Ludo Campbell-Reid is Design Champion and General Manager of the Auckland Design Office at

Auckland Council Auckland Council () is the local government council for the Auckland Region in New Zealand. It is a territorial authority that also has the responsibilities, duties and powers of a regional council and so is a unitary authority, according to t ...

. He is an urban designer and planning specialist, and a competitive

rower Rowing, often called crew in the United States, is the sport of racing boats using oars. It differs from paddling sports in that rowing oars (called blades in the United Kingdom) are attached to the boat using rowlocks, while paddles are ...

Early life

Campbell-Reid was born to an English father and a South African mother in

Hampton Court Hampton Court Palace is a Listed building, Grade I listed royal palace in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, southwest and upstream of central London on the River Thames. Opened to the public, the palace is managed by Historic Royal ...

, southwest London, in 1968. He was educated at

Hampton School Hampton School is a fee-charging, boys-only private day school in Hampton, London, England. As of the 2024–2025 academic year, the school charges a minimum of £26,040 per year for attendance. Until 1975, the school was a voluntary aided gram ...

. He graduated from the

University of Westminster The University of Westminster is a public university, public university based in London, United Kingdom. Founded in 1838 as the Royal Polytechnic Institution, it was the first Polytechnic (United Kingdom), polytechnic to open in London. The Po ...

in London with a BA with Honours in urban planning studies, then completed a MA and

Diploma A diploma is a document awarded by an educational institution (such as a college or university) testifying the recipient has graduated by successfully completing their courses of studies. Historically, it has also referred to a charter or offi ...

urban design Urban design is an approach to the design of buildings and the spaces between them that focuses on specific design processes and outcomes based on geographical location. In addition to designing and shaping the physical features of towns, city, ...

Oxford Brookes University Oxford Brookes University (OBU; formerly known as Oxford Polytechnic) is a public university, public university in Oxford, England. It is a new university, having received university status through the Further and Higher Education Act 1992. Th ...

Rowing

While at school, Campbell-Reid was inspired by

Martin Cross Martin Patrick Cross (born 19 July 1957) is a British retired oarsman, and current teacher. Early life and education Born in London, Cross was educated at Cardinal Vaughan Memorial School He studied at Queen Mary, University of London, rowing ...

winning a gold medal at the

1984 Summer Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and commonly known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the ...

in the coxed four competition. Campbell-Reid represented Great Britain at the 1986 World Rowing Junior Championships in

Račice Račice may refer to places: Croatia *Račice, Croatia, a village in the Buzet municipality Czech Republic *Račice (Litoměřice District), a municipality and village in the Ústí nad Labem Region *Račice (Rakovník District), a municipality an ...

(which at the time was in

Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...

). While studying at Oxford Brookes University, he was stroke in their first

eight 8 (eight) is the natural number following 7 and preceding 9. Etymology English ''eight'', from Old English '', æhta'', Proto-Germanic ''*ahto'' is a direct continuation of Proto-Indo-European '' *oḱtṓ(w)-'', and as such cognate wi ...

. During a career break from urban design, Campbell-Reid worked for Aylings Racing Boats as marketing manager. During his time at Aylings,

Steve Redgrave Sir Steven Geoffrey Redgrave (born 23 March 1962) is a British retired rower who won gold medals at five consecutive Olympic Games from 1984 to 2000. He has also won three Commonwealth Games gold medals and nine World Rowing Championships golds ...

won his fifth Olympic gold medal (in Sydney in a coxless four) in a newly developed shell from Aylings.

Professional career

Campbell-Reid's achievements in urban design began in South Africa from 1992 to 1997, where he worked on the country's first

ski resort A ski resort is a resort developed for skiing, snowboarding, and other winter sports. In Europe, most ski resorts are towns or villages in or adjacent to a ski area–a mountainous area with pistes (ski trails) and a ski lift system. In North Am ...

, assisted in transforming the Victoria and Alfred basins into Cape Town's world-class

Victoria & Alfred Waterfront The V&A Waterfront, often referred to as The Waterfront and The V&A, is a mixed-use suburb in Cape Town, South Africa, featuring upmarket residential apartments, a major shopping mall, a marina, and multiple large hotels. The Waterfront sit ...

, and worked on that city's bid to host the

2004 Olympic Games The 2004 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad (), and officially branded as Athens 2004 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 13 to 29 August 2004 in Athens, Greece. The Games saw 10,625 athletes ...

. In 1997, he returned to London where he worked for ''Tibbalds Planning & Urban Design'' before becoming senior urban designer at Tower Hamlets Borough in east London. He worked on the transformation of London's

Canary Wharf Canary Wharf is a financial area of London, England, located in the Isle of Dogs in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. The Greater London Authority defines it as part of London's central business district, alongside Central London. Alongside ...

, and in 2003 was shortlisted for the London Planning Awards in the category of best

public sector The public sector, also called the state sector, is the part of the economy composed of both public services and public enterprises. Public sectors include the public goods and governmental services such as the military, law enforcement, pu ...

planner.Auckland City Council: City Scene
New urban design champion for city
, 16 April 2006 Campbell-Reid was appointed Auckland City Council's first ever Design Champion in 2006 following recommendations of The Mayoral Task Force on Urban Design. Campbell-Reid and his team at Auckland Council delivered the first City Centre Masterplan in 2012. This plan set in motion the people-centric urban renaissance of the downtown area and seven years on, they are now out consulting with Aucklanders on its refresh. They have been instrumental in creating shared spaces throughout the city, they have played a key role in the redevelopment of Wynyard and Britomart, and they have made their mark on globally award-winning projects like Lightpath – Te Ara I Whiti. Ludo Campbell-Reid finished at Auckland Council at the end of 2019 and went to the

City of Wyndham The City of Wyndham is a local government area in Victoria, Australia in the outer south-western suburbs of Melbourne, within the Melbourne Metropolitan Area, between Melbourne and the regional city of Geelong. It has an area of . The city had a ...

in early 2020, where he was for two years. Afterwards, he was at the

Suburban Rail Loop The Suburban Rail Loop (SRL) is a rapid transit system currently under construction in Melbourne, the capital of Victoria (Australia), Victoria and second largest city of Australia. The system is divided into four distinct sections. The two ma ...

Authority for two years, before joining the executive leadership team at the

City of Melbourne The City of Melbourne is a Local government in Australia, local government area in Victoria, Australia, located in the Melbourne central business district, central city area of Melbourne. In 2021, the city has an area of and had a populati ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Campbell-Reid, Ludo Living people Alumni of Oxford Brookes University Alumni of the University of Westminster Designers from London English people of South African descent English urban planners New Zealand urban planners People educated at Hampton School People from Hampton, London Rowers from London South African urban planners Sportspeople from the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames Urban designers Year of birth missing (living people)