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University Teacher
john.sampson@sheffield.ac.uk
I have spent the last 14 years working at the interface of education and practice. Within the School I am the Joint Director of MArch Programmes with oversight of the MArch, MALA (Dual Architecture and Landscape) and the innovative practice based Collaborative Practice pathways.
I lead the MArch studio Just Transitions which this year is based in Aberdeen and will explore how the move from an extractive to a regenerative economy can be delivered in a way that ensures the benefits of climate action are shared widely and the costs do not unfairly burden those least able to pay, or whose livelihoods are directly or indirectly at risk as the economy shifts and changes.
From 2016-2020 I lead the MArch Arrival City Studio which seeks to address the profound implications of mass migration and urbanisation on the lives and well-being of migrants and the global geopolitical landscape.
Alongside my role in the School of Architecture I am also an Associate Principal and Director at the design co-operative URBED. I have a strong interest in urbanism, ecological development and biophilia. I am currently co-developing URBED’s response to the climate emergency.
Prior to joining URBED, I gained experience in participative and ecological design working with the atelier d’architecture autogérée in France, Germany and Northern Ireland and toured South America on an Architecture Foundation Public Space Travel Scholarship.
Student resource
Retrofit Resources, January - June 2024
Retrofit Resources, January - June 2024
This is a shared resource developed by Sheffield School of Architecture in collaboration with Architecture Students for Climate Action (Sheffield) and Bath Climate Action Group. The aim of the resource is to to collate the collective knowledge within the 3 organisations on Retrofit into a single location. The intention is that the tool can be used by both staff and students.The shared resource was initiated in response to a Architects Journal survey of students within architecture schools in 2022 that recognised a retrofit teaching gap within architectural education. The survey asked important questions around where schools were teaching enough about the climate emergency and reuse/retrofit with the results set out below.Retrofit Resources miro boardTeaching Resource, Climate Emergency, Digital Learning, Building Performance, John Sampson
Student project awards
ASCA Education Prizes, 2023 - Ongoing
ASCA Education Prizes, 2023 - Ongoing
Recognising that students are influenced by what the school outwardly recognises as excellent performance I worked with Architecture Students for Climate Action to initiate and deliver a new set of awards presented at the Schools end of year exhibition. In 2023 an award was presented to a student in each year in recognition for the quality of the work in response to the climate emergency. In 2024 I supported the initiation of 2 new awards recognising excellence in climate writing. Recognition, Climate Emergency, Building Performance, Material Cultures, John Sampson and Catherine Skelcher
Student resource
ASCA Climate Resources Hub, 2022 - 2024
ASCA Climate Resources Hub, 2022 - 2024
Within the School of Architecture we place significant emphasis on supporting and facilitating student led learning. As a Department we have embraced the emergence of ASCA and valued the role they have played as a critical friend. I secured an Education Grant in 2022 in partnership with the group that has helped to invigorate and enhance their activities over the course of the year and beyond.Recognised the long-standing challenge in universities of sharing and disseminating the exceptional work, often laden with specialised knowledge, particularly in light of the climate crisis both with and beyond the school I supported ASCA facilitated by the Education Fund to established a virtual platform called the "Climate Resource Hub." Using the widely accessible Miro platform, commonly used in the school of architecture, this hub initially became a centralised repository for all things climate-related. It featured an extensive, organised reading list, showcases master's level works on critical material appraisals for a deeper understanding of climate-conscious materials, provides an active events calendar, links to talks we hosted, climate-related articles, and fosters collaboration and suggestions from fellow students. Over the summer, the platform continued to evolve into a Climate resource website.Event, Website, Toolkit, Climate Emergency, Building Performance, Pedagogy, Participation, Material Cultures, History and Representation, John Sampson
"The response to the Climate Emergency has developed into a real strength of the programme. I was amazed how the school had stepped forward in response to the Climate Emergency over the past 2 years."
Prof. Sussanne Hoffman, MArch External Examiner 2023 "The response to the Climate Emergency has developed into a real strength of the programme. I was amazed how the school had stepped forward in response to the Climate Emergency over the past 2 years."
