Professor Mhairi McVicar
(she/her)

PhD, NCARB (USA), M Arch, BSc Hons in Architecture Studies

: Available for postgraduate supervision

Teams and roles for Mhairi McVicar

Academic Lead, Community Gateway
Academic
Professor in Architecture
Welsh School of Architecture
Academic and research staff
Design research and professional practice - Academic Staff

Responsibilities

Academic Lead, Community Gateway,

Higher Degree supervisor (MPhil / PhD)

External activities

Trustee and Secretary, Grange Pavilion Charitable Incoporated Organisation

Honorary Lifetime Member, Royal Society of Architects in Wales

Affiliate Member, Royal Institute of British Architects

Fellow of the RSA (Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufacture and Commerce)

Other information

I am a founder and Academic Lead of Cardiff University's Community Gateway, a community-university engagement platform which develops partnership projects between Grangetown and Cardiff University, including the 2020 launch of a £1.8 million community-led partnership redevelopment of a previously vacant civic building, Grange Pavilion.

My research interests include community-led development; community engagement in planning processes; community asset transfers; civic space; concepts of value; co-production; participatory design; the University as a civic anchor; live teaching; and the role of the architect in supporting the quality of civic space. My publications include Facilitating Community Engagment in Local Development Plans (2024); Community Consultation for Quality of Life in Wales (2022); 'Gathering-in-action: the Activation of a Public Space', Architecture and Culture (2020), Generosity and Architecture (Routledge, 2022); Precision in Architecture: Certainty, Ambiguity and Deviation (Routledge, 2019); and Economy and Architecture (Routledge, 2015). I am Principal Investigator of a Harmonised Impact Acceleration Account (HIAA) funded Impact project, Co-Creating Policy Recommendations for Community-led Place Plans (Co-PP), in collaboration with six place-based community organisations, Cardiff Third Sector Council, and Planning Aid Wales.

I joined Cardiff University in 2006, following over a decade of architectural practice in the USA and UK, and have been Academic Lead of Community Gateway since it's formation in 2014.

I am a RIBA Affiliate member, and have been a Chair of the RIBA Research Development Group and juror for the RIBA President's Medal for Dissertations and RSAW Architecture awards. I have been a National Eisteddfod juror for the Gold Medal for Architecture, and peer-reviewer for Architectural Research Quarterly, Architecture and Culture, Ardeth, FormAcademisk and Bloomsbury Publishing. I have presented my research in the UK, Europe, USA, Canada and China, and have acted as an external assessor and examiner internationally in Sri Lanka and Ireland, and nationally in Cambridge, Birmingham, Newcastle and Sheffield.

In 2025, I received Lifetime Honorary Membership of the Royal Society of Architects in Wales in recognition of outstanding contribution to Welsh Architecture and its social context. Community Gateway was awarded a Times Higher Education Highly Commended for Outstanding Contribution to Local Community in 2025, and a Professor Sir David Watson International Award for community-university partnership development in 2017. I received Leading Wales' Leadership in the Public Sector award in 2017.

Please contact me regarding research, engagement and teaching related to the role of the architect in community development and planning, civic and third spaces, value and quality in the built environment, co-creation and participatory design in the built environment, and community-university partnerships.

Date
Type

2018

McVicar, M. and Turnbull, N. 2018. Creating common ground: the value of participatory design in articulating a common ethos for dwelling. Presented at: Cities, Communities and Homes: Is the Urban Future Livable? Universityof Derby 22—23 June, 2017. Published in: Tracada, E. and Cairms, G. eds. AMPS Proceedings Series 10: Cities, Communities Homes – Is the Urban Future Livable?. Vol. 10.AMPS Proceedings AMPS. , pp.434-446.
McVicar, M. 2018. Deviation from the standard - the plasterboard ceiling in OMA's McCormick Tribune Campus Center. ARCH+ Magazine for Architecture and Urbanism 233 , pp.194-199.
McVicar, M. and Turnbull, N. 2018. Practicing Engagement: The value of the Architect in a Community Asset Transfer. Project Report.Welsh School of Architecture, Cardiff University.
McVicar, M. and Turnbull, N. 2018. The live project in the participatory design of a common ethos. Charrette 5 (2), pp.117-135.

