IN INDUSTRY LAST UPDATED : 27 APRIL 2021
Associate Professor Dr Matthew Jones was recently appointed as one of the Design Council’s Expert Network, a network of specialists ‘who collectively embody the organisation’s commitment to making life better by design’.
Over the coming months, the new network of experts will join with Design Council’s design associates to form a dynamic community of practice which will share ideas, insights and develop exciting opportunities to collaborate.
The expert group represents a wide variety of skills, expertise and experience in the industry across the UK. It will deliver design services as well as business and design innovation, enabling Design Council clients to best serve their communities and wider society.
Matthew was appointed for his interdisciplinary work championing the value of architecture and design in considering the future of towns, high streets and smaller communities, showcased in his recently published book for RIBA Publishing, Transforming Towns: Designing for Smaller Communities. Matthew’s work aims to bring people together to make better places through creative design, planning, research and engagement.
Since joining BCU in 2019, Matthew’s role has included teaching design, leading sustainability and technical studies across the School and practice-based research. Matthew has led on the BA (Hons) Design for Future Living programme. Developed in collaboration with TV architect George Clarke’s Ministry of Building, Innovation and Education (MOBIE), the course aims to develop exciting and innovative design thinking, questioning preconceptions about how society lives now and into the future.
Matthew says: ‘I’m delighted and honoured to be appointed as a Specialist in Design Council’s Network of Experts. I’m looking forward to working alongside other experts to contribute to research, policy and thought leadership to make places more sustainable and inclusive through design.’
The Design Council is an independent charity and the government’s adviser on design, whose purpose is to make life better by design.