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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