Willie Miller (1950 – 12 January 2021) was a designer and

urbanist Urbanism is the study of how inhabitants of urban areas, such as towns and cities, interact with the built environment. It is a direct component of disciplines such as urban planning, which is the profession focusing on the physical design and m ...

based in

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popu ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to ...

. He was Principal of Willie Miller Urban Design
WMUD
, a design practice based in the

West End of Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated p ...

. Miller studied at

Glasgow School of Art The Glasgow School of Art (GSA; gd, Sgoil-ealain Ghlaschu) is a higher education art school based in Glasgow, Scotland, offering undergraduate degrees, post-graduate awards (both taught and research-led), and PhDs in architecture, fine art, and ...

, then at the

Scott Sutherland School of Architecture and The Built Environment The Scott Sutherland School of Architecture and Built Environment, Robert Gordon University, is located at the university's Garthdee campus in Aberdeen, Scotland. History The Scott Sutherland School of Architecture and Built Environment, a lon ...

in Aberdeen, and was assistant director of Planning at Monklands District Council, prior to establishin
WMUD
in 1996. He died in January 2021 at the age of 70.

Career

Willie Miller worked (se
location map of projects
throughout the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the Channel Islands, the Republic of Ireland and the United States (with partner practic
Studio Cascade
. Projects undertaken by WMUD under his direction include the production of a Healthy Sustainable Neighbourhoods Model for

Glasgow City Council Glasgow City Council is the local government authority for the City of Glasgow, Scotland. It was created in 1996 under the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994, largely with the boundaries of the post-1975 City of Glasgow district of the S ...

development guidance
for th
Energetica
project in

Aberdeenshire Aberdeenshire ( sco, Aiberdeenshire; gd, Siorrachd Obar Dheathain) is one of the 32 Subdivisions of Scotland#council areas of Scotland, council areas of Scotland. It takes its name from the County of Aberdeen which has substantially differe ...

, a cultural study of

Derry Derry, officially Londonderry (), is the second-largest city in Northern Ireland and the fifth-largest city on the island of Ireland. The name ''Derry'' is an anglicisation of the Old Irish name (modern Irish: ) meaning 'oak grove'. The ...

City Walls, tourism studies of Moyle and

County Leitrim County Leitrim ( ; gle, Contae Liatroma) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Connacht and is part of the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the village of Leitrim. Leitrim County Council is the local authority for the ...

in the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern side of the island. A ...

, the spatial aspects of the Regional Strategic Framework for th
Irish Cross Border Area Network
(ICBAN) with

KPMG KPMG International Limited (or simply KPMG) is a multinational professional services network, and one of the Big Four accounting organizations. Headquartered in Amstelveen, Netherlands, although incorporated in London, England, KPMG is a net ...

and a study of th
Crafts Industry in Southern Ireland
commissioned by th
Crafts Council for Ireland
in association with a consortium o
LEADER Companies
These projects suggest a move towards strategic design, though the practice maintains a core of strategic urbanism work through recent projects including a ne
town centre and riverfront strategy
for

Dumbarton Dumbarton (; also sco, Dumbairton; ) is a town in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland, on the north bank of the River Clyde where the River Leven flows into the Clyde estuary. In 2006, it had an estimated population of 19,990. Dumbarton was the ca ...

,
concept design study
for

Leven Leven may refer to: People * Leven (name), list of people with the name Nobility * Earl of Leven a title in the Peerage of Scotland Placenames * Leven, Fife Leven ( gd, Inbhir Lìobhann) is a seaside town in Fife, set in the east Central ...

town centre in

Fife Fife (, ; gd, Fìobha, ; sco, Fife) is a council area, historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland. It is situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with inland boundaries with Perth and Kinross (i ...

an
physical proposals for the town centre
of

Strathaven Strathaven (; from gd, Strath Aibhne ) is a historic market town in South Lanarkshire, Scotland and is the largest settlement in Avondale. It is south of Hamilton. The Powmillon Burn runs through the town centre, and joins the Avon Water to the ...

. Willie Miller promoted a collaborative and contextual approach to urban design - working across disciplines, in liaison with local communities, businesses and organisational stakeholders, and respecting local context and heritage.

Community work

As well as being a practising urbanist, Miller was also a commentator on urban design issues, a member of the editorial board of

Urban Realm ''Urban Realm'' is a planning magazine published in Scotland, with a focus on Scottish architecture, Scottish issues. The magazine was established as ''Prospect'' in 1922 by the Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland, and is the oldest ar ...

magazine, and was involved with

urban design Urban design is an approach to the design of buildings and the spaces between them that focuses on specific design processes and outcomes. In addition to designing and shaping the physical features of towns, cities, and regional spaces, urban de ...

education at the

University of Strathclyde The University of Strathclyde ( gd, Oilthigh Shrath Chluaidh) is a public research university located in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded in 1796 as the Andersonian Institute, it is Glasgow's second-oldest university, having received its royal chart ...

'
Department of Architecture
and the

University of Glasgow , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...

'
Department of Urban Studies
He was a member of the

Architectural Association The Architectural Association School of Architecture in London, commonly referred to as the AA, is the oldest independent school of architecture in the UK and one of the most prestigious and competitive in the world. Its wide-ranging programme ...

. Miller was also a member of the Paris-base
Association Internationale de Développement Urbain
(INTA); he was a member of the INTA Panels fo
Bordeaux Metropolitan 2010
an
Repositioning of the South-West sector of the Lyon Metropolitan Area: Givors-Grigny
in January 2013. He wrote fo
The Guardian
and

magazine, and lectured o
European Urbanism
at

Wayne State University Wayne State University (WSU) is a public research university in Detroit, Michigan. It is Michigan's third-largest university. Founded in 1868, Wayne State consists of 13 schools and colleges offering approximately 350 programs to nearly 25,000 ...

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

. He was also Director o
Co-occurrence
a digital agency based in the West End of Glasgow which creates web presence, graphics and photography for small businesses and public agencies. He talked about his photography at the Edinburgh Pecha Kucha held during the

Edinburgh Festival __NOTOC__ This is a list of arts and cultural festivals regularly taking place in Edinburgh, Scotland. The city has become known for its festivals since the establishment in 1947 of the Edinburgh International Festival and the Edinburgh Fe ...

in August 2012 and won a commendation for his work in th
Jon-Marc Creaney Photography Competition
organised by th
Glasgow Institute of Architects
in 2012.

References

External links

WMUD websiteWillie Miller Urban Design & Planning
Urban Design Group.

Architecture Scotland. {{DEFAULTSORT:Miller, Willie 1950 births 2021 deaths Alumni of the Glasgow School of Art People from Aberdeenshire Scottish urban planners