AfH AGM elections 2024 - candidate statements

Please read through all the candidates statements listed below.

There are 8 candidates for 4 places on the Executive Committee.

(You will also be asked to vote on the Proposal to update the Rules as permitted by Articles of Association.)

A link to the voting page is at the bottom of this page

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE ORDINARY MEMBER - 8 CANDIDATES

Nigel Pilkington, Director, IKON Architecture

  • nominated by Alice Green + seconded by Matthew Hird

I am writing to express my interest in remaining on the executive of Architects for Health (AfH) working on the NHS future standards committee. I have been a member of AfH since 2019 and have been actively involved in various projects and events related to the growth of Architects for Health.

I am passionate about improving the quality and efficiency of healthcare environments through evidence-based design and innovation. I have contributed to the development and review of several NHS standards and guidance documents, such as the Health Building Notes, the Health Technical Memoranda, and the Design Quality Indicator for Health. I have also participated in workshops, webinars, and consultations with stakeholders from the NHS.

I believe that my skills and experience as an architect leading a Healthcare practice make me a valuable asset to the AfH executive and the NHS future standards committee. I have a strong background in healthcare design, having worked on projects ranging from primary care centres to acute hospitals in the UK and abroad.

I am eager to continue working with AfH and the NHS to shape the future of healthcare design in the UK. I am committed to advancing the knowledge and practice of architecture for health and sharing it with the wider community. I would appreciate your support and vote in the upcoming election. Thank you

Amrit Naru, Associate Director & Studio Lead Newcastle, AtkinsRéalis

  • nominated by Carole Crane + seconded by Gareth Banks

I am a chartered architect with over 25 years of expertise in healthcare and hospitality design. My experience extends to numerous major health care projects, working alongside clinical and contractor teams, in Primary, Acute, Mental Health and Elderly Care fields. My approach is research based understanding of healthcare planning, design, and guidance, having also studied at MARU, and subsequently, research opportunities in Sweden and USA. I have developed programs around thought leadership, written, and presented papers on design led panels regarding aspects evidence based design and wellbeing.

I have been involved as a member, more recently, a co-optee to the exec committee since the early 2000s. I am passionate about nurturing new architects and designers interested healthcare design and, as such, I am part of our SDA team.

This is an era where technology and AI are moving at a pace. It is to be seen how these will influence care and healing and how we approach the projects we design. AfH should be a “safeplace” for best practice, thought leadership, sharing global advancements and stimulate debate and will work with the committee to progress this. Outside of my work commitments, I will continue to raise the profile of AfH.

Jill Baker, Senior Consultant, MJ Medical

  • nominated by Dan Gibson + seconded by Kate Bradley

The importance of innovation and improvement is an ever-challenging subject when it comes to health. We know that collaboration and engagement is critical to success, but we need to be thinking about the long-term legacy we leave. To support the exchange of knowledge and continuous learning Architects for Health would benefit from a wider membership and introduction of local events across the regions. The introduction of regional leads with different specialisms would encourage new membership.

As designers and planners, we need to be connecting more consistently with the suppliers of medical equipment and driving much higher standards for the sustainability of medical equipment and its life cycle impact.. A great deal of time and rigour goes into the procurement process for these items but once in use it seems the overall management of the assets becomes neglected, ad-hoc and reactive. The wider membership could include Clinical Engineers, Medical Physics and potentially suppliers who are interested?

By sharing lessons, good and bad, we can support provider organisations to drive higher quality assets, integrate technology and medical advancement, improve patient safety and create better value for money in whole life costs.

Belén Francos-Taylor, Director, Ansell + Bailey

  • nominated by David Martin + seconded by Catherine Zeliotis

Belén joined Ansell & Bailey in 1998 and has over 20 years experience of working on a variety of healthcare new build and refurbishment projects. She became a Director in 2013 and is the practice lead for Healthcare projects in London.

She is passionate about working with people and problem solving to deliver high quality healthcare environments. She promotes incorporating ‘Evidence Based Design’ best practices and research into healthcare project proposals. Belén is involved with the NHS Future Standards Working Group.

Since becoming Managing Director in 2019, Belén has developed the core values of the practice and Social Value initiatives. As architects, everything we design should make places better for people to live and work but bricks and mortar alone do not make a community. It is by sharing our time and knowledge that we will truly help to shape the communities of the future.

Working with schools and universities to develop the next generation of architects and sponsorship of the Architects for Health is important to Belén. Her commitment to Net Zero has delivered a Future Net Zero Platinum Award. She promotes work life balance, hybrid working and launched an Employee Assistance Programme in 2021 to support staff wellbeing.

