Two of our architects join NLA’s Expert Panels

Housing delivery remains one of the biggest challenges for London. According to the latest review of the London Plan, around 52,000 new homes must be delivered per year. NLA’s Expert Panel for Housing is investigating ways to deliver the quality and quantity of housing that London needs. In 2020, the Expert Panel for Housing will develop thought-leadership in housing, focusing on how coronavirus may shape design; Net Zero targets for housing stock; future delivery via offsite technology and more.

– I’m delighted to be on the panel, and I look forward to bringing my knowledge of housing from both Scandinavia and the UK to the discussion. My work focuses on delivering high quality homes for all, considering a range of aspects including offsite construction, good layouts and daylight, as well as public realm and play, says Linda Thiel, Director of our London Studio.

Since 2015, White Arkitekter has been successful in winning several housing projects in London and across the UK, such as the completed Climate Innovation District in Leeds, consisting of 516 new low energy houses. Ongoing projects in London include three phases of the Gascoigne Estate in Barking, for Be First, and the Blackwall Yard riverside development in Tower Hamlets.

White’s London projects draw on Scandinavian best practice and demonstrate how to economically build zero carbon neighbourhoods that also provide healthier, smarter and better-connected cities. White Arkitekter is also developing the ambitious placemaking framework to support the regeneration of the Gascoigne Estate in Barking, London.

Charlotte Ruben, who will join the Healthcare Panel, has a solid experience in healthcare design and is part of the team managing the competition-winning proposal for the new Moorfields Eye Hospital in London, amongst other projects. During 2020, the NLA’s Expert Panel for Healthcare will focus on delivery, design best practice, adaptability and opportunities for regeneration.

– I am honoured to be a part of the panel. The need for knowledge exchange has never been more urgent, says Charlotte Ruben, Architect specialized in healthcare design.

White Arkitekter has won international acclaim for innovation within the healthcare sector for the pioneering New Karolinska University Hospital in Solna and the new extension of Karolinska University Hospital in Huddinge. The latter is an impressive case study of a pandemic action. During the pandemic peak weeks in Stockholm, the 23 new operating theatres were quickly transformed to create 64 intensive care units with three patients in each theatre. This was possible thanks to the building’s flexibility, adaptability and focus on humanity securing a light, safe and attractive healing environment.

We look forward to sharing some important insights and valuable design ideas in each expert panel as well as gaining valuable knowledge exchange from the other specialists and experts for each field.