2016

McVicar, M. T. 2016. Precision in architectural production. PhD Thesis , Cardiff University.

2015

McVicar, M. 2015. The production of the Commons: Mies van der Rohe and the art of industrial standardisation. In: Lloyd Thomas, K. , Amhoff, T. and Beech, N. eds. Industries of Architecture. AHRA Critiques: Critical Studies in Architectural Humanities Vol. 11.Abingdon and New York: Routledge. , pp.49-59.
Odgers, J. , McVicar, M. and Kite, S. eds. 2015. Economy and architecture. Abingdon and New York: Routledge.
McVicar, M. 2015. An optional extra: valuing architecture at the Brompton Boilers. In: Odgers, J. , McVicar, M. and Kite, S. eds. Economy and Architecture. Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge. , pp.151-161.

2012

McVicar, M. T. 2012. 'God is in the details'/'The detail is moot': A meeting Between Koolhaas and Mies. In: Sharr, A. ed. Reading Architecture and Culture: Researching Buildings, Spaces and Documents. London: Routledge. , pp.165-178.
McVicar, M. T. 2012. Reading details: Caruso St John and the poetic intent of construction documents. In: Lees-Maffei, G. ed. Writing Design: Words and Objects. London: Berg Publishers. , pp.149-161.
McVicar, M. T. 2012. Specifying intent at the museum of childhood. Architectural Research Quarterly 16 (3), pp.218-228. (10.1017/S1359135513000067)

2011

Kite, S. , McVicar, M. T. and Odgers, J. A. eds. 2011. Economy: Abstracts. Cardiff: Cardiff University, Welsh School of Architecture.

2010

McVicar, M. T. 2010. Contested fields: perfection and compromise at Caruso St John's Museum of Childhood. In: Ewing, S. et al., Architecture and Field/Work. Critiques London: Routledge. , pp.138-150.
McVicar, M. 2010. 1:1 – Architects build small spaces. arq: Architectural Research Quarterly 14 (3), pp.195-200. (10.1017/S1359135510000965)
McVicar, M. 2010. Passion and control: Lewerentz and a mortar joint. In: Dutoit, A. , Odgers, J. and Sharr, A. eds. Quality Out of Control: Standards for Measuring Architecture. London: Routledge. , pp.92-102.

2008

McVicar, M. T. and Suau, C. 2008. Neglectfulness in the preservation and continuity of late-modern architecture - the case of St Peter's Seminary by Gillespie, Kidd and Coia. Presented at: 10th International DOCOMOMO Conference Rotterdam, The Netherlands 17-19 September 2008. Published in: van den Heuvel, D. et al., The Challenge of Change: Dealing with the Legacy of the Modern Movement: Proceedings of the 10th International DOCOMOMO Conference. Amsterdam: IOS Press. , pp.81-86. (10.3233/978-1-58603-917-2-81)

2007

McVicar, M. T. 2007. Memory and progress: confessions in a flagstone wall. ARQ Architectural Research Quarterly 11 (3), pp.198-208.
McVicar, M. T. 2007. Adaptation and continuity: mediating the regional and global in Orkney and Shetland. Presented at: 2nd International CSAAR Conference of the Center for the Study of Architecture and Urbanism, Tunis, Tunisia.
McVicar, M. T. 2007. Inhabiting space: body, scale and performance. Presented at: Intersections: Design Education and Other Fields of Inquiry. Iowa.

2004

McVicar, M. T. 2004. Avec Wine Bar, Chicago. [photographic record]Chicago, IL, USA.Available at: https://www.avecrestaurant.com/.

