David Rudlin, former chair of the Academy of Urbanism, is Director of Urban Design at Manchester Studio BDP – known for their work on notable local projects such as Manchester’s Victoria Station refurbishment and Oldham’s Town Hall - and previously served as Director of pioneering design practice URBED for over 30 years.
With roots going back to 1976, URBED was amongst a number of studios that pioneered the process of urban regeneration in the 1970s and 1980, specialising in sustainable urbanism, industrial heritage reuse and domestic retrofits. URBED and Rudlin would go on to be awarded the Wolfson Economic Prize for their work on designs for a 21st-century Garden City. Rudlin has also authored a number of reports into the future of urbanism, and writes a monthly column for BD Magazine.
Rudlin has previously collaborated with MSA on the URBED+ programme, a collaboration between academia and practice that forms a vehicle for research, advocacy, education and public engagement for issues surrounding urbanism.