Simon Allford (born July 1961, in Sheffield, UK) is a British architect, and is the co-founder and director of Allford Hall Monaghan Morris (AHMM). He is a past President 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 ...

(RIBA), and serves as a member of both the Board and Award judging panel. Allford was previously the chair of the board of trustees of The Architecture Foundation (2013-2018), a trustee of the Architectural Association Foundation, and the Vice President for Education at the

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

. He is currently a trustee at the London School of Architecture and Chickenshed Theatre Trust. The son of architect David Allford, chair of YRM, Simon Allford was born in July 1961. He attended the

University of Sheffield The University of Sheffield (informally Sheffield University or TUOS) is a public university, public research university in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. Its history traces back to the foundation of Sheffield Medical School in 1828, Fir ...

and the Bartlett School of Architecture, where he has since worked as a lecturer. Allford is a visiting professor at the

Harvard Graduate School of Design The Harvard Graduate School of Design (GSD) is the graduate school of design at Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It offers master's and doctoral programs in architecture, landscape architecture, urba ...

and The Bartlett. In 1989, with Jonathan Hall, Paul Monaghan and Peter Morris, he established AHMM. The practice today employs over 450 people working on projects in

education Education is the transmission of knowledge and skills and the development of character traits. Formal education occurs within a structured institutional framework, such as public schools, following a curriculum. Non-formal education als ...

healthcare Health care, or healthcare, is the improvement or maintenance of health via the preventive healthcare, prevention, diagnosis, therapy, treatment, wikt:amelioration, amelioration or cure of disease, illness, injury, and other disability, physic ...

housing Housing refers to a property containing one or more Shelter (building), shelter as a living space. Housing spaces are inhabited either by individuals or a collective group of people. Housing is also referred to as a human need and right to ...

arts The arts or creative arts are a vast range of human practices involving creativity, creative expression, storytelling, and cultural participation. The arts encompass diverse and plural modes of thought, deeds, and existence in an extensive ...

and

offices An office is a space where the employees of an organization perform administrative work in order to support and realize the various goals of the organization. The word "office" may also denote a position within an organization with specific dut ...

. In 2017, it became majority employee-owned through an employee ownership trust. AHMM was awarded the 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 ...

in 2015 for their design of Burntwood School, in

Wandsworth Wandsworth Town () is a district of south London, within the London Borough of Wandsworth southwest of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. Toponymy Wandsworth takes its name ...

, London. The judging panel said of the project: "Burntwood School demonstrates the full range of the skills that architects can offer to society… It encompasses great contemporary design and clever reuse of existing buildings as well as superb integration of artwork, landscaping and engineering." In November 2013, it was announced that Allford would be the new chair of the board of trustees of The Architecture Foundation. Allford was elected RIBA President (2021–2023) in August 2020.

RIBA president

In April 2020, Allford criticised the

in ''

Architects' Journal ''Architects' Journal'' is a professional architecture magazine, published monthly in London by Metropolis International. Each issue includes in-depth features on relevant current affairs, alongside profiles of recently completed buildings. Ten t ...

'', describing it as "sadly ever-less relevant", and was subsequently urged by RIBA members to seek election as president and bring about some change at the institute. In August 2020, Allford was elected to be the next RIBA president; serving a two-year term, he succeeded Alan Jones on 1 September 2021. He subsequently said that:

"The RIBA has to focus on where it is useful. ... The members are the ... intellectual powerhouse of the profession, not the institute. ... There is an opportunity to reboot to become smaller, leaner and more agile. The RIBA's efforts were diluted by trying to do everything for everyone."

One of Allford’s priorities as part of his presidency was to increase engagement between the RIBA, its members, and the public. He proposed the creation of a ‘House of Architecture @ RIBA’, an online and physical resource for architecture. In March 2022, Allford was accused of a conflict of interest after his practice AHMM was shortlisted in a RIBA-organised competition to design a new base for the Maltings Cultural Venue in

Berwick-upon-Tweed Berwick-upon-Tweed (), sometimes known as Berwick-on-Tweed or simply Berwick, is a town and civil parish in Northumberland, England, south of the Anglo-Scottish border, and the northernmost town in England. The 2011 United Kingdom census recor ...

Northumberland Northumberland ( ) is a ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North East England, on the Anglo-Scottish border, border with Scotland. It is bordered by the North Sea to the east, Tyne and Wear and County Durham to the south, Cumb ...

. A RIBA spokesman said the evaluation process had been managed by

Northumberland County Council Northumberland County Council is the Local government in England, local authority for the non-metropolitan county of Northumberland in North East England. Since 2009 it has been a Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority, having also ...

, and not by the RIBA. "The RIBA president was not involved in any way in the evaluation process, and will not be personally involved in The Maltings project. His direct connection to the RIBA, and the practice’s indirect connection to the RIBA through him, had no bearing on the selection panel’s decision making.". The final outcome of the competition, as confirmed by the Architects' Journal 31 March 2023, was that one of the other shortlisted practices, MICA Architects were successful - "The practice was selected ahead of AHMM, Burrell Foley Fischer, Carmody Groarke and Space Architects in the RIBA Competitions Office-organised search for an architect to oversee the landmark project". In early April 2022, a RIBA walking tour of London's

Barbican Estate The Barbican Estate, or Barbican, is a residential complex of around 2,000 flats, Apartment#Maisonette, maisonettes and houses in central London, England, within the City of London. It is in an area once devastated by World War II bombings an ...

was ambushed by residents protesting against AHMM's involvement in a 24-storey tower at Houndsditch, claiming it will cause loss of light to flats and community amenity areas. A leaflet asserted: "Allford used his RIBA position to push forward plans that will blight the lives of Middlesex Street Estate residents in the east of the City." At his departing address, Allford referenced the ambitions he was able to realise during his presidency, including improving the financial issues at the institution and establishing the House of Architecture.

Selected Works

* Angel Building, London * Tea Factory, London * Chobham Academy, London * White Collar Factory, London * Adelaide Wharf, London * 6 Pancras Square, London * 240 Blackfriars, London * Soho Place, London *

University of Amsterdam The University of Amsterdam (abbreviated as UvA, ) is a public university, public research university located in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Established in 1632 by municipal authorities, it is the fourth-oldest academic institution in the Netherlan ...

, Amsterdam *

Oklahoma City Ballet The Oklahoma City Ballet is a professional dance company and school located in Oklahoma City. The company began under the artistic direction of Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo dancers Yvonne Chouteau and Miguel Terekhov in the Science and Arts Foun ...

, Oklahoma * Oklahoma City Sheriff's Office, Oklahoma * The Citizen, Oklahoma

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Allford, Simon 1961 births Living people Architects from London Alumni of the University of Sheffield Alumni of University College London Presidents of the Royal Institute of British Architects