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