Glenn Paul Howells (born 15 July 1961) is a British architect and a director and founder of Glenn Howells Architects.

Early life

Howells was born in

Stourbridge Stourbridge is a market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley in the West Midlands, England, situated on the River Stour. Historically in Worcestershire, it was the centre of British glass making during the Industrial Revolution. The 20 ...

, England and educated in

Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west. Plymouth ...

Practice

His practice, Glenn Howells Architects (GHA), has offices in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

and

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. Howells founded his practice in

in 1990 but later moved the main office to

in 1992. GHA now employs 150 people in its Birmingham and London studios and works across the UK in many sectors including masterplanning, residential, offices, education, retail, health, hotel and leisure. Early projects included the award-winning

Custard Factory The Custard Factory is a creative and digital business workspace complex, including independent shops, cafes and bars, on the site of what was the Bird's Custard factory off High Street, Deritend, in the Digbeth area of central Birmingham, Engl ...

, an affordable creative business space in Birmingham for developer Bennie Gray and a series of arts projects including the Market Place Theatre in

Armagh Armagh ( ; ga, Ard Mhacha, , "Macha's height") is the county town of County Armagh and a city in Northern Ireland, as well as a civil parish. It is the ecclesiastical capital of Ireland – the seat of the Archbishops of Armagh, the Pri ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

(which won a

RIBA The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) is a professional body for architects primarily in the United Kingdom, but also internationally, founded for the advancement of architecture under its royal charter granted in 1837, three suppl ...

regional award) and the Courtyard Theatre in

Hereford Hereford () is a cathedral city, civil parish and the county town of Herefordshire, England. It lies on the River Wye, approximately east of the border with Wales, south-west of Worcester and north-west of Gloucester. With a population ...

. The practice subsequently expanded into residential and mixed-use regeneration schemes with a series of projects for innovative developer

Urban Splash Urban Splash was founded in 1993 by Chairman Tom Bloxham MBE and Creative Director Jonathan Falkingham MBE; the company has spent more than two decades working with architects and designers to restore old buildings and create new, sustainable c ...

. These included Timber Wharf and Burton Place in

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

and the remodeling of Birmingham's landmark Rotunda office building into residential use. Among its public projects is the

Savill Building The Savill Building is a visitor centre at the entrance to The Savill Garden in Windsor Great Park, Surrey, England designed by Glen Howells Architects, Buro Happold and Engineers Haskins Robinson Waters. It was opened by the Duke of Edinburgh ...

Windsor Great Park Windsor Great Park is a Royal Park of , including a deer park, to the south of the town of Windsor on the border of Berkshire and Surrey in England. It is adjacent to the private Home Park, which is nearer the castle. The park was, for many ...

, shortlisted for the 2007

RIBA Stirling Prize The Royal Institute of British Architects Stirling Prize is a British prize for excellence in architecture. It is named after the architect James Stirling, organised and awarded annually by the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA). The S ...

. The competition winning scheme run by

The Crown Estate The Crown Estate is a collection of lands and holdings in the United Kingdom belonging to the British monarch as a corporation sole, making it "the sovereign's public estate", which is neither government property nor part of the monarch's priva ...

, was intended to create a gateway to the listed gardens reflecting the character and quality of the park. The building grouped all visitor facilities under a grid shell roof creating a series of linked spaces. The roof is constructed from larch and clad with green oak from sustainable sources from the Windsor Estate. It is supported by an earth structure on the entrance side which houses ancillary facilities, while the garden side is elevated on legs to take advantage of the views. It opened to the public in June 2006. Another key public project is the acclaimed

English National Ballet English National Ballet is a classical ballet company founded by Dame Alicia Markova and Sir Anton Dolin as London Festival Ballet and based in London, England. Along with The Royal Ballet, Birmingham Royal Ballet, Northern Ballet and Scottish ...

at the Mulryan Centre for Dance, winner of the RIBA London Building of the Year 2021 and the Architects' Journal AJ100 Building of the Year 2020. This public-facing, purpose-built facility opens up to a civic square and invites the passers-by in through a ground-floor exhibition and café, which in turn opens up to an atrium that connects to all the levels with a feature stair. Today, GHA is working on a number of large scale projects and masterplans including thousands of homes as part of the regeneration of London's former docks and the mixed-use redevelopment of the historically sensitive Paradise Circus area of central

for Argent. In addition, GHA are masterplanning Port Loop, a new canalside community in Birmingham for Urban Splash and Places for People. The practice is continuing to work with developer Ballymore by masterplanning former brownfield sites along the River Thames such as

Royal Wharf Royal Wharf is a residential and commercial development in Newham, London located on the north bank of the River Thames. It is built on the former site of ''Minoco Wharf'' and is near the Thames Barrier, west of Thames Barrier Park, and close ...