Student project archive
Studio Just Transitions, 2021 - Ongoing
Studio Just Transitions, 2021 - Ongoing
Studio Just Transitions is an MArch Design Studio at Sheffield School of Architecture.The world is embarking on an unprecedented transition. To deliver on the global commitments enshrined in the Paris Agreement, the UK must achieve zero carbon emissions by the mid-2030s. Such a change will require the radical adaptation of both our energy system and the way we engage with energy as a society. Energy transitions have always been shaped by social, political and economic structures, and the transition ahead of us is as much a cultural transition as a physical one.This site was created to form an archive of the studio's work both within and outside of the School of Architecture.Website, Climate Emergency, Placemaking, Material Cultures, John Sampson
Student resource
MArch Internal Exhibition, 2021 - 2024
MArch Internal Exhibition, 2021 - 2024
Alongside Cith Skelcher I developed an internal exhibition to share, celebrate and disseminate the MArch Studio Projects within the cohort. The resource replicates the physical internal exhibition that used to take place within the Arts Tower prior to the switch to digital assessment. For students the resource provides the opportunity to reflect on their own work within the context of their peers. For staff the resources helps to support their teaching practice by providing an archive of student work which they can draw upon within their own teaching.2024 Internal Exhibition2023 Internal Exhibition2022 Internal Exhibition2021 Internal ExhibitionExhibition, Digital Learning, Pedagogy, John Sampson and Catherine Skelcher
Decarbonise your House NOW Exhibition GuideFirst Edition 211126.pdfExhibition and research
Decarbonise your house now, 2020 - 2022
Decarbonise your house now, 2020 - 2022
Acting as a research mentor I supported Editional Studio to develop The Decarbonise Your House Now! guide and exhibition.The research commissioned by the RIBA explores the barriers that small practices play in communicating the importance of environmental upgrade to their domestic clients. The research culminated in an exhibition of experimental building fragments exhibited in Editional Studios local high street shop.Exhibition, Research Publication, Climate Emergency, Material Cultures, Building Performance, John Sampson
Urban regeneration
Love Wolverton, 2019 - 2022
Love Wolverton, 2019 - 2022
'Love Wolverton' is a redevelopment of the Agora Centre in Wolverton, Milton Keynes. Within my role at URBED I was responsible for initiating the project. It won the Midscale Framework and Masterplans awards at the National Urban Design Awards 2021.The redevelopment working in collaboration with MOLE, Mikhail Riches and CIVIC Engineers will restore a historic street, Radcliffe Street, which was originally lost forty years ago as part of the Agora Centre’s development. The creation of two new, car-free, “little streets” also echo the historic streets of Wolverton and will connect key parts of the town, providing social and play-friendly spaces for residents, neighbours and their children. The scheme has been designed to be one of the most environmentally ambitious regeneration schemes in the UK with and includes collaboration with Community Energy Wolverton to deliver a community energy network. The project will also house Still Green, an over-50s co-housing community based locally.The development is being brought forward by the developer TOWN who were responsible for delivering the Cohousing Development Marmalade Lane in Cambridge. Jonny Anstead and Neil Murphy, founding directors of TOWN, co-ran our MArch Studio, “Degrowth” last year.Film, Built Project, Design, Placemaking, John Sampson
Student project catalogue
Studio: Arrival City, August 2019
Studio: Arrival City, August 2019
Over the last 2 years I have asked students upload their projects to a wordpress site so that we have an archive of the studio work. Each student has a blog entry and has uploaded the work. Alongside uploading this years work I would like to work with a 2-3 students to edit and refine the site and the uploaded work, introduce critical reflective analysis of the findings of the studio alongside links to resources that the studio’s have collated over the years.This year Leo Care has secured funding for 3 studios to produce a publication of the studio work. Arrival City is one of the studios to have access to the funding. I propose to use the funding to pay students to assist developing the site, new content and the critical reflection. I will also use the money to pay for hosting over the next 3 years.Presentation, EDI, Placemaking, History and Representation, John Sampson
Designing inclusion
Pedagogies of Inclusion, 2019
Pedagogies of Inclusion, 2019
From 2017-2019 my MArch studio Arrival City collaborated with Designing Inclusion, an Erasmus Plus project focusing on the capacity of current and future urban practitioners to make a meaningful contribution to the reception of international migrants and refugees in local urban areas. The studio was included as a Case Study in Pedagogies of inclusion Vol.1 A review of spatial design education in Europe ISBN: 978-1-9160049-2-4 Book, EDI, Pedagogy, Participation, John Sampson
