Alison Brooks

Alison Brooks Architects

Alison Brooks is one of the leading architects of her generation. Her practice, Alison Brooks Architects (ABA), founded in 1996, is a ground-breaking, ethically driven practice internationally recognised for design excellence.


Alison's ideas are developed through forensic research into the physical nature of a site and its cultural connections, so that each project is unique, yet is intrinsically of its place. Alison's work attracts acclaim for its conceptual rigour, sculptural quality and ingenious detailing. ABA's diverse portfolio encompasses urban design, housing, education and arts.


Alison has become a public voice for the profession, advocating the role of housing as civic building, the resurgence of building craft and the use of timber. As a founding signatory of �Architects Declare�, progressive sustainability is at the heart of her ethos. She works with local authorities, health charities, arts organisations and private developers using creative persuasion to deliver schemes with an enhanced social offer.


Her mission is to understand how architecture can perform as a sustaining platform for all of society; supporting both nature and human culture removing the boundaries between us. ABA takes a proactive diversity policy, believing that diversity brings strength. Currently half of the staff are women, and 15% BAME.


In 2017 Alison won the AJ 100 Contribution to the Profession Award, and in 2013 was AJ Woman Architect of the Year. She is a Trustee of Open-City, was a member of The Farrell Review of Architecture and the Built Environment, and the RIBA Awards group from 2010-15. Alison was appointed as a Royal Designer for Industry by the RSA and selected as Mayor's Design Advocate for London. In 2018, Alison was appointed as the John T. Dunlop Design Critic in Architecture at Harvard GSD and taught a Masters in Collective Housing at ETSAM, Universidad Politcnica of Madrid.