Find more staff
Role:
Department staff:
Research staff:
- Qualifications:PhD ARB SFHEA FRSA
- Position:Dean ＆ Head of School of Architecture ＆ Environment
- Department:FET - Architecture and the Built Environment FET - Geography and Environmental Management
- Telephone:+4411732 82823
- Email:Matthew32.Jones@uwe.ac.uk
About me
Dr Matthew Jones is Dean and Head of School of Architecture and Environment at the University of the West of England (UWE). An experienced academic and practitioner, he is known for equipping students with the skills, attributes and knowledge to create sustainable, inclusive futures and the agency to make positive change in the natural and built environments. He is a Design Council Expert, a Fellow of the Royal Society of the Arts and a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.
Before joining UWE Matthew was Head of School of the Birmingham School of Architecture & Design where he led the development of the School’s Sustainable and Inclusive Environments strategy and was a founder of the School’s Green Gown Award-shortlisted Experimental Sustainability Studio. From his time at this diverse and multicultural School he has developed a particular interest in widening participation and supporting diverse routes into industry. He is a member of the Standing Council of Schools of Architecture’s EDI Working Group and an advocate for an inclusive and diverse curriculum that reflects the individual backgrounds, experiences and interests of learners.
Matthew is a strong believer in the mutual benefit of close interrelationships between practice, teaching and research. Having worked at award winning practices Allford Hall Monaghan Morris Architects and Design Research Unit Wales, a research-led practice based in the Welsh School of Architecture, he founded his own architectural practice in 2012. The practice was selected for New Architects 3, the Architecture Foundation’s survey of the UK’s best architecture practices established between 2005-15. He has led and published from numerous collaborative live projects between education, practice, industry and community partners. He is a former member of Hands-On-Bristol, a university-community living lab connecting architecture students with community organisations, and more recently has collaborated through teaching and research with CoLab Dudley, a social innovation lab based on Dudley High Street.
Area of expertise
Matthew has expertise in Education for Sustainable Development; civic agency and the civic university; and interdisciplinary university-community live projects. Matthew’s research focuses creating thriving and resilient towns and high streets, a theme he has explored through artist residencies, co-design workshops, teaching collaborations, architectural projects, community-led planning and academic research. In 2016 he completed a practice-led PhD exploring place specific approaches to the development of rural towns and in his recently published book, ‘Transforming Towns: Designing for Smaller Communities’ (RIBA Publishing, 2020), he championed the role of architects and designers in creating thriving places. He led the development of the community-led planning toolkit Shape My Town for Design Commission for Wales, is a member of the West Midlands Combined Authority’s Town Centre Task Force and has collaborated with community organisations and local authorities to explore the future of smaller places. He is a peer reviewer for Charrette, the journal of the Association of Architectural Educators and a previous judge of the RIBA President’s Awards for Research.
Publications
Publications loading...