Participatory practices
Demystifying Architectural Research: Adding Value to Your Practice, 2019
Demystifying Architectural Research: Adding Value to Your Practice, 2019
I was invited by Prof. Flora Samuel to contribute a section to her Book Demystifying Architectural Research: Adding Value to Your Practice. The book published by RIBA Publishing provides a practical, hands on introduction to the basics of undertaking research in day-to-day architectural practice and aims to help practitioners to exploit the growing opportunities on offer. It explores how developing a research specialism can improve the quality of your projects. My contribution focused on the value that participatory practices within the design and visioning process can bring to architectural and urban design projects. This sat within the Visioning section of the book.Book, Placemaking, Participation, John Sampson
Sustainable Urban Neighbourhoods 2022 - Y2_reduced.pdfTeaching resource
Climate Adaptive Neighbourhoods, 2018 - 2022
Climate Adaptive Neighbourhoods, 2018 - 2022
This is an evolving presentation that I have put together over the past 4 years that captures approaches to developing climate adaptive neighbourhoods. The presentation draws heavily from my own practice experience at URBED (Urbanism Environment Design) Ltd and references a number of award winning urban design projects. I have presented versions of this presentation across different programmes within the School of Architecture and the School of Landscape. Most recently I presented the work in 2022 to the Year 2 Undergraduates as part of their housing project.Presentation, Climate Emergency, Placemaking, Building Performance, John Sampson
20210316_People Powered Retrofit (1).pdfRetrofit approaches
People Powered Retrofit, 2018 - 2022
People Powered Retrofit, 2018 - 2022
This is a presentation that I have put together in order to share and disseminate the learning from a number of research design projects focusing on the delivery of domestic retrofit. The presentation draws heavily on my own practical experience working with URBED and reveals the key learning points from originally establishing the Carbon Coop through to delivering initial government funded R+D projects such as Green Deal Go Early. Presentation, Built Project, Climate Emergency, Building Performance, John Sampson
Arrival City Exhibition Board.pdf
Student exhibition
Arrival City International Exhibitions, 2018 - 2019
Arrival City International Exhibitions, 2018 - 2019
During 2018 and 2019 the work of my MArch Arrival City Studio was exhibited in Mannheim and Milan in local venues in collaboration with local partners. 2018 at Klokke, Mannheim. Exhibition of student work in collaboration with Mark Stancombe and Yanni Pitsillides and Klokke.2019 at Mapping San Siro, Milan. The exhibition of student work in collaboration with the Politecnico di Milano.Exhibition, Placemaking, Participation, John Sampson
How we build homes_URBED.pdfHousing delivery models
How we build homes, December 2018
How we build homes, December 2018
In December 2018 I was invited to present alongside the critic and designer Phineas Harper to the RIBA Housing Group. My presentation drew upon my experience working with URBED (Urbanism Environment Design) Ltd and also my teaching experience working with Disseration students looking at housing delivery models.I have subsequently updated the presentation over the past 4 years and most recently presented the work to students within the MArch programme.Presentation, Event, Climate Emergency, Placemaking, Building Performance, John Sampson
Masterplanning
Living the Region, 2017
Living the Region, 2017
In November 2017 URBED were delighted to be invited to take part in the DAM- Lab workshop “Living the Region” at the Frankfurt Hypermotion fair. The workshop was organised by the Deutsches Architekturmuseum (DAM) and designed as live project taking place within the fair itself.URBED were one of five teams and were joined by AWP from Paris, LOLA Landscape Architects from Rotterdam, KCAP Architects&Planners from Rotterdam and feld72 from Vienna.Over three days we were tasked with developing a vision for the future of the Frankfurt RheinMain region, bringing together innovative housing and transport solutions. At the same time we also had to illustrate how this future vision might manifest itself at a smaller scale, by designing a conceptual urban quarter based on a fictitious town within the region.We had great deal of fun working on this project, sharing the workshop space with our international colleagues and exploring Frankfurt in the evenings. The workshop culminated in a short presentation by each of the teams, but the project doesn't end there! All five teams are now working up their concepts to be displayed in an exhibition in the DAM next year. We look forward to sharing our ideas and seeing what the other teams have developed.http://urbed.coop/projects/living-region-dam-workshop Book, Exhibition, Workshop, Placemaking, John Sampson
European City of Science
Allotment of the Future, 2016
Allotment of the Future, 2016