RiverscapeLondon City Island
in East London and Brentford Waterside in West London. The practice's design approach was featured in an interview for the ''

RIBA Journal The ''RIBA Journal'', (often known simply as the ''RIBAJ''), is an architecture magazine and website published by the Royal Institute of British Architects, based in London. It has the largest circulation of any UK-originating architecture magazin ...

'' in 2019. In 2018 Glenn Howells was appointed visiting professor at

Birmingham City University Birmingham City University (abbrev. BCU) is a university in Birmingham, England. Initially established as the Birmingham College of Art with roots dating back to 1843, it was designated as a polytechnic (United Kingdom), polytechnic in 1971 and gai ...

in its School of Architecture and Design and chair of the

Birmingham Hippodrome The Birmingham Hippodrome is a theatre situated on Hurst Street in the Chinese Quarter of Birmingham, England. Although best known as the home stage of the Birmingham Royal Ballet, it also hosts a wide variety of other performances including vi ...

Board of Trustees. Howells has often pushed the development of young, local talent and engages with Birmingham teenagers at the practice's annual work experience programme.

Awards

GHA's projects have won a diverse range of awards including those of the

Royal Institute of British Architects The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) is a professional body for architects primarily in the United Kingdom, but also internationally, founded for the advancement of architecture under its royal charter granted in 1837, three suppl ...

National Awards, the Architects' Journal AJ100 Building of the Year Award, the Chicago Athenaeum International Architecture Award, the American Institute of Architects Award, the British Council for Offices, National Homebuilder, Housing Design and RICS awards, Civic Trust and Civic Voice awards,

British Construction Industry Awards The British Construction Industry Awards (BCI Awards or BCIA) were launched by ''New Civil Engineer'' magazine and Thomas Telford Ltd in 1998, at the time both owned by the Institution of Civil Engineers. The awards seek to recognise outstanding ...

and

Concrete Society The Concrete Society is a UK based Nonprofit organization, non-profit company that was founded in 1966 in response to the increasing need for a single organisation embracing all those interested in concrete. On its formal inauguration, on 13 Octob ...

and Brick Awards. In 2019 Glenn Howells was awarded the BCO Regional Committee Chair's Award in recognition of outstanding contribution to the regional property industry.

External roles

Outside his architectural practice, Howells has spent time on a number of boards for creative and education organisations and advised government bodies and local authorities. He delivers lectures and keynote addresses and in 2017 gave
TEDxBrum talk on intensity and density
Advisory roles: * 2018-present: Birmingham Hippodrome Board of Trustees, Chair * 2017-present: Birmingham City University Board of Trustees, Member * 2005-present: Design:Midlands, Trustee * 2018-present: Ikon Gallery, London Advisory Board Member * 2015-2017: HS2 Design Review Panel, Member * 2011-2017: University of Warwick Estates Committee, Chair * 2009-2017: Ikon Gallery, Chair * 2008-2011: University of Warwick Council, Member * 2006-2018: Birmingham Hippodrome Board of Trustees, Member * 2006-2017: Ikon Gallery, Board Member * 2006-2012: CABE London 2012 Olympic Panel, Member * 2006-2009: Birmingham Prospectus Steering Group, Member * 2000-2015: CABE National Design Review Panel, Member Education roles: * 2018-present: Birmingham City University, Visiting Professor * 2017-present: Birmingham City University, Trustee * 2010-present: Centre for Alternative Technology, Visiting Lecturer * 2011-2012: Sheffield Hallam University, External Examiner * 2007-2010: Nottingham Trent University, Visiting Professor * 2003-2006: University of Nottingham, External Examiner * 1998-2001: Queen's University, Belfast, External Examiner * 1995-1998: Birmingham City University, Visiting Lecturer Awards judging: * 2015-2017: RIBA Competitions Judging Panel * 2012-2014: British Council of Offices National Judging Panel * 2003-2010: RIBA National Awards Judging Panel * 2000-2010: RIBA National Awards Panel

Projects

Selected projects include: Masterplanning * Royal Wharf, Royal Docks, London *

Paradise In religion, paradise is a place of exceptional happiness and delight. Paradisiacal notions are often laden with pastoral imagery, and may be cosmogonical or eschatological or both, often compared to the miseries of human civilization: in paradis ...

