Waltham Forest Design Awards 2024: Meet the judges!

Since 1990, the Waltham Forest Design Awards have celebrated high-quality design in the borough’s-built environment. 

The 2024 Design Awards will be bigger and better than ever as part of a summer celebration of design. The Awards will showcase high-quality architecture and landscape design projects across the borough selected by a diverse expert panel of judges with a connection to Waltham Forest.

You can enter a design project right now on the Let’s Talk platform. Nominations are open until 15 January 2024.

Let’s meet our expert panel of judges and learn about their connection to Waltham Forest…

Waltham Forest resident Stephanie is an urban designer, architect and cofounder of Urban Symbiotics, an award-winning insight and research-led multidisciplinary design practice based in London that focuses on delivering social value and inclusive, equitable and progressive communities through a variety of project types and scales. 

She is currently an independent design advisor for various community groups, a member of Black Females in Architecture and was celebrated as a 'force for change' alongside Baroness Lawrence in Vogue's seminal September 2019 issue.

Stephanie says: “I’m really looking forward to the awards, especially as it’s located in my home borough! Apply, apply, apply! There’s a lot of great talent to be recognised, particularly those that focus on improving the experience of the borough’s eclectic, dynamic and varied community, residents, and businesses.”

Alex is an architect and town planner and founder of award-winning architectural practice Mæ. The practice, which designed the Warner Estate inspired housing scheme Hammond Court for Waltham Forest, has an international reputation for innovation and excellence and was awarded the 2023 RIBA Stirling Prize. Alex has been responsible for award winning schemes from masterplans to cultural buildings, housing to health care as well as policy such as for the Mayor of London’s Housing Design Guide and best practice publications for CABE. Alex is a former Mayor's Design Advocate, a member of the GLA’s and LLDC’s Review Panels and the RIBA's Housing Policy Group.

Alex says: “I am keen to see schemes that enrich our experience, uplift the spirit and benefit health and wellbeing. Great architecture improves the quality of life of those who use and pass it by. I’m also interested to see how projects respond to the climate emergency minimising embodied and operational carbon emissions and enhancing ecology.”

Lara is a designer who trained in architecture and spatial design. She has worked in academia, city regeneration, government policy, design studios, think tanks and global organisations that are focused on the bettering of people and planetary life. Lara’s research focuses on creating new interdisciplinary evidence bases to demonstrate the impact that well designed spaces can have on social, economic, environmental, and cultural wellbeing. 

Lara is an Associate Professor at the London Interdisciplinary School, which fosters new approaches to resolving complex and interconnected real-world problems, is Lab Director at the London School of Architecture and consults for a range of organisations from grassroots to governments.

Nisha is an architect, urbanist and Regeneration Manager at Lewisham Council and specialises in enabling community-focused, cultural and workspace projects. Nisha previously worked at architectural practice We Made That, where she led on a number of design-led schemes in Waltham Forest. She also pioneered RE¬-SET-GO, a practical programme designed to diversify the architectural industry. Nisha is a member of the LLDC Quality Review Panel, Brent Quality Review Panel and HS2 Independent Design Panel.

Tori is a 20-year-old Waltham Forest resident and works for the Council as a YIAG (Youth Independent Advisory Group) member. The YIAG are young people who act as youth consultants and aim to keep the streets safe through the Streetbase programme - Tori has been a part of the group for five years. Alongside this, Tori has had an interest in design from an early age leading her to choose to study Architecture at university. Tori was a Youth Judge for the 2021 Waltham Forest Design Awards. Read about the Young Advisors.

Tori says: “I am really excited to be a part of the design awards; I have always had an interest in design from an early age which led me to go to university to study Architecture. I have been a youth judge before, so I am really looking forward to being involved again and use what I learnt previously.”