Amanda Jane Levete (born 1955) is a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs, and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

and the principal of

AL_A Amanda Jane Levete (born 1955) is a British people, British architect and the principal of AL_A. While she worked as a partner at Future Systems, the company was awarded the 1999 Stirling Prize for their work on the Lord's#Media Centre, Lord's M ...

. While she worked as a partner at

Future Systems Future Systems was a London-based architectural and design practice, formerly headed by Directors Jan Kaplický and Amanda Levete. Future Systems was founded by Kaplický and David Nixon after working with Denys Lasdun, Norman Foster, Ren ...

, the company was awarded the 1999

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 ...

for their work on the Lord's Media Centre. She has also received several prizes and accolades for her work at AL_A.

Early life and education

Levete was born in

Bridgend Bridgend (; or just , meaning "the end of the bridge on the Ogmore") is a town in the Bridgend County Borough of Wales, west of Cardiff and east of Swansea. The town is named after the Old Bridge, Bridgend, medieval bridge over the River Og ...

South Wales South Wales ( ) is a Regions of Wales, loosely defined region of Wales bordered by England to the east and mid Wales to the north. Generally considered to include the Historic counties of Wales, historic counties of Glamorgan and Monmouthshire ( ...

. She attended

St Paul's Girls' School St Paul's Girls' School is a private day school for girls, aged 11 to 18, located in Brook Green, Hammersmith, in west London, England. The school is included in The Schools Index as one of the world's 150 best private schools and among top ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

and the Hammersmith School of Art, where she studied

architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and construction, constructi ...

before enrolling at the

Architectural Association The Architectural Association School of Architecture in London, commonly referred to as the AA, is the oldest private school of architecture in the UK. The AA hosts exhibitions, lectures, symposia and publications. History The Architectura ...

. Levete began her career as a trainee at Alsop & Lyall and later worked as an architect at the

Richard Rogers Partnership RSHP is a British architectural firm, founded in 1977 and previously known as the Richard Rogers Partnership which became Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners in 2007. The firm rebranded from Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners to simply RSHP on 30 Jun ...

. In 1985, as a co-founder of Powis & Levete, she was nominated for the

RIBA ''Riba'' (, or , ) is an Arabic word used in Islamic law and roughly translated as " usury": unjust, exploitative gains made in trade or business. ''Riba'' is mentioned and condemned in several different verses in the Qur'an3:130

's '40 under 40' exhibition. Levete became a partner at

alongside

Jan Kaplický Jan Kaplický (; ; 18 April 1937 – 14 January 2009) was a Neofuturistic Czech architect who spent a significant part of his life in the United Kingdom. He was the leading architect behind the innovative design office, Future Systems. He was b ...

in 1989. She also served as a trustee of the arts organisation

Artangel Artangel is a London-based arts organisation founded in 1985 by Roger Took. Directed since 1991 by James Lingwood and Michael Morris, it has commissioned and produced a string of notable site-specific works, plus several projects for TV, film, r ...

from 2000 to 2013 and as a trustee of the

Young Foundation The Young Foundation is a not-for-profit, organisation driving community research and social innovation. It is named after Michael Young, Baron Young of Dartington, Michael Young, the British sociologist and social activist who created over 60 ...

. She is currently a trustee of the

Victoria and Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (abbreviated V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.8 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and named after Queen ...

Career

Future Systems

From 1989 - 2009 Amanda Levete was a partner alongside her partner

Jan Kaplicky Jan, JaN or JAN may refer to: Acronyms * Jackson, Mississippi (Amtrak station), US, Amtrak station code JAN * Jackson-Evers International Airport, Mississippi, US, IATA code * Jabhat al-Nusra (JaN), a Syrian militant group * Japanese Article Num ...

. Notable projects include the RIBA Stirling Prize winning

Lord’s Lord's Cricket Ground, commonly known as Lord's, is a cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket ...

Media Centre, and the

Selfridges Birmingham The Selfridges Building is a landmark building in Birmingham, England. The building is part of the Bullring Shopping Centre and houses Selfridges Department Store. The building was completed in 2003 at a cost of £60 million and designed by th ...

store within the Bullring shopping centre. Their curvaceous buildings, made possible by new computer aided design technologies have been referred to as ‘blobitecture’.

AL_A

In 2009, Levete established AL_A (formerly known as Amanda Levete Architecture) following the end of her 20-year partnership with the late Jan Kaplický at Future Systems. The practice gained recognition when it won an international competition in 2011 for designing a new main entrance on

Exhibition Road Exhibition Road is a street in South Kensington, London which is home to several major museums and academic establishments, including the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Science Museum, London, Science Museum and the Natural History Museum, Lon ...

. Levete also contributed to the design of the courtyard and gallery at London's

, which featured a porcelain courtyard adorned with handmade ceramic tiles. This project marked the museum's most significant undertaking in over a century. AL_A has been involved in various notable projects, including the

Spencer Dock Bridge Spencer Dock () is a former wharf area, close to where the Royal Canal meets the River Liffey, in the North Wall area of Dublin, Ireland. As of the 21st century, the area has been redeveloped with occupants of the Spencer Dock development i ...

in Dublin (completed 2009), MPavilion in Melbourne (2015), the

MAAT Maat or Maʽat ( Egyptian: ''mꜣꜥt'' /ˈmuʀʕat/, Coptic: ⲙⲉⲓ) comprised the ancient Egyptian concepts of truth, balance, order, harmony, law, morality, and justice. Maat was also the goddess who personified these concepts, and regul ...

project in

Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...

for the EDP Foundation (completed 2017), the Central Embassy project in

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estim ...

(completed 2017), 10 Hill's Place in

(completed 2009) and the pop-up restaurant Tincan (completed 2014), The Dr. Lee Shau Kee Building and William Doo Undergraduate Centre for

Wadham College Wadham College ( ) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It is located in the centre of Oxford, at the intersection of Broad Street and Parks Road. Wadham College was founded in 1610 by Dorothy Wadham, a ...

at the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

(completed 2021), the design for Maggie's cancer care charity building in

Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

(completed 2021) and the media campus for News Corporation in East London. Internationally, she has completed three hospital buildings in

Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...

, the redesign of the D'Ieteren Headquarters in Brussels, and the design of a prototype fusion plant for clean energy firm General Fusion at Culham. and hotels and malls for the

Central Retail Corporation Central Group is a Thai multinational conglomerate founded by Tiang and Samrit Chirathivat in 1947, and still privately owned by the Chirathivat family . Its publicly-traded subsidiaries include Central Retail, Central Pattana (commercial real ...

. As a designer, Levete has created furniture pieces for Established and Sons as well as her architectural works. In 2025, Levete was among the UK-based signatories of a letter to the

Department for Science, Innovation and Technology The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) is a ministerial department of the government of the United Kingdom. It was established on 7 February 2023 by a cabinet reshuffle under the Rishi Sunak premiership. The departm ...

secretary

Peter Kyle Peter John Kyle (born 9 September 1970) is a British politician who has served as Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology since July 2024. A member of the Labour Party, he has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Hove ...

urging the government to reconsider its plans to allow

artificial intelligence Artificial intelligence (AI) is the capability of computer, computational systems to perform tasks typically associated with human intelligence, such as learning, reasoning, problem-solving, perception, and decision-making. It is a field of re ...

models to be trained using copyrighted works without permission. Other prominent designers to sign the letter included

Tomoko Azumi Tomoko (ともこ, トモコ) is a female Japanese name, Japanese given name. Like many Japanese names, Tomoko can be written using different kanji characters and can mean: * 友子 - "friendly child" * 知子 - "knowing child" * 智子 - "wise ...

David Chipperfield Sir David Alan Chipperfield, , (born 18 December 1953) is a British architect. He established David Chipperfield Architects in 1985, which grew into a global architectural practice with offices in London, Berlin, Milan, Shanghai, and Santiago d ...

Sebastian Conran Sebastian Orby Conran (born 5 April 1956) is a British designer, entrepreneur and inventor. Early life Sebastian Conran was born in London, the son of British designer, restaurateur and retailer Terence Conran and Superwoman author Shirley C ...

, Tom Dixon, and

Jasper Morrison Jasper Morrison (born 1959) is an English product and furniture designer. He is known for the refinement and apparent simplicity of his designs. In a rare interview with the designer, he is quoted as saying: "Objects should never shout." ...

Awards

* RIBA National Award 2018 * Cultural Project of the Year, AJ Awards 2017 * Leading Culture Destination Award, Best Museum Architecture 2017 * Iconic Awards, Architecture Best of Best 2017 * Iconic Awards, Practice of the Year 2017 * BCO Awards, Best of Best 2017 * The Chicago Athenaeum International Architecture Award * European Aluminium Award, Special Jury Prize for Innovation & Design * World Architecture Festival 2009 Interiors and Fit-Out Prize * CAB Aluminium in Renovation Award UK, Overall Winner''10 Hills Place''
/ref> * CAB Aluminium in Renovation Award UK, Special Prize * Leading European Architects Forum, LEAF Awards * The Chicago Athenaeum International Architecture Award * In the 2017 Queen's Birthday Honours, Amanda Levete was appointed

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(CBE) for her contributions to architecture. * In 2018, Levete received the

Jane Drew Prize The Jane Drew Prize is an architecture award given annually by the ''Architects' Journal'' to a person showing innovation, diversity and inclusiveness in architecture. It is named after the English modernist architect Jane Drew. Background ...

from the ''

Architects' Journal ''Architects' Journal'' is a professional architecture magazine, published monthly in London by Metropolis International. Each issue includes in-depth features on relevant current affairs, alongside profiles of recently completed buildings. Ten t ...

'' and ''

Architectural Review ''The Architectural Review'' is a monthly international architectural magazine. It has been published in London since 1896. Its articles cover the built environment – which includes landscape, building design, interior design and urbanism � ...

''. The prize acknowledges individuals who promote the visibility of women in architecture through their dedication to design excellence. * In 2019, Levete was elected an Honorary Fellow of the

American Institute of Architects The American Institute of Architects (AIA) is a professional organization for architects in the United States. It is headquartered in Washington, D.C. AIA offers education, government advocacy, community redevelopment, and public outreach progr ...

. * In 2021, Levete was elected as a

Royal Academician The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House in Piccadilly London, England. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its ...

Personal life

Levete, and the Czech architect,

, became acquainted in the 1980s. They married in 1991, had a son named Josef in 1995, and divorced in 2006. From 1989 to 2009, Levete and Kaplický collaborated professionally. Since 2007, Levete has been married to Ben Evans, the director of the

London Design Festival London Design Festival is a citywide cultural event that takes place over nine days every September across London. It was founded by John Sorrell and Ben Evans in 2003 and will stage its 23rd edition from 13 to 21 September 2025. In an article ...

. On 19 March 2017, Amanda Levete was featured as a castaway on the Radio 4 programme, ''

Desert Island Discs ''Desert Island Discs'' is a radio programme broadcast on BBC Radio 4. It was first broadcast on the BBC Forces Programme on 29 January 1942. Each week a guest, called a " castaway" during the programme, is asked to choose eight audio recordin ...

''.