Research interests

My research aligns closely to my role as Academic Lead of Cardiff University's Community Gateway, a long-term place-based partnership between Cardiff University and Grangetown in Cardiff. Since 2012, I have facilitated engagement partnerships with community, third sector and public sector organisations, including Grange Pavilion CIO and Cardiff Council, and have embedded live teaching and research activities within these partnerships, advocating for the role of the architect and of the University in supporting community-led development initiatives. In 2025, Community Gateway was invited to contribute 'A community-university partnership is a relationship, not an affair' (McVicar, Abdi, Smith) for Times Higher Education Campus alongside Community Gateway's THE Highly Commended for Outstanding Contribution to the Local Community (2025).

My current research and impact work supports community agency in built environment planning processes, through H-IAA funded projects Co-PP: Co-creating Policy Recommendations for Community-led Place Plans (PI, 2026: McVicar, Turnbull, Harris, Ruiz de la Porta, Dunhill; Hope St Mellons, Splott Community Volunteers, Grange Pavilion CIO and Youth Forum, Action in Caerau and Ely, Common Wealth, Privilege Cafe, Cardiff Third Sector Council, Planning Aid Wales) and Community Engagement in Local Development Plans (PI, 2024-2025; McVicar, Turnbull, Harris, Soleman; Common Wealth, Splott Community Volunteers, Grange Pavilion CIO and Youth Forum, Action in Caerau and Ely, Cardiff Council). This impact work developed from recommendations made through my Co-I role in Community Consultation for Quality of Life (2020-2022), a UK-wide AHRC funded project (PI Prof. Flora Samuel) exploring improvements in community consultation processes. This ran as Community Voices Cardiff in Cardiff with research collaborators Mymuna Soleman (Privilege Cafe) and Shoruk Nekeb (Cardiff University; Grange Pavilion Youth Forum), testing a 'hyper-local' approach to an urban room in Grange Pavilion.

My research has been embedded in and supported the £1.8 million redevelopment of Grange Pavilion, including through a Royal Institite of British Architects Research Trust Award for Practicing Engagement: The value of the Architect in a Community Asset Transfer (McVicar, Turnbull 2015).

I have also published extensively on the pursuit of quality and definitions of value in the built environment, and on the role of human relationships in achieving quality, including a monograph Precision in Architecture: Certainty, Ambiguity and Deviation (Routledge, 2019) and as lead editor of Generosity and Architecture (Routledge, 2022), co-editor Economy and Architecture (Routledge, 2015) and co-editor of a special issue of Charrette, 'Productive-Disruptive: spaces of exploration in-between architectural pedagogy and practice' (Almond, McVicar, Dwyer, Roberts; Association of Architectural Educators, 2026).

Teaching profile

My teaching in Architecture embeds within community-university partnerships in Grangetown, Cardiff, facilitated through my role as Project Lead of Cardiff University's Community Gateway.

Our long term partnership between Cardiff University and Grangetown begins with community led ideas,skills, and expertise which inform and develop university teaching and research. By building annually on established engagement partnerships with a geographically defined local community, 'live' teaching encourages students to collaborate and build on previous students' design outcomes and recommendations, contributing to what a resident calls 'a growing catalogue of community knowledge.' The Masters of Architecture 'Value' Unit, which I co-lead with Grange Pavilion architect Dan Benham, has annually facilitated Love Grangetown public events in partnership with Grange Pavilion CIO and Grange Pavilion Youth Forum, embedding co-creation, futures thinking, and facilitation and evaluation skills within the Design Thesis architectural curriculum.

My supervison of PhD Theses includes securing Welsh School of Architecture funding for a PhD on inclusive community consultation, co-supervised with Cardiff Council's Head of Planning, and supervision of a SWW-DTP funded PhD on participatory urban planning with a placement in Cardiff Council's Child Friendly City team.

