Projects per year
Personal profile
Research interests
Architecture & Communities
Urban Design
Housing Design
Public Participation
Teaching specialisms
Architecture
Urban Design
Housing Design
Architecture Practice & Management
History & Theory
Digital Design Skills
Commercial and public engagement
St Albans District Council
St Albans Schools
East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust
Overview
Monica is a UK-registered Architect, Senior Design Manager, Senior Lecturer and Programme Leader. She is also a highly experienced researcher, published academic and teacher and holds two postgraduate degrees in Architecture: Master of Architecture and Master of Philosophy. She is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.
Monica began her career in Wales with a research funding award from the Welsh Assembly Government. Her research on the post-World War 2 architecture of Wales was exhibited throughout the UK including at the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) in London, the Royal Society of Architects in Wales (RSAW) and the Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland (RIAS). She authored the publication 'Building Wales' (RIBA Publishing, 2006) which remains the most important reference text for architectural works in Wales during this period.
Monica has wide-ranging experience of design research, including 3 years at the Design Research Unit, Wales; report for the Knowledge Exploitation Fund on Modern Methods of Construction; and publication of articles in the architectural press including Made and Architectural Research Quarterly. She and her work have also been featured in the Architects’ Journal.
An expert practitioner with 20 years’ experience in housing and masterplanning, Monica also has specialist skill in design management for planning and construction. Through her extended practice with UK-leading firms including HTA Design LLP and Levitt Bernstein, she became expert in housing design, as well as design for education and the arts, with a focus on people and placemaking.
Her professional portfolio includes the design of a wide range of strategic and masterplan sites for housing across the UK with leading housebuilders including Alconbury Weald with Urban & Civic, Bolonachi Building with The Hyde Group, and the redevelopment of the 1000+ home Ocean and Gascoigne Estates, London with Wates. Her public projects for arts and leisure include Devonshire Park, Eastbourne; Bruce Castle Museum, London; and University College London’s Wilkins Terrace, Bloomsbury, London.
Moving into Design Management in recent years, Monica joined a top UK-based developer to lead design delivery of major housing sites across the Chiltern Region establishing the company’s first Strategic Design Vision Group. At London Legacy Development Corporation (LLDC), she managed delivery of the UK-leading Post Occupancy Evaluation (POE) research project for the Corporation’s Chobham Manor Phase 1 development, and led design of the pilot study relating to LLDC’s Eastwick & Sweetwater housing developments.
Returning to academia in 2022, Monica joined the BA Architecture team at the University of Hertfordshire as Head of Level 5 and was appointed Programme Leader for the MArch in Architecture and Urbanism in 2023.
She currently enjoys passing on her expert knowledge to students across both degrees, leveraging her industry and research network to enrich their educational experiences and providing support to enable students to achieve their full potential and future goals.
Education/Academic qualification
Architecture, MPhil
Architecture, DipArch
Architecture, BArch
Architecture, BSc
Learning & Teaching, PGCert L&T in HE
External positions
Team Leader, Community First Responder Group, NHS - East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust
20 Jan 2020 → …
Education Business Mentor, Communities First
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Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years
Projects
- 1 Finished
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PoA24: PRISONERS OF ARCHITECTURE – Design and fabrication workshop
Pisu, D. (PI), Pintacuda, L. (PI), Oxborough, R. (CoI), Liu, E. (Researcher), Giuffrida, G. (Researcher), Trail, T. (Researcher), Cherry, M. (Researcher), Polimeni, B. (Researcher), Rehman, Z. (Researcher) & Bharadwaj, P. (Researcher)
1/04/24 → 17/10/24
Project: Research
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Building Wales: Adeiladu Cymru
Cherry, M., 30 Jun 2006, London : Royal Institute of British Architects. 84 p.Research output: Book/Report › Book
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A Shift in Teaching Architectural Design Studio: Adaptative Reuse and Retrofit as the Main Focus to Prepare Students for Complex Challenges of a Changing Profession
Pintacuda, L., Dimka, N., Trail, T., Cherry, M. & Polimeni, B., 28 Apr 2023. 11 p.Research output: Contribution to conference › Paper › peer-review
Open AccessFile23 Downloads (Pure) -
Building Wales: Touring Exhibition 4
Cherry, M. (Artist), 1 Mar 2006Research output: Non-textual form › Exhibition
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Building Wales: Touring Exhibition 3
Cherry, M. (Artist), 1 Feb 2006Research output: Non-textual form › Exhibition
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Modern Architecture in Wales
Cherry, M., 30 Jun 2005, In: C20: Newsletter of the Twentieth Century Society.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article