Alistair Brierley has been appointed as the new Head of Design Research Unit.

Alistair is an architect and visionary who joined us after the practice acquired GMW Architects in 2015. Since graduating from the Bartlett, Alistair has been at the forefront of multiple high profile and award-winning projects including Istanbul and Medina Airports, Network Rail’s National Centre in Milton Keynes, multiple commercial buildings in the City of London, and a wide range of masterplanning studies.

He has worked across a wide range of typologies and locations around the globe and spent four years living and working in Austria as an architect. Drawing upon this experience, Alistair will continue the Unit’s legacy of driving design quality, innovation, and critical thinking across the industry, with a focus on making architectural research more accessible, inclusive, and engaging for all.

Seen as a twentieth century trailblazer, Design Research Unit was the first to combine expertise in architecture, graphics, and industrial design in the UK, responsible for familiar British design such the corporate identity for British Rail and Westminster’s iconic street signs.  

More recently, Design Research Unit and its closely associated Intelligent Architecture (iA) publication and brand have become further integrated into our methodologies and thinking. The Unit plays a fundamental role in driving research across all sectors and disciplines whilst encouraging collaboration and research with industry partners, and supporting future talent through academic outreach. It also provides a vehicle to manage international competition work on behalf of specific clients and to provide peer reviews and critique.