Glenn Paul Howells (born 1961) is a British architect and a director and founder of Howells.

Early life

Howells was born in

Stourbridge Stourbridge () is a market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. Situated on the River Stour, Worcestershire, River Stour, the town lies around west of Birmingham, at the southwester ...

, England and educated in

Plymouth Plymouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Devon, South West England. It is located on Devon's south coast between the rivers River Plym, Plym and River Tamar, Tamar, about southwest of Exeter and ...

Practice

His practice, Howells (formerly Glenn Howells Architects), has offices in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

and

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 ...

. Howells founded his practice in London in 1990 but later moved the main office to Birmingham in 1992. The practice now employs 150 people in its Birmingham and London studios and works across the UK and the Republic of Ireland in many sectors including masterplanning, residential, offices, education, retail, health, hotel and leisure. Early projects included the award-winning

Custard Factory The Custard Factory is a creative and digital business workspace complex, including independent shops, cafes and bars, on the site of what was the Bird's Custard factory off High Street, Deritend, in the Digbeth area of central Birmingham, Eng ...

, an affordable creative business space in Birmingham for developer Bennie Gray and a series of arts projects including the Market Place Theatre in

Armagh Armagh ( ; , , " Macha's height") is a city and the county town of County Armagh, in Northern Ireland, as well as a civil parish. It is the ecclesiastical capital of Ireland – the seat of the Archbishops of Armagh, the Primates of All ...

, Northern Ireland (which won a

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

regional award) and the Courtyard Theatre in

Hereford Hereford ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of the ceremonial county of Herefordshire, England. It is on the banks of the River Wye and lies east of the border with Wales, north-west of Gloucester and south-west of Worcester. With ...

. The practice subsequently expanded into residential and mixed-use regeneration schemes with a series of projects for innovative developer

Urban Splash Urban Splash is a UK-based Real estate development, property development business. It was founded in 1993 by chairman Tom Bloxham and creative director Jonathan Falkingham. Headquartered in Castlefield, Manchester, it also has regional bases in ...

. These included Timber Wharf and Burton Place in

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

and the remodeling of Birmingham's landmark

Rotunda A rotunda () is any roofed building with a circular ground plan, and sometimes covered by a dome. It may also refer to a round room within a building (an example being the one below the dome of the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C.). ...

office building into residential use. Among its public projects is the

Savill Building The Savill Building is a visitor centre at the entrance to The Savill Garden in Windsor Great Park, Surrey, England designed by Glen Howells Architects, Buro Happold and Engineers Haskins Robinson Waters. It was opened by the Duke of Edinburgh ...

Windsor Great Park Windsor Great Park is a Royal Park of to the south of the town of Windsor, Berkshire, Windsor on the border of Berkshire and Surrey in England. It is adjacent to the private Home Park, Windsor, Home Park, which is nearer the castle. The park ...

, shortlisted for the 2007

RIBA 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 ...

. The competition winning scheme run by

The Crown Estate The Crown Estate is a collection of lands and holdings in the United Kingdom belonging to the British monarch as a corporation sole, making it "the sovereign's public estate", which is neither government property nor part of the monarch's priva ...

, was intended to create a gateway to the listed gardens reflecting the character and quality of the park. The building grouped all visitor facilities under a grid shell roof creating a series of linked spaces. The roof is constructed from larch and clad with green oak from sustainable sources from the Windsor Estate. It is supported by an earth structure on the entrance side which houses ancillary facilities, while the garden side is elevated on legs to take advantage of the views. It opened to the public in June 2006. Another key public project is the acclaimed

English National Ballet English National Ballet is a classical ballet company founded by Dame Alicia Markova and Sir Anton Dolin as London Festival Ballet and based in London, England. Along with The Royal Ballet, Birmingham Royal Ballet, Northern Ballet and Scott ...

at the Mulryan Centre for Dance, winner of the RIBA London Building of the Year 2021 and the Architects' Journal AJ100 Building of the Year 2020. This public-facing, purpose-built facility opens up to a civic square and invites the passers-by in through a ground-floor exhibition and café, which in turn opens up to an atrium that connects to all the levels with a feature stair. Today, the practice is working on a number of large scale projects and masterplans including thousands of homes as part of the regeneration of London's former docks and the mixed-use redevelopment of the historically sensitive Paradise Circus area of central Birmingham for Argent. In addition, Howells are masterplanning Port Loop, a new canalside community in Birmingham for Urban Splash and Places for People. The practice is continuing to work with developer Ballymore by masterplanning former brownfield sites along the River Thames such as

Royal Wharf Royal Wharf is a residential and commercial development in Newham, London located on the north bank of the River Thames. It is built on the former site of ''Minoco Wharf'' and is near the Thames Barrier, west of Thames Barrier Park, and close ...

