People

David is the Keppie practice Design Director.  He has an overview on the design management process for all projects but has retained a strategic involvement in a number of education and healthcare commissions.  Recently, David has been leading design development on the commission to design and develop eight University Campuses in Libya.  He was also responsible for the Keppie collaboration with Richard Meier and Partners for the shortlisted Scottish Parliament submission.

He has been a Director of Keppie since 2001 and has built a reputation for the development of innovative and challenging concepts for major healthcare and education buildings.  Amongst these are the New Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, Crosshouse Maternity Hospital and four schools for North Ayrshire Council. David’s involvement at the Little France, Edinburgh site began in 1995 when he led the Keppie team’s successful bid for the project.  It continued throughout Keppie’s commission to masterplan the Centre for Biomedical Research on adjacent land.

David has regularly given lectures on design to a number of visiting study groups from all over the world. He has written several published articles, specifically concentrating on the relationship between procurement and design quality.  On the Forth Valley Hospital project David performed the role of design mentor, helping to establish the team’s design objectives at the outset and ensuring they were consistently upheld throughout the design development phases.  David is currently spearheading Keppie’s interest in the Far East, having led the successful submissions for the practice’s first ventures in China.   David is married with two children, his most prized possession is a signed Joe Strummer LP.

David says:

“Architecture has always been about people. This is a universal truth.  It deals with the pragmatic needs of everyday life.  If well considered it can positively affect the quality of that life.  At its best though, it can lift the spirit and make us feel better about ourselves.  As such, it is fundamentally a social art which requires observation as opposed to speculation.”