Urban Design Network & Camden Borough Council
  • Sets out a number of proposals to develop the understanding of design principles and improve design literacy amongst local authority decision-makers

The Role of Artists and the Arts 

  • Championed & Drafted by: Robert Powell, Director of Beam and The Orangery
  • This paper explores the potential role of the arts and artists in the planning, design, animation, and management of the public realm and ‘place’

Heritage & Future Cities 

  • Championed & Drafted by: Hank Dittmar, Special Advisor, The Prince’s Foundation
  • This paper explores how we can all work together to address and manage the challenge of developing new housing while protecting the heritage of our towns and cities

Blackburn Urban Rooms 

  • Championed & Drafted by: Claire Tymon and Ian Banks, Blackburn is Open
  • Blackburn became the first town to follow the FAR recommendation to establish the first urban room. This paper describes Blackburn’s Urban Room and the ‘Blackburn Is Open’ initiative

Civic Champions 

  • Championed & Drafted by: Lucy Musgrave, Publica
  • Explores how architectural practices can champion the civic and how champions of great everyday places can be developed and come from all walks of life