London's mayor appoints design advocates

Alison Brooks, David Adjaye and Sadie Morgan are among the architects appointed by London mayor Sadiq Khan as design advocates to work with City Hall and local councils as part of an initiative to improve design in the capital.

The Good Growth by Design programme is to set ambitious design standards, undertake design reviews, place designers and planners with local authorities for up to a year to help plug the skills gap councils are facing and support diversity in the built environment sector.

Khan said: “London is facing unprecedented population growth and with that comes challenging work but also amazing opportunities to deliver a city that is socially integrated, sustainable, healthier, safer and with a world class public realm.

“We must embrace London’s rapid growth with both hands and take this chance to use good architecture and planning to make a real difference to the lives of Londoners. And this is a chance to learn from past mistakes, some of which are still dotted across our city, and blight the lives of the communities that live in them.

“One of the way I want to apply the principles of Good Growth is to re-balance development in London away from the high-price homes in central London towards more genuinely affordable homes for all Londoners. 

Others on the panel include former RIBA president Sunand Prasad and the chairman of think tank New London Architecture Peter Murray.

Murray said: “I am very pleased to support this programme to help to ensure that good design and placemaking is embedded in new development as London faces a period of unprecedented growth.”