, Riverscape, London City Island in East London and Brentford Waterside in West London. The practice's design approach was featured in an interview for the ''

RIBA Journal The ''RIBA Journal'' (often known simply as the ''RIBAJ'') is an architecture magazine and website published by the Royal Institute of British Architects, based in London. It has the largest circulation of any UK-originating architecture magazine. ...

'' in 2019. In 2018 Glenn Howells was appointed visiting professor at

Birmingham City University Birmingham City University (abbrev. BCU) is a university in Birmingham, England. Initially established as the Birmingham College of Art with roots dating back to 1843, it was designated as a polytechnic (United Kingdom), polytechnic in 1971 an ...

in its School of Architecture and Design and was formerly chair of the

Birmingham Hippodrome The Birmingham Hippodrome is a theatre situated on Hurst Street in the Chinese Quarter of Birmingham, England. Although best known as the home stage of the Birmingham Royal Ballet, it also hosts a wide variety of other performances including v ...

Board of Trustees. He is currently the Chair of the West Midlands Regional Advisory Board at the

Canal & River Trust The Canal & River Trust (CRT), branded as in Wales, holds the guardianship of 2,000 miles of canals and rivers, together with reservoirs and a wide range of heritage buildings and structures, in England and Wales. Launched on 12 July 2012, the ...

The practice rebranded from Glenn Howells Architects to Howells on 28 April 2023. Howells has often pushed the development of young, local talent and engages with Birmingham teenagers at the practice's annual work experience programme.

Awards

Howells' projects have won a diverse range of awards including those of the

Royal Institute of British Architects The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) is a professional body for architects primarily in the United Kingdom, but also internationally, founded for the advancement of architecture under its royal charter granted in 1837, three suppl ...

National Awards, the Architects' Journal AJ100 Building of the Year Award, the Chicago Athenaeum International Architecture Award, the American Institute of Architects Award, the British Council for Offices, National Homebuilder, Housing Design and RICS awards, Civic Trust and Civic Voice awards,

British Construction Industry Awards The British Construction Industry Awards (BCI Awards or BCIA) were launched by ''New Civil Engineer'' magazine and Thomas Telford Ltd in 1998, at the time both owned by the Institution of Civil Engineers. The awards seek to recognise outstanding ...

and

Concrete Society The Concrete Society is a UK based non-profit company that was founded in 1966 in response to the increasing need for a single organisation embracing all those interested in concrete. On its formal inauguration, on 13 October 1966, the society to ...

and Brick Awards. In 2019 Glenn Howells was awarded the BCO Regional Committee Chair's Award in recognition of outstanding contribution to the regional property industry.

Projects

Selected projects include: Masterplanning * Sea Gardens, Bray, Ireland * Royal Wharf, Royal Docks, London *

Paradise In religion and folklore, paradise is a place of everlasting happiness, delight, and bliss. Paradisiacal notions are often laden with pastoral imagery, and may be cosmogonical, eschatological, or both, often contrasted with the miseries of human ...

, Birmingham, * Canary Wharf Vision, London * London City Island *Blackwall Yard, London *Port Loop, Birmingham *Martineau Galleries, Birmingham Housing * Brick House, Port Loop, Birmingham *Burton Place, Castlefield, Manchester *Hollandbury House, Brentford *Kent Street, Birmingham * Maple Quays, Canada Water, London *

The Mercian The Mercian (also known as 218 Broad Street by its address and formerly known as 2one2 Broad Street and Broad Street Tower) is a residential skyscraper on Broad Street in Birmingham, England. It is designed by Glenn Howells Architects, the de ...

, Birmingham *Octagon, Paradise, Birmingham * Parkside, Cambridge, *Perry Barr Village, Birmingham * Printworks, London, *

, Birmingham, * Southside, Birmingham, * Timber Wharf, Manchester, * The Triangle, Swindon, * Urbanest King's Cross, London, *Urbanest Vauxhall, London, * Wardian, London *Wembley Link, London *Wirral Waters, Birkenhead Single Houses * Glass House, Hampstead * Moat House, Dorsington Workplace * 125 Deansgate, Manchester *

, Birmingham * Eleven Brindleyplace, Birmingham * i9, Wolverhampton * One Centenary Way,

, Birmingham *

One St Peter's Square One St Peter's Square is a high-rise office building in Manchester, England. It is situated in St Peter's Square in the city centre. Elisabeth House The previous building on the site was Elisabeth House, an office block constructed of concrete ...

