Directors

Rupert Cook
BA(Arch) DipArch RIBA
Director

Rupert leads our university work across both London and Winchester design studios and has been responsible for specialist university faculties – both new build and refurbished – social learning spaces, laboratories and residential accommodation. He is joint-convenor of the RIBA's Higher Education Design Quality Forum that links architecture with the issues affecting university estates. His wider experience, since joining the practice over a decade ago, encompasses a range of sectors and projects including housing, student residences, mixed commercial uses, arts and cultural buildings, often where his interest in sustainable design has been at the fore.

He represents the practice as a founder member of Winchester Action on Climate Change – a widely recognised and exemplary sustainability action group – and is director responsible for the practice's first PassivHaus scheme. He is Chairman of Solent Centre for Architecture & Design and for the past three years he has chaired one of the Civic Trust Award judging panels. Rupert's commitment to nurturing excellent architecture is shown by his role as tutor and visiting critic for Schools of Architecture and he has been a member of the RIBA Validation Board. He has presented lectures on broad architectural issues and specific buildings including university projects, housing, sustainability or low energy design and community engagement.

Rupert's enthusiasm for IT makes him a natural to lead our in-house IT Group in many areas of adopting latest technology and he oversees our R&D into trends affecting the profession. His vision for the practice has seen early commitment to Building Information Modelling where we have made heavy investment in this exciting future.

rupertcook@architectureplb.com

Ian Deans
BA(HonsArch) DipArch RIBA MAUrbDes
Director

Ian heads up our housing and residential master planning projects across both Winchester and London studios. As a chartered architect and urban designer his expertise extends to mixed-use developments that include commercial and community uses often in sensitive locations such as Conservation Areas.

His achievements during 25 years in practice in the UK and the USA – the last decade as Director of ArchitecturePLB – include the master plan of Hampshire's largest new residential settlement at Knowle Village and delivery of its commercial centre and community facilities. He has completed major, award-winning public buildings in southern England and the Channel Islands. The diversity of his work extends to delivering the new-build Temperate House at the Listed Park of Jephson Gardens in Warwickshire that won a Civic Trust Award.

Ian also has an expertise in addressing public consultation particularly where communities are affected by major developments in residential areas. This skill is in demand nationwide in his role on the South East Regional Design Panel and as a CABE Enabler previously advising Local Authorities on projects such as Whitehill Bordon Eco-Town in east Hampshire. He has written papers on housing for an ageing population for The Housing Forum and New London Architecture magazine, and is a qualified Building for Life Assessor.

In-house, Ian chairs project Design Reviews and leads Human Resources at ArchitecturePLB, which has been recognised across the industry, winning the AJ Best Employer for the last two years.

iandeans@architectureplb.com

Nick Mirchandani
MA DipArch RIBA FRSA
Director

Over the last 20 years Nick has developed expertise in a wide range of building types and procurement routes working in the UK and Far East. At ArchitecturePLB he has been primarily involved in the education sector and in particular PFI, BSF, Academies and Independent Schools. Nick was project director for the UK's first PFI grouped-school projects at Peacehaven – acknowledged by many as a quality benchmark in PFI design and delivery.

Nick currently leads the practice's involvement in the Academies programme, having worked with a large number of bidders and local authorities, including Luton Borough Council, and the London Boroughs of Newham and Waltham Forest. He has also worked in the independent schools sector, for Merchant Taylors' School and as Technical Advisor to Wellington College.

His previously acquired skills in mixed use and conversion projects are also of great relevance in today's market, not least in the education sector, due to an increasing emphasis on community use and the remodelling and refurbishment of existing facilities to meet new requirements.

Nick acts as a RIBA Client Adviser for schools and is an active member of the British Council for School Environments. These activities enhance his appreciation and knowledge of the sector and help him keep abreast of new developments. He also leads the practice's in-house Schools Group.

nickmirchandani@architectureplb.com

Rachel Shaw
BSc(Hons) DipArch RIBA
Director

Rachel is the director who leads our London studio. Rachel has developed expertise in a wide range of community and education projects ranging from nursery to Higher Education projects, including Special Needs accommodation. She has worked both directly with Local Authorities to develop their vision and assess the potential of their existing buildings and as part of contractor lead bidding and design teams.

As practice lead on sustainability Rachel develops policies for in-house use, has overseen ISO14001 accreditation and drives the sustainability agenda on our design projects through the in-house expert forum that she heads up. This operates across the practice to ensure that all projects and business practices follow strong sustainable principles.

Rachel has a particular interest in the sustainable re-use of buildings and has won awards for two recent refurbishment projects: Kelmscott School - the refurbishment and extension of a 1960s secondary school - won the PfS Excellence in Design Award as part of the BSF programme, and Walthamstow School for Girls – the remodelling and extension of a Grade II listed Edwardian school – won a BCSE Best of British Schools Award.

Rachel sits on the Design Review Panel for the London Borough of Southwark and has spoken at conferences on education buildings and sustainable design.

rachelshaw@architectureplb.com

Mike Skilton
BA(Arch) DipArch DipBRS RIBA
Director

Mike's project delivery and technical expertise is widely recognised both within the practice and amongst our construction and developer clients. For this reason he leads our in-house Technical Review Group across both London and Winchester design studios that scrutinises technical compliance of all projects.

Mike is also the director in charge of Continuing Professional Development and Health & Safety. He lectures to construction professionals on procurement at LMU and has done TV work on the subject of education design.

In over 15 years with the practice, Mike has been responsible for major award-winning schools projects such as Haute Vallée in Jersey – a new, low-energy secondary school with extensive community sports facilities and venue for The International Island Games.

In the last few years Mike has concentrated on delivering a variety of large education and civic projects including four new Academies in West Sussex, 'Building Schools for the Future' projects at Bradford and Westminster, the Barking Schools PFI project and an urban regeneration scheme in Dagenham comprising library, retail and residential uses.

mikeskilton@architectureplb.com