Podcast to follow shortly.
Brought up in Shrewsbury, Ruth Reed studied architecture at the University of Sheffield where she completed a Masters in Landscape.
She set up Reed Architects in Mid-Wales in 1992, where she rapidly won a reputation for successfully gaining planning consents, often in the face of restrictive rural planning controls. becoming a fee-paid planning inspector determining built environment appeals. Much of the practice’s work was in the self-build sector and Ruth joined and became a Director of Associated Self-Build Architects, a national network of architects in the sector promoting architecture through a variety of marketing techniques including stands at trade shows and magazine articles. In 1997 she designed and oversaw the construction of her own house using hardwood and softwood timber frames and breather-wall construction.
Her association with teaching started in 1993 with roles at the Welsh School of Architecture and also Plymouth and Bath Universities. With her extensive experience and knowledge of professional practice in a variety of business types, in 2006 she took over as Course Director of the Postgraduate Diploma in Architectural Practice at the Birmingham School of Architecture. Her first task on joining was to re-draft and re-validate the course and develop an MA extension. Recognising a need for formal recognition of practice management training she also wrote and had validated a suite of post-graduate courses in Architectural Practice Administration.
In 2007 she joined Green Planning Solutions as a part-time Partner providing architectural and landscape consultancy support for the practice’s caseload of unusual and challenging planning cases. The Practice is developing innovative concepts of developments in sensitive rural areas and has already developed an enviable success record in winning planning appeals.
Her involvement in the structure of the profession stretches over fifteen years in a variety of roles, including between 2003 and 2005 as President of the Royal Society of Architects in Wales. An RIBA council member for five years from 2002 she was also Vice President of Membership between 2005 and 2007 which saw the start of the successful re-emergence of the regional network as a cohesive force for devolved delivery of RIBA policy. As Chair of RIBA CPD-Sub-committee she drafted and oversaw the introduction of the Core Curriculum.
Ruth now lives in Birmingham with her two daughters. Time permitting, she relaxes by walking, gardening and listening to music.
