Broadway Malyan appoints new group chair

Broadway Malyan has appointed its practice principal Ed Baker as its new group chair, replacing current chair Stuart Rough,

Baker, who is also the main board director, design director and head of urbanism, has spent much of the past two decades working in Singapore and other international markets.

His appointment comes as the London practice targets a “significant phase of growth” in the UK market, and follows the firm’s merger with workplace practice Will & Partners.

Baker has led several major projects from the firm’s Singapore studio including a masterplan for a new health district in the city, along with a regeneration of a former red light district in Indonesia and a plan for addressing the housing shortage in Bangkok.

He said: “Leveraging diverse international insights, I am dedicated to advance our practice by integrating global innovations with our rich local expertise.”

“By focusing on excellence when it comes to urban design, master planning and landscape architecture, I hope Broadway Malyan can advance our future government’s interest in shaping dynamic UK urban environments that resonate on a global scale.”

Broadway Malyan chief executive Ian Apsley added, “Ed’s visionary approach and deep-rooted expertise in urban design and master planning are instrumental as we look to enhance our core services across master planning, architecture, landscape architecture, and interiors. 

“His leadership and insights will be pivotal in both our London headquarters and our global offices as we adapt to the evolving architectural landscape.”

Meanwhile, Rough has taken on a new role as global head of architecture following four terms as group chair of the practice.

He will continue to be a “guardian of Broadway Malyan’s design quality internationally”, the firm said, undertaking design reviews of large-scale mixed-use projects and mentoring talent across the firm’s global network.

The appointments come two months after developer Weston Homes scrapped Broadway Malyan’s highly controversial plans to build 1,100-homes in Norwich, a scheme which has been in development for eight years.

The practice has blamed the Conservative government for the failure of the scheme, which had been called in and had its local authority consent overturned by former communities secretary Robert Jenrick in 2018.