James, who joined Woods Bagot’s London studio earlier this year as an Associate Principal, has two decades of European design and masterplanning experience. This understanding of multiple markets makes him perfectly placed to lead the firm’s ambitions of building inclusive, future-ready cities that prioritise connectivity and provide long-term benefits to communities.

Looking forward to 2026 and beyond, James shares his take on the type of projects catching his eye, the cities of the future and opportunities for the sector.

How does Woods Bagot’s Architecture for Worlds Ahead vision shape the Cities & Places sector in practice, especially as cities face rapid changes such as climate challenges, shifting work patterns and new forms of connectivity?

 The most successful global cities are the ones that are inherently resilient. They have demonstrably reinvented themselves as successive social, economic, and industrial revolutions have reshaped the rules of urban life.

“Right now, we are on the threshold of a pivotal point in history. Shaped by a post-pandemic collective psyche, a climate emergency, geo-political conflict and amid an AI revolution – the future is uncertain.”

Our Architecture for Worlds Ahead vision is a fundamental acknowledgement of this truth. We must always be looking forward, speculating about the future while learning the lessons of resilience from the past. Buildings rise and fall, uses shift and fade. Yet it is the urban networks and structures which persist over time – the geometry of human exchange spanning generations of a city’s inhabitants.

Which upcoming global projects are you most excited about and why?

 There are so many exciting projects happening across the globe, from innovation districts to hospitality masterplans. What motivates me as I step into this role, though, is how we’re delivering them through the 7C Network.

When Woods Bagot, ERA-co, Impact Futures, and Customs Bureau come together, we see the full power of Total Place Design at the neighbourhood scale. The ability to align architecture and design, transformative placemaking, sustainability strategy, and luxury concepts into a single coherent vision allows us to curate truly integrated districts that respond to the changing climate, mobility shifts, and modern patterns of living. It’s this combination of global reach with deep local impact that I find most inspiring as I take on this new chapter.

What do you believe are the biggest challenges and opportunities for the sector over the next 5–10 years?

 The biggest challenges over the next decade will undoubtedly centre on climate and ecological resilience. How can we continue to decarbonise existing cities while designing new districts that actively restore natural systems? We will also be grappling with major social and technological shifts such as delivering high quality affordable housing, responding to rapid urbanization and demographic change, and integrating data-driven design tools that can help us plan more intelligently and transparently.

While global communication has never been easier, physical communities are becoming more disconnected than ever, almost as a symptom of that hyper-connectedness. However – as the famous saying goes – in the middle of difficulty lies opportunity. We need to find ways of mobilising communities to engage with their neighbourhoods, helping to create places for people to come together that are both timeless and of the moment. In doing so, we can give a voice to the unheard and deliver welcoming and inclusive urban environments for all.

How do you balance innovation with the unique character and context of different cities, ensuring designs deliver lasting benefits to communities?

Cities are among humanity’s greatest achievements; living frameworks that catalyse innovation, exchange, and culture. The character of cities emerges through centuries of adaptation to local climate, geography, economy, politics and the evolving needs of their communities.

Today, with rapid urbanisation and the demand for sustainable, equitable growth, innovation must occur more deliberately. Balancing new ideas with local identity begins with understanding the deep structure of each place, such as its history, patterns of movement, cultural rhythms and the aspirations of its people. From this foundation, opportunities for innovation can be explored that strengthen, rather than erase, what makes a city unique. Examples of this include accommodating new approaches to mobility, regenerative and ecologically driven landscapes, or alternative use mixes.

Lasting community benefits come from designing cities and places that are adaptable, inclusive, and rooted in local meaning. Woods Bagot and the rest of the 7C Network can draw on global knowledge and contemporary technologies to ensure cities remain resilient for generations to come.

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