, Manchester *

Severn Trent Water Severn Trent plc is a water company based in Coventry, England. It supplies 4.6 million households and business across the Midlands and Wales. It is traded on the London Stock Exchange and a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. Severn Trent, the ...

, Shrewsbury * Two Chamberlain Square,

, Birmingham * Ty Admiral, Cardiff Public and Education *

Alley Theatre Alley Theatre is a Tony Award-winning theatre company in Houston, Texas. It is the oldest professional theatre company in Texas and the third oldest resident theatre in the United States. Alley Theatre productions have played on Broadway at Lin ...

Strabane Strabane (; ) is a town in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. Strabane had a population of 13,507 at the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 census. This article contains quotations from this source, which is available under th Open Government Li ...

(with AJA){{cite web , title=Alley Arts & Conference Centre , url=https://glennhowells.co.uk/project/alley-arts-conference-centre/ , website=Glenn Howells , accessdate=9 January 2020 , archive-date=25 October 2020 , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201025050535/https://www.glennhowells.co.uk/project/alley-arts-conference-centre/ , url-status=dead *

Aspex Gallery Aspex Portsmouth (also known as "Aspex") is a contemporary visual art gallery located in the Gunwharf Quays area of Portsmouth. Formed in 1981 as the exhibitions arm of Art Space Portsmouth in a converted chapel in Brougham Road, Southsea, the g ...

, Portsmouth * Bramall Music Building,

University of Birmingham The University of Birmingham (informally Birmingham University) is a Public university, public research university in Birmingham, England. It received its royal charter in 1900 as a successor to Queen's College, Birmingham (founded in 1825 as ...

, Birmingham *English National Ballet at the Mulryan Centre for Dance, London * Lime Street Gateway, Liverpool *Moss House, University College Birmingham *

National Memorial Arboretum The National Memorial Arboretum is a British site of national remembrance at Alrewas, near Lichfield, Staffordshire, England. Its objective is to honour the fallen, recognise service and sacrifice, and foster pride in the British Armed Forces and ...

, Alrewas, Staffordshire *

National Film and Television School The National Film and Television School (NFTS) is a film, television and games school established in 1971 and based at Beaconsfield Studios in Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire, England. It is featured in the 2024 ranking by ''The Hollywood Repo ...

* Newman University * Saint Martin's School, Solihull *

* The Courtyard, Hereford * The Marketplace, Armagh, Northern Ireland * Westonbirt Aboretum, Tetbury * Westonbirt Walkway, Westonbirt Arboretum, Tetbury *

Wirral Metropolitan College Wirral Met College is a Further and Higher Education College situated on the Wirral Peninsula, in the north-west of England. Overview Wirral Met is the largest provider of post 16 learning on the Wirral and is divided into five career-based ...

, Wirral Retail and Leisure *

Edgbaston Priory Club The Edgbaston Priory Club is a private members' tennis, squash (sport), squash and leisure club in Birmingham, England. The club is the host of the annual Women's Tennis Association, WTA Tour stop, the Birmingham Classic (tennis), Rothesay Cla ...

, Birmingham * Gloucester Services, Gloucester * John Lewis, Exeter * John Lewis, Oxford *Lakeside Activity Centre, Nene Park, Peterborough *One Ratcliff Square,

, Birmingham *Water Pavilions, Canary Wharf, London Health and Extra Care * Chapelwood, Wilmslow, Cheshire * Institute of Translational Medicine, Birmingham * One Bayshill Road, Cheltenham * TouchBase, Birmingham{{Cite web, url=http://glennhowells.co.uk/project/sense/, title=GHA Project {{! TouchBase, website=Glenn Howells Architects, language=en-US, access-date=2016-03-08, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160603003825/http://glennhowells.co.uk/project/sense/, archive-date=3 June 2016, url-status=dead

References

{{Reflist

External links

*{{official website, http://www.glennhowells.co.uk/
Glenn Howells presents a talk as a part of the London Festival of Architecture 2008 (video)
{{Authority control {{DEFAULTSORT:Howells, Glenn Architects from Worcestershire Living people People from Stourbridge 1961 births