Bob Allies

Bob Allies founded the practice with Graham Morrison in 1984. In the years since, he has established a design approach that finds enjoyment in simplicity, technical rigour and longevity. An architect, urbanist and teacher, he is a widely published author and editor, and frequently lectures on architecture and the city.

Bob has shaped many of our significant masterplans, from King’s Cross to London’s Olympic Legacy, from Greenwich Peninsula to Brent Cross Cricklewood. With Di Haigh, he co-edited The Fabric of Place, published in 2014, a book that explores how settlements of any scale can evolve and change by building on their historic form and identity. The book forms the foundation of the practice’s approach to urbanism.

Bob is currently Visiting Professor in Architecture at the University of Reading and previously taught at the University of Cambridge, the Bartlett and the North-East London Polytechnic. Past teaching positions also include the George Simpson Visiting Professor at the University of Edinburgh, Kea Distinguished Visiting Professor at the University of Maryland and Visiting Professor at the University of Bath. He has been a member of the Faculty of Fine Arts at the British School at Rome and is currently serving on the School’s Council. He has been on the Council of the Architectural Association, chaired the Brick Awards, served on the Mayor of London’s Design Advisory Group and is currently chair of the South East Design Review Panel.

In 1983, he curated the exhibition ‘Model Futures’ at the Institute of Contemporary Arts, returning to the role of curator in 2010 with the exhibition ‘Projecting London’ at the British School at Rome. As a writer, he has been a regular contributor to Building Design, Architecture Today, The Architects’ Journal and The Architectural Review.

Bob trained at the University of Edinburgh, and in 1981, was awarded the Rome Scholarship for Architecture. In 2016, he was awarded an OBE for services to architecture.