Bill Halsall

BA (Hons), B Arch (Hons) L’pool, Architect Dip LA B’ham MLI

Senior Partner, Architect and Landscape Architect

As a founder member, Bill has played a central role in developing the practice from a small local office to its current position as a national partnership. His ideas have provided the creative impetus to the evolution of the practice’s distinctive approach for over a quarter of a century.

His innovative work in urban regeneration has contributed to many pioneering and groundbreaking projects, particularly through the development of participatory design and user consultation approaches to developing urban solutions. Based on this philosophy, an interdisciplinary structure has been developed in order to deliver a ‘joined up’ approach to design, enabling close partnership working with communities; and public, private and voluntary sector clients.

Early work in the 1970s with Liverpool’s Housing Cooperative movement played a key role in promoting the concept of community empowerment, particularly through enabling participation in design by large numbers of ‘user-clients’. This approach has produced many award winning projects. The internationally known Eldonian Village project became a logical progression of these principles as a multi-faceted, community-led urban revitalization project, which has become a world recognised model.

Bill’s involvement in tackling urban agendas through community planning on a neighbourhood basis has produced consistently successful regeneration initiatives, which have proved their sustainability in practice. He has also designed projects in the Health and Community Resource sectors, which have promoted the Practice’s involvement in these areas of work and has led major masterplanning and urban design projects.

He has co-authored a number of publications such as ‘Building Homes People Want’ and Don’t forget the Jobs’ and been involved in research projects sponsored by the Housing Corporation and Joseph Rowntree. He acted as an assessor for many years on behalf of the Community Enterprise Award Scheme, visiting many groups and schemes throughout the UK.

Bill’s involvement and commitment continues to find expression through the design of convivial, safe and stimulating living and working environments which are conducive to communal life and create distinctive neighbourhoods with strong local identity and sense of ownership. Through his work, he continues to develop the principles of socially and environmentally sustainable design and the spirit of innovation in the design process.