Professor Sadie Morgan OBE: ‘Let’s bring a bit of joy back in our lives’

Posted on: 13 October, 2026

By Linda Serck

Standfirst: From transforming Hastings Pier to championing design at the highest levels of government, Professor Sadie Morgan OBE has spent more than three decades arguing that better places make better lives. Fresh from receiving one of the University of the Built Environment’s highest honours, she spoke to us about the power of community, the challenges facing the profession, and why the next generation of architects should trust their instincts.

What makes a great place? Is it the architecture, the public spaces, the connections between buildings, or something less tangible: the sense of belonging, pride and even happiness we feel when we’re there?

For Professor Sadie Morgan OBE, the answer has always been rooted in people.

One of Britain’s most respected architects and design advocates, Sadie has spent more than 30 years making the case for thoughtful, socially responsible design. As co-founder of the award-winning architectural practice dRMM, she has helped reshape everything from schools and housing to one of Britain’s best-loved seaside landmarks.

Her influence extends well beyond the drawing board. She has championed design through roles with the National Infrastructure Commission, Homes England and HS2, advocating for the value of architecture in major decisions about how Britain builds.

On Thursday 8 October 2026, she was presented with the University of the Built Environment’s prestigious Built Environment Award at a ceremony at the Institute of Directors in London, recognising her contribution to architecture, infrastructure and public policy.

Speaking after the ceremony, she reflected on what makes successful placemaking, the future of the profession, and the importance of a little joy.

Why good placemaking is about more than architecture

Having spent much of her career campaigning for design to have a greater influence on public policy, Sadie is encouraged by a growing recognition of the importance of place.

“I think now what is happening is that people do understand the importance of place – place in terms of creating places where people can thrive, people are happy, and people’s quality of life has improved. And creating a place is all about design.”

But she makes a distinction between the public’s understanding of design and the work designers actually do.

“What designers do is three-dimensional thinking. It’s connecting the infrastructure: it’s connecting the hard infrastructure, the rail, the roads with the social infrastructure, the playground space, the hospitals, the schools, and creating a place alongside the architecture.”

Architecture, she argues, has a much broader purpose than designing individual buildings.

“If you take the broad idea of design, it really is about how do we create places and spaces where we as communities can live a healthy, happy life.”

Hastings Pier: a Stirling Prize-winning example of community-led design

Few projects illustrate Sadie’s philosophy better than Hastings Pier, the Victorian landmark devastated by fire in 2010 and subsequently restored by dRMM, winning the 2017 RIBA Stirling Prize.

But when asked which project best captures her vision of successful placemaking, she talks less about the finished structure and more about the people who shaped it.

“What’s so interesting about Hastings Pier is that it was a project that we curated as opposed to design,” she said.

Extensive consultation with local residents revealed the challenge of accommodating different ambitions for the landmark.

“Ultimately we came to the conclusion that it was going to be impossible to fulfil everybody’s dream. So why don’t we make a place or a space where all of those things can happen?”

The result was a flexible public space accommodating festivals, exhibitions and quieter moments of contemplation.

“It is a very, very beautiful space,” she said. “It has the kind of spirit and energy that comes from a huge amount of people who have been involved in a project.”

She added: “I’m a great believer in the energy of communities – that loving something really does somehow find its way into the structure.”

Climate change, AI and the future of the built environment

From housing shortages and climate change to artificial intelligence, there is no shortage of challenges confronting the next generation of built environment professionals. Asked where she sees the greatest opportunity for positive change, Sadie acknowledges the scale of those challenges.

“I think if you think of all the things that the world is throwing at us, and we haven’t even talked about AI, I think you could easily just go and hide under a table with a cold towel over your head,” she said.

The answer, she believes, lies in collective action.

“Latterly, I think I’ve become quite a campaigner. I’m very involved in the NLA’s One Built Environment campaign, which says that the built environment as a collective industry is incredibly important.”

She is also involved in Answerable, an emerging initiative exploring a voluntary professional code of conduct around AI.

“My hope is that we remain campaigners, we remain critical, and we remain able to actively think about the issues – but more than that, not just get overwhelmed and frightened by them, but try to find a way that we can make small changes to contribute to the positive outcomes and to the solutions.”

Designing for wellbeing: why buildings should bring us joy

In 2019, Sadie co-founded the Quality of Life Foundation, dedicated to improving wellbeing through the design and development of homes and neighbourhoods.

Its work centres on six principles: control, health, nature, wonder, movement and community.

For Sadie, these offer a starting point for bringing together developers, designers and policymakers who might otherwise have competing priorities.

“People need to feel a sense of community,” she said. “They need to feel in control of the things that happen to them. They need to have access to nature, they need freedom of movement. They need to be in a healthy home.”

But she says there is another ingredient easily overlooked: wonder.

“And I’m not talking children’s playgrounds,” she said. “I’m saying that involving ourselves with cultural activities or things that we look at and we think are beautiful and fill our hearts with pride is something that also is incredibly important, particularly when things are tough and everything feels really hard.

“Let’s bring a bit of joy back in our lives.”

Sadie Morgan’s advice to aspiring architects: trust your instincts

Having founded dRMM in 1995 alongside Alex de Rijke and Philip Marsh, Sadie has seen the architectural profession change considerably.

Asked what advice she would offer students and graduates preparing to make their mark, she said:

“This is going to sound a bit corny, but just be yourself.”

It took her years, she explained, to recognise the thread connecting her achievements: a deeply held belief in social good, inclusion and the power of communities to look after one another.

“Everything always comes back to people, it always comes back to relationships, it always comes back to how we can support and help each other.”

She added: “Just trust your instinct; trust the thing that matters to you because that is what will set you apart.”

Study with us

Inspired by Sadie Morgan’s vision? Explore the architecture programmes at the London School of Architecture or discover the University of the Built Environment’s Architectural Design Technology and other built environment courses.