Damien has a leading reputation as an architect in England for design in historic locations, deploying his skills at stitching new buildings in sensitive sites, whether attached to nationally designated assets or more loosely located in and around historic urban or landscape fabric.
He is an evangelist for finding new value and uses for old buildings; for allowing new and contemporary architecture a place alongside beloved older fabric; and for weighing a fine balance between the cultural value embodied in our oldest structures and their continued financial viability – going by the mantra that ‘heritage must remain useful and relevant’. Since 1996, Damien has led the team to numerous national and regional awards and has been featured in many design magazines, the national press and on British television.
Parallel to his professional career, he continues to pursue cultural, educational and charitable activities as Founding Trustee of The Blower Foundation, a registered UK charitable Trust. He was a Visiting Lecturer at the University for the Creative Arts (UCA) between 2010-2015, teaching design studios at both Undergraduate and Masters levels and is dually qualified as an architect in the UK and Switzerland as a member of the professional institutes of both countries. Damien has three adult children and spends an equal amount of time between the Country Office in England’s South Downs National Park and the European Office in the mountains near Lausanne in the Swiss Canton of Vaud.
Damien has an abiding passion for the Great Outdoors and, when not at his drawing board, is as likely to be found strapped to something on his feet or hands, launching himself into waves, over ice, up rock or across snow.
Credentials
Member, The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA)
Fellow, The Royal Society of Arts (FRSA)
Architect (REG A), Swiss Institute of Architects & Engineers (SIA)
Architect, UK Architects Registration Board (ARB)
Full Member (Accredited), Institute of Historic Building Conservation (IHBC)
Previous Experience
Frank Gehry Architects, Los Angeles
Education
MArch, Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-Arc, Los Angeles)
MA, Institute of Archaeology, University College London (UCL)
BSc, Bartlett School of Architecture, University College London (UCL)
Royal Grammar School, Guildford