, Birmingham, * Maple Quays, Canada Water, London, * London City Island *Blackwall Yard, London *Port Loop, Birmingham *Martineau Galleries, Birmingham *Brentford Waterside, London *New Garden Square, Birmingham *Abbey Street, Nuneaton Housing * Brick House, Port Loop, Birmingham *Burton Place, Castlefield, Manchester *Elliott Road, Birmingham * Luna Building, Bermondsey, London *Kent Street, Birmingham * Maple Quays, Canada Water, London *The Mercian, Birmingham *Octagon, Paradise, Birmingham * Parkside, Cambridge, *Perry Barr Village, Birmingham * Printworks, London, * Rotunda, Birmingham, * Southside, Birmingham, *Straits Village, Nottingham * Timber Wharf, Manchester, * The Triangle, Swindon, * Urbanest King's Cross, London, *Urbanest Vauxhall, London, * Wardian, London *Wembley Link, London *Wirral Waters One, Birkenhead Single Houses * Glass House, Hampstead * Moat House, Dorsington Workplace * 125 Deansgate, Manchester *

, Birmingham * Eleven Brindley Place, Birmingham * i9, Wolverhampton * Maltings Place, Bermondsey, London * One Centenary Way,

, Birmingham *

One St Peter's Square One St Peter's Square is a high-rise office building in Manchester, England. It is situated in St Peter's Square in the city centre. Elisabeth House The previous building on the site was Elisabeth House, an office block constructed of concret ...

, Manchester *

Severn Trent Water Severn Trent plc is a water company based in Coventry, England. It supplies 4.6 million households and business across the Midlands and Wales. It is traded on the London Stock Exchange and a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. Severn Trent, the ...

, Shrewsbury * Two Chamberlain Square,

, Birmingham * Ty Admiral, Cardiff Public and Education *

Alley Theatre The Alley Theatre is a Tony Award-winning theatre company in Houston, Texas. It is the oldest professional theatre company in Texas and the third oldest resident theatre in the United States. Alley Theatre productions have played on Broadway at L ...

Strabane Strabane ( ; ) is a town in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. Strabane had a population of 13,172 at the 2011 Census. It lies on the east bank of the River Foyle. It is roughly midway from Omagh, Derry and Letterkenny. The River Foyle marks ...

(with AJA) *

Aspex Gallery Aspex Portsmouth (also known as "Aspex") is a contemporary visual art gallery located in the Gunwharf Quays area of Portsmouth. Formed in 1981 as the exhibitions arm of Art Space Portsmouth in a converted chapel in Brougham Road, Southsea, the g ...

, Portsmouth * Bramall Music Building,

University of Birmingham , mottoeng = Through efforts to heights , established = 1825 – Birmingham School of Medicine and Surgery1836 – Birmingham Royal School of Medicine and Surgery1843 – Queen's College1875 – Mason Science College1898 – Mason Univers ...

, Birmingham *English National Ballet at the Mulryan Centre for Dance, London * Lime Street Gateway, Liverpool *Moss House, University College Birmingham *

National Memorial Arboretum The National Memorial Arboretum is a British site of national remembrance at Alrewas, near Lichfield, Staffordshire. Its objective is to honour the fallen, recognise service and sacrifice, and foster pride in the British Armed Forces and civilian ...

, Alrewas, Staffordshire *

National Film and Television School The National Film and Television School (NFTS) is a film, television and games school established in 1971 and based at Beaconsfield Studios in Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire, England. It is featured in the 2021 ranking by ''The Hollywood Repor ...

* Newman University * Saint Martin's School, Solihull *

* The Courtyard, Hereford * The Marketplace, Armagh, Northern Ireland * Westonbirt Aboretum, Tetbury * Westonbirt Walkway, Westonbirt Arboretum, Tetbury *

Wirral Metropolitan College Wirral Met College is a Further and Higher Education College situated on the Wirral Peninsula, in the north-west of England. Overview Wirral Met is the largest provider of post 16 learning on the Wirral and is divided into five career-based ...

, Wirral Retail and Leisure *

Edgbaston Priory Club The Edgbaston Priory Club is a private members' tennis, squash and leisure club in Birmingham, England. The club is the host of the annual WTA Tour stop, the Nature Valley Classic. The 'Ann Jones Court' stadium has a capacity of 2,500 people ( ...

, Birmingham * Gloucester Services, Gloucester * John Lewis, Exeter * John Lewis, Oxford *Lakeside Activity Centre, Nene Park, Peterborough *One Ratcliff Square,

, Birmingham *Water Pavilions, Canary Wharf, London Health and Extra Care * Brassington Avenue, Sutton Coldfield * Institute of Translational Medicine, Birmingham * One Bayshill Road, Cheltenham * TouchBase, Birmingham * University Hospital Birmingham

References

External links

*
Glenn Howells presents a talk as a part of the London Festival of Architecture 2008 (video)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Howells, Glenn Architects from Worcestershire Living people People from Stourbridge 1961 births