I have held roles as MArch2 Year Chair, MArch2 Design Thesis Module Lead, BSc3 Design Unit Lead, BSc2 Year Chair, and BSc2 Technology Module Lead. I annually supervise Masters of Architecture Dissertations, typically on themes of co-creation, participatory planning, and evaluation of community-led development and 'third spaces'. I have annually supervised Research Internship students under On-Campus Placement funding, typically on community partnership projects run collaboratively with Community Gateway. I contribute to a range of Undergraduate and Postgraduate Taught modules in Architectural Design, Technology and History and Theory.

I have a PG Certificate in University Teaching and Learning (2009) and previously taught as an Adjunct Assistant Professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago, Illinois.

I am an external assessor at the University of Moratuwa in Sri Lanka, and have externally examined at Cambridge University, Birmingham City University, TU Dublin, Newcastle University, and the University of Sheffield. I have been an invited external reviewer or speaker at numerous UK and international institutions including Harvard University (USA), Southeast University (China), UCL (London), London Metropolitan University (London), IIT (Chicago), UIC (Chicago) and Dalhouise University (Canada). I secured British Council funding (2011) for staff and student exchanges beween Cardiff University, IIT Chicago, UIC Chicago, and the Art Institute of Chicago, and Awards for All Lottery funding (2007) for student fieldwork to construct boat nousts and tangle dykes at Westray Heritage Centre, Orkney Islands.

I joined Cardiff University in 2006, following over a decade of architectural practice in the UK and USA where I worked on a range of social housing, theatrical, ecclesiastical, commercial and private residential architectural projects, including a Heritage Centre and a self-build residence in the Orkney Islands as Director of a private practice, Collaborative Design Studio. I completed an NCARB Architectural License in the USA (State of Illinois) in 2004.

I completed a PhD in 2016 at Cardiff University on ’Precision in Architectural Production.’

Prior to this, I graduated with a Masters in Architecture from Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago, USA and a BSc First Class Honours from Scott Sutherland School of Architecture, Aberdeen, UK. I previously taught at the School of Architecture, University of Illinois at Chicago.

Honours and awards

Highly Commended, THE Awards 2025, Outstanding Contribution to the Local Community, Community Gateway, Grange Pavilion CIO and Grange Pavilion Youth Forum.
Lifetime Honorary Membership (2025) of the Royal Society of Architects in Wales, in recognition of outstanding contribution to Welsh Architecture and its social context.
Grange Pavilion RSAW Welsh Architecture Award and RSAW Client of the Year 2022.
Grange Pavilion commendation, RTPI (Royal Town Planners Institute) 2020. Dan Benham Architect, IBI Group, Grange Pavilion CIO, Community Gateway.
Leadership in the Public Sector Award, Leading Wales Awards 2017.
Professor Sir David Watson Award (University-Community partnerships) Community Gateway, 2017.
Cardiff University Outstanding Contribution to Engagement, Community Gateway, 2017.

Professional memberships

Affiliate member, Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) (2004-present)
Lifetime Honorary Member, Royal Society of Architects in Wales (awarded 2025)
Fellow, Royal Society of Arts, Manufacture and Commerce (RSA) (2017-present)

Academic positions

Adjunct Assistant Professor, School of Architecture, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, USA (2000-2004)

