Paloma Gormley (she/her) is a founding Director of Material Cultures. She is an internationally respected architect and researcher who is fast building a reputation for her thought leading work in the field of low embodied carbon design, and leading large scale design projects alongside more experimental hands-on prototypical collaborative builds at Material Cultures. Paloma completed the widely published Flat House, pioneering the use of Hemp in off-site construction. She is currently leading a £15 million, 6000 sqm low carbon housing project in Lewes on the south coast of England, in which Material Cultures is designing a portion of the masterplan alongside consulting on the overall material and fabrication strategy. Paloma also led the transformation of a North London horticultural site, Wolves Lane, completed in June 2025. She oversaw the co-design process, construction detailing and participatory construction strategy of the project, alongside supporting with the raising of £2.3m of capital funds for the project.

Will Bradley (he/him) is a designer, educator and experienced maker whose practice is grounded in hands-on construction and fabrication. He regularly builds the projects he designs, developing a strong understanding of structure, detailing and material performance through the construction of buildings, art installations, festival stages and self-made garments.

Sara Pereira (they/them) is a writer, researcher, translator and editor whose work spans architectural, ecological, and cultural projects. They are the sole author of the forthcoming book To Live but not to Own: The  SAAL Movement for Housing in the Portuguese Revolution 1974-76, due for publication in 2026, and they are part of the editorial board for the Common Treasures collections of essays exploring regenerative land practices, planning strategies and economies in the UK.

Bo Lee Yau (she/her) is an architectural designer and researcher whose work combines material experimentation, community collaboration, and clear technical guidance to develop accessible regenerative construction methods. At Material Cultures, she has contributed to early-stage feasibility design, spatial strategies, and physical and digital modelling across projects.

Summer Islam (she/her) AADipl (hons) ARB is a Director of Material Cultures. She has extensive experience of leading prominent cultural and community projects from inception to completion as well publishing groundbreaking research on the political ecology of construction materials, with a particular focus on the environmental implications of scaling the use of regenerative materials. This includes the studies Mosaic Landscapes and Wetlands and Construction, which explore the economic and ecological impact of radical regenerative land management practices across the construction industry’s supply chains. Summer has collaborated with LB Newham and Arup on an innovative piece of research exploring the potential for Newham to host London’s first Circular Economy Hub (2022). This proposal is now being realised through a pilot demonstrator due to open in 2026. She is also Director Lead on Material Cultures’ collaboration with CIVIC SQUARE in Birmingham – developing research, design and education frameworks for community led housing retrofit and governance models.

Chai Pandya (he/him) is a finance professional with over thirteen years’ experience and has worked as Finance Manager and Administration Coordinator at Material Cultures since 2023. He is responsible for financial management alongside key operational and administrative functions that support the day to day running of the practice.

Huma Mahmood (she/her) has led several projects for Material Cultures and has experience across both commercial and community engagement projects exploring the use of biobased materials in retrofit contexts. Recently she has also organised workshops for the ReBuilders programme, educating contractors and builders on integrating biobased materials into home retrofits across the UK.

Serena Faizal (she/her) is a Project Co-ordinator at Material Cultures, contributing to research and design across multiple projects. Her work includes a regenerative supply chain hub in the UK, a pavilion design involving vernacular architectural research in the Gulf region and testing bio-based and regenerative construction techniques, as well as the retrofit of a house in Birmingham serving as a showcase for terrace house retrofit methods.

George Massoud (he/him) AA Dipl ARB RIBA is a Director of Material Cultures with extensive experience delivering fast-paced, complex cultural, commercial and mixed use projects. He previously worked at award-winning practice Squire and Partners, where he led multi-million-pound commercial refurbishments, developing extensive expertise in managing large design teams from inception to completion. At Material Cultures, George has been leading master planning work for Swanton Novers Woodland, supporting its transition towards more regenerative land management practices. This includes working closely with the onsite forestry team to establish infrastructure and milling needs for the introduction of fourteen short-term accommodation units within the woodland. Alongside project delivery, George manages several grant-funded research projects across the practice, including a multi-year collaboration with the re:arc institute reimagining access to land for farmers and landworkers. The resulting blueprinting guide is scheduled for publication in 2026.

Daria Moatazed-Keivani (she/her) MA (Cantab) ARB is a researcher and architect with significant experience of stakeholder consultation, supply chain mapping, and construction sequencing in build projects from inception to completion. Daria studied architecture at the University of Cambridge and the Academy of Architecture in Mendrisio, Switzerland.

Avni Patel (she/her) works across museum and gallery learning contexts and is committed to equitable, alternative and generous pedagogies. She currently holds the role of Curator of Creative Learning at Mosaic Rooms, where she works with young people in formal and informal education settings, alongside supporting organisational infrastructure at Material Cultures as Governance Lead.

Giacomo Oldfield (he/him) is an Architectural Assistant at Material Cultures. He graduated with a BSc