Haworth Tompkins Associate Director Ken Okonkwo has been reappointed as a Mayor’s Design Advocate (MDA) for the 2025–2028 term, marking his second appointment to the role. The Mayor’s Design Advocates are a cohort of 53 independent built-environment experts drawn from across architecture, urban design, landscape, sustainability, policy, academia and community-led practice. Together, they support the Mayor of London in delivering a safe, fairer, greener and more prosperous city for all Londoners, bringing experience from both the public and private sectors. The new cohort will support London’s Good Growth by Design programme, focusing on its three core objectives of quality, recovery and representation. Working collaboratively with fellow advocates and the Mayor, the MDAs play a key role in shaping London’s neighbourhoods, streets and public spaces to ensure they are inclusive, high-quality and sustainable.
Ken said: “I’m delighted to be continuing as a Mayor’s Design Advocate and to be working alongside such a strong and diverse group of practitioners. The Good Growth by Design programme has already demonstrated how thoughtful, inclusive design can make a real difference to communities across London. Being part of this new cohort is an opportunity to help champion quality, sustainability and fairness in the city’s future development, and to work collectively with the Mayor and fellow advocates to ensure places serve the people who use them.”
More information about the Mayor’s Design Advocates and the Good Growth by Design programme can be found here: Link
Haworth Tompkins has three projects shortlisted at this year’s Pineapple Awards: The Developer and Festival of Place, which celebrate excellence in placemaking. The shortlists demonstrate the strength of our approach to placemaking and collaborative design.
Unanimous planning permission has been granted for Troubadour Greenwich Peninsula, a new 3,000-capacity performance venue designed by Haworth Tompkins.
2025 was a demanding year for the built environment, but also one of real momentum for Haworth Tompkins. Against a challenging economic and political backdrop, the practice continued to adapt, collaborate and deliver work of lasting value.
The £2 billion York Central regeneration project has submitted the latest planning application for the next stage of delivery and includes Haworth Tompkins designs for Foundry Village; a walkable, street-based neighbourhood designed that will deliver 368 mixed-tenure homes.
Theatr Clwyd has been shortlisted for Theatre Building of the Year at this year’s Stage Awards.
Pembroke Mill Lane, Cambridge and The Warburg Renaissance have been selected as Regional Finalists in the 2026 Civic Trust Awards and will now be considered for National Awards with the winners announced January 2026.
Haworth Tompkins has completed Backstage at the Old Vic, a new build six storey extension to the Grade II* listed Old Vic Theatre, in London’s Waterloo marking a bold new chapter in the theatre’s remarkable 200-year story.
| 30.10.25 | Construction Reaches Topping Off Milestone for the New Home of the American Repertory Theater at Harvard University → |
| 28.07.25 | Haworth Tompkins reveals plans for the redevelopment of Grade I listed De La Warr Pavilion → |
| 13.05.25 | Haworth Tompkins to lead design of affordable housing in £2.5 Billion York Central Regeneration → |