Speaking engagements

IAA Impact in Action Seminar: Projects Influencing Policy (2026) Invited Seminar speaker
Cardiff Third Sector Council Leaders Network meeting (2026) Invited Seminar speaker
CIC G4C ‘Care in Construction (2026) Invited Seminar Speaker
CivicCon, Sheffield (2025) Presenter: Communities Changing Universities: Giving Up Control (Community Gateway)
Cardiff University Ignite Programme (2025) Invited Seminar Speaker
Cardiff University Global-Civic Conference (2025); Doing Global-Civic in Local Places (Community Gateway)
Cardiff University Global-Civic Conference (2025); Community engagement in Local Development Plans (McVicar, Turnbull)
Learning Exchange, University College London: host of UK network at Grange Pavilion
Planning Aid Wales network event (2024) Invited Seminar Speaker
Trivallis Housing T-Fest (2024) Invited keynote with Ali Abdi
Southeast University, Nanjing, China (2021) Invited Seminar speaker
Harvard University, USA (2020) Invited Seminar speaker
Architecture at the Edge Conversations, Galway, Ireland (2020) Invited Seminar speaker
Sustainable Places Research Institute, Cardiff University (2020) Invited Seminar speaker
All Wales Public Service Leaders’ Summit (2019) Master class co-lead with Ali Abdi
All Wales Continuous Improvement Community (AWCIC) Conference (2018) Invited keynote
National Coordinating Centre for Public Engagement Engage Conference (2018) Workshop lead (Community Gateway)
Engaged Learning Network, University of Sheffield (2018) Invited Seminar speaker
Standard Architecture, Deutsches Architekturmuseum, Germany (2017) Invited Seminar speaker
Lead organiser: What Architects Do exhibition and workshops, Cardiff, 2010; Reflecting Wales 09:09 exhibition, 2009; Reflecting Wales exhibition and event, Cardiff 2008
Conference presentations 2006 - present: Iowa, USA; Kyoto, Japan; Tunis, Tunisia; Frankfurt, Germany; Rotterdam, Netherlands; Bristol, Canterbury, Darby, Dundee, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Newcastle, Reading, Sheffield, London, UK.

Committees and reviewing

External Committees and reviewing

Trustee and Secretary, Grange Pavilion Charitable Incorporated Organisation (2026-present, Board member 2018-2025)
Ally Member, Cardiff Community Anchor Organisation (Cardiff CAN)
External Assessor, University of Moratuwa, Sri Lanka (BArch 2026-present)
'A Perfect Storm' Project Reference Group member, National Infrastructure Commission for Wales (NICW) (2024-25)
Chair, RIBA Research Development Group (2020-2024)
Placemaking Wales Charter Development Group member (Welsh Government, DCFW) (2019-present)
Architecture and Urbanism International Panel Reviewer (FCT), Portuguese Science and Technology Foundation (2019)
External Examiner, MArch, TU Dublin (2022-2025)
External Examiner, BArch, Birmingham City University (2023-2026)
External Examiner, Newcastle University (2012-2021)
External Examiner, The University of Sheffield (2010)
PhD External Examiner: University College London (2024); Newcastle University (2023); Oxford Brookes (2021); Bath Spa University (2020); The University of Sheffield (2020)

Internal Committees and Reviewing

Lead, Athena Swan Chartermark Silver Award, Welsh School of Architecture (2024-2025)
Promotions Committee, Welsh School of Architecture (2026)
Director of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion, Welsh School of Architecture (2021-2024)
Review Panel member, Civic Mission and Public Engagement Progression Fund (2024)
Member, Public Involvement in Governance and Reimbursement Task and Finish Group (2023-24)
Review Panel member, Cardiff University CUROP, CUSEIP and On-Campus Internships (2019-present)
Undergraduate Curriculum Design Steering Group member, Welsh School of Architecture (2020-2024)
Lead Organiser, Association of Architectural Educators Productive-Disruptive conference (2023)
Ethics Committee member, Welsh School of Architecture (2020-2024)
Lead Organiser, Genersity and Architecture International Conference, Welsh School of Architecture (2018)
Co-Organiser, Economy and Architecture international conference, Welsh School of Architecture (2013)
Director of Engagement, Welsh School of Architecture (2014-2017)
Admissions Committee, Welsh School of Architecture (Chair 2010-2011, member 2011-present)

I am interested in supervising PhD students in the areas of:

Participatory design and co-creation in the built environment
Concepts, definitions and measurements of value and quality in the built environment
Civic space and community-led development
Community Asset Transfers
'Live' teaching pedagogy and citizenship in curriculum
Community-University partnerships