Manchester was the European City of Science 2016 with the aim to bring Manchester alive with science and provide exciting activities for audiences that explore how science connects to our daily lives and to imagine the possibilities for the future. The Science in the City festival (22nd-29th July) ran alongside the conference and engaged the public in all aspects of science. One of the key content strands for Science in the City was food; activities, experiments, tastings, conversations unpicking the science of taste, truth & myths about food and health, and imagining the farms, factories and menus of the future. A key element of Science Feast was an allotment of the future in St Ann’s Square.Co-ordinated by Marketing Manchester, I led a team at URBED to design the allotment. Content partners included Squirrel Nation, the University of Manchester Plant Science department, the University of Salford School of Environment and Life Sciences, Sow the City and Real Food Wythenshawe. Salford based m3industries worked with us to turn the designs into reality.http://urbed.coop/allotment-future-featured-urban-design-journalhttp://urbed.coop/projects/allotment-futureEvent, Design, Placemaking, Participation, John Sampson
Participatory design
2 Up 2 Down, 2015 - 2020
2 Up 2 Down, 2015 - 2020
Commissioned by Liverpool Biennial and International artist Jeanne Van Heesvijk to co-design and develop a community bakery and retrofit local housing with local young people. The project has been widely published and featured in the Observer and The Guardian. Within my role at URBED I was involved in the design and implementation of both the participartory design process and the bakery fit out. More recently I inputted into an exhibition of the work in at the BAK Gallery in Utrecht running from the 14/09/2019 through to 12/01/2020. I used the experience from the project to create a lecture which I have given regularly as part of the Participation in Architecture and Urban Design Module.http://urbed.coop/projects/trainings-not-yet-exhibition-utrechtPress Article, Built Project, Event, EDI, Design, Placemaking, Participation, John Sampson
Sheffield Garden City_Options for long term urban growth.pdf
Masterplanning
Sheffield Garden City: Options for Long term growth, 2015
Sheffield Garden City: Options for Long term growth, 2015
One of the main contributors to the report Sheffield Garden City commissioned by Sheffield City Council looking at how the ideas developed by URBED within our winning Wolfson Prize Entry, could be applied to Sheffield. The resulting report focused on how 100,000 new homes could be integrated into Sheffield by co-locating new development with sustainable forms of transportation infrastructure. The knowledge I acquired from this project fed directly into my studio teaching and dissertation supervision. I have also given talks on the project to various cohorts within the school.Report, Climate Emergency, Placemaking, John Sampson
Participative design
ASRM Festival of Architecture, Frankfurt, 2015
ASRM Festival of Architecture, Frankfurt, 2015
In 2014, URBED were invited to take part in the Architektursommer Rhein-Main ASRM Lab 2014: Region im Fluss, organised in association with the German Architecture Museum (D.A.M) and Kulturfonds Frankfurt Rhein-Main. This was a multi-disciplinary workshop in Frankfurt looking at some of the region's most problematic and neglected urban and semi-rural spaces, and in doing so explore ‘the regional city’. Over the course of 4 days participants visited several sites, discussing the constraints and issues facing each area with local practices and planners, and collaboratively exploring initial ideas and approaches.The subsequent ASRM Expo 2015 Region im Fluss exhibition at the German Architecture Museum (D.A.M) gave URBED an opportunity to present ideas for the region based on our central theme: cities growing together. It also gave us an opportunity to focus the discourse on Offenbach, a vibrant but often neglected part of the Frankfurt conurbation on the southern bank of the River Main.These events culminated in November 2015 in the ARSM Future Pavilion situated in the Goetheplatz in the centre of Frankfurt. The pavilion, codesigned by URBED and Ian Shaw Architekton, formed a public forum for discussion and debate around urban and regional development. URBED took a week-long residency within the pavilion following its inauguration, running a participative public exhibition to highlight the significance of Offenbach as a building-block of the creative city. To stimulate discussion and debate we built a scale model of the Frankfurt conurbation with the public over a number of days, and exhibited the attached drawings of Offenbach and the Northern Quarter in Manchester, the latter having some similarities as a cultural quarter.I utilised links established with DAM to set MArch Studio in Offenbach, Frankfurt. arrivalcity.studioBuilt Project, Event, Design, Placemaking, John Sampson
Housing development
Space to Park - 2014
Space to Park - 2014
Home Improvements, an AHRC-funded Knowledge Exchange programme, aims to improve the quality and value of new housing by enhancing communication and knowledge exchange between volume housing builders and architectural practices. The project is a collaboration between the Universities of Sheffield (lead partner), Edinburgh and Kingston, in partnership with the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA),housing industry stakeholders, including Taylor Wimpey, Design for Homes and Radian as well as 3 practice partners.As one of the practice partners on the project URBED in collaboration with the University of Edinburgh and Design for Homes prepared the Space to Park study. This tests assumptions about parking provision in residential developments using data collected on more than 400 new house schemes in Kent, six case studies, residents’ survey and focus groups.Space to Park has resulted in a web-based, user-generated resource of best practice for those seeking parking solutions in new build residential developments.Its final report and findings were presented at a parliamentary launch in Westminster on 12th February 2014 by the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government.The project was also nominated for an RIBA President's Award for Outstanding University-located Research.A copy of the full report along with the executive summary and good practice case studies can be found at the Space to Park WebsiteEvent, Journal Article, Website, Placemaking, John Sampson
Urban regeneration
Trent Basin, 2012 - 2018
Trent Basin, 2012 - 2018
Within my role at URBED I was responsible for leading the development of the Trent Basin Masterplan located on the northern bank of the River Trent, 20 minutes’ walk from Nottingham city centre. The scheme developed by Blueprint aims to create a new type of neighbourhood that is neither entirely urban nor entirely suburban. To do this we drew heavily on Dutch precedents for the way that the scheme relates to the water. The design creates a strong 3 and 4 storey waterside terrace punctuated by narrow streets.In many senses the scheme is a reinvention of the suburb rather than a lively urban neighbourhood. The idea is that the blocks, set back from the waterfront, feel calm and relaxed and not dominated by cars. In collaboration with Nottingham-based architects, Marsh Grochowski, Sarah Wigglesworth Architects and landscape architects Landscape Projects, we have set out to create a neighbourhood based around cycling, dog walking, jogging, fishing, reading, chatting, exercising and working. Trent Basin won the Urban Design Group Practice Award 2015, see the video hereI was also involved in securing InnovateUK funding for the project to accelerate the adoption of a pioneering Community Energy Storage proposal for the development.I also worked with Nottingham City Council to develop a strategy for the wider Waterside area of the city.Trent Basin is currently being built out - creating a new and unique residential neighbourhood on the edge of Nottingham city centre.Book, Film, Built Project, Climate Emergency, Design, Placemaking, Building Performance, John Sampson
Urban regeneration
Brentford Lock West, 2012
Brentford Lock West, 2012
A new sustainable neighbourhood in Brentford for ISIS Waterside Regeneration Ltd.Within my role at URBED I worked in collaboration with Johannes Tovatt Architects, Klas Tham, Tibbalds and Camlins to achieve an outline planning for a 500 home mixed use neighbourhood.The design process was one of collaboration with the local community based on URBED’s ‘design for change’ technique. This started with workshops run over two evenings at the start of the process in a local café. Residents and stakeholders from the area used the first to develop a shared understanding of the area today. The second evening focused on generating a number of different options for the site through ‘collages’ and plasticine models.The project was Awarded the Urban Design Group Practice Award 2012. The project continues to win architectural awards as it is built out.http://urbed.coop/projects/brentford-lock-westPress Article, Built Project, EDI, Design, Placemaking, Participation, John Sampson
20111031_ALPHA FARM Report Web.pdfDesign research
Alpha Farm, 2011
Alpha Farm, 2011
Alpha Farm: A design-led research study commissioned by Manchester International Festival exploring the delivery of a Vertical Farm in Manchester. The project was a collaboration between URBED, Lancaster University, Cambridge University and Biomatrix Water. The team concluded that by taking a comprehensive approach to the integration of nutrient, water and energy flows within the building a vertical farm has the potential to be developed as a resource ‘sensible’ model. By this we mean that the farm has the potential to grow food using less energy than conventional farming based on the input of large numbers of pesticides and fertilisers and the transport of food over large distances.This resulted in a demonstrator growing project called the Biosphere being constructed at Manchester College that integrated fungiculture, aquaculture, hydroponics and vermiculture. The project won a National PACE Award for Environmental Sustainability.Exhibition, Press Article, Built Project, Climate Emergency, Design, Placemaking, Building Performance, John Sampson
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