Alice Green, Director of Healthcare, Floyd Slaski Architects Ltd

  • nominated by Caroline Mulholland + seconded by Nigel Pilkington

‘Having worked progressively over 5 years with the board of directors of AfH, I hope to continue with my passion;

  • Influencing best practice in Healthcare design
  • Driving innovation through thought leadership
  • Collaborating and connecting with our rapidly growing global network of designers and decision maker

Throughout this time, I have successfully planned and co-hosted the Dream Stream series of events and represented the board of AfH through National best practice webinars. I intend to continue bringing engaging and informative events to our network that drive innovation and generate further debate, with the goal of improving the standards for Healthcare Design both in the UK and globally.

If re-elected, my future ambition will be to:

  • Continue to assist the Programme Leader in future events
  • Challenge design standards
  • Focus on digital integration and smart hospitals
  • Focus on sustainability
  • Focus on prevention

Since joining the Board back in 2018, AfH accounts with membership have grown by 44% and now includes over 40 new NHS members. Providing free membership to the NHS was something I was passionate about. An important change that will continue to mesh the health and care needs of society with; decision makers, designers, future trends of technology and sustainability.

Emma Smyth, Head of Major Projects, East Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust

  • nominated by Marc Sansom + seconded by Matthew Hird

I’ve worked as a healthcare architect for the last fifteen years. With my first community hospital project, I found the diversity of schemes, specialist knowledge needed, and inevitable complexities while working in live environments combined to create my ideal career. I want to be effective and to have a positive impact on patient and staff experiences. Where future demands or improvements can be met now, I will prioritise them.

I’ve recently moved away from practice, and am now Head of Major Projects for East Sussex Healthcare Trust. My previous experience creates an excellent foundation; I’m very excited to be assisting the Trust to create modern, compliant spaces, which best serve the community.

I’m continuously pushing future development within design, having published papers on Precision Medicine and the impact on future healthcare design. I sit on a GW4 steering group, producing a design guide for sensory experiences within healthcare. I believe proactivity will drive considered design and future successes within design, benefitting patients into the future.

I’ve been co-opted into the AfH executive committee for the last 18 months, supporting the Build stream. Were I to be elected as an executive member, I’d be well placed to bring a different perspective and encourage closer interaction between AfH and the NHS.

Martin Jones, Art in Site

  • nominated by Gareth Banks + seconded by Teva Hesse

My role on many projects in 16 years at Art in Site has sometimes felt like a last-ditch endeavour to create the best possible patient and staff wellbeing environment in a maelstrom of value engineering. I have felt very supported by architects in my work, perhaps because my ambitions echo and overlap with theirs, albeit often in different media. I have come to know challenges architects face in realising their best intentions, and to share a language with them.

I feel I will have a unique contribution to make to the AfH because my role in a project is fluid. As Queen Victoria was rumoured to say “Beware of artists. They mix with all classes of society and are therefore most dangerous.”. My work embeds me and my team with end users and clinicians at the point of a project where they are just fully realising what the building is going to be in an experiential and holistic way. My role is often to bring different strands of procurement together. I hope architects appreciate the positive creative conversations that are engendered in this way. I’m optimistic, and believe my perspective – increasingly evidenced by neuroscience – is useful, not dangerous.

Roberta Cuppini, Associate, HKS

  • nominated by Jane Ho + seconded by Beckie Howell

Roberta is an Italian Architect with 10 years of UK experience, ARB, RIBA registered and recently qualified as a Passive Haus Designer. Roberta has been promoting sustainable design strategies within HKS and as a member of the Green Global Forum, organising their annual London Green Week. She is committed to contributing to the Green Agenda and could support AfH with her overarching sustainability knowledge, PassivHaus skills, and passion to promote low energy and healthy buildings especially within the public sector.

Her aim is to reduce the CO2 emissions through meaningful design whilst raising the awareness on how the reduction of operational and embodied carbon can make such a global impact.

UK and Italian hospitals have been her focus, with Roberta recently leading the design for “Parco della Salute” in Torino: one of the largest hospital projects in Europe. With her experience through projects of varying scales, Roberta has also been involved with Technical Advisory roles.

For AfH, Roberta could be involved with:

  • speaking at AfH events
  • sharing ideas with other sustainable leaders
  • organise Green Events to help encourage discussions around the transition to Net Zero
  • connecting AfH members with green manufacturers proposing environmentally friendly solutions.
Continue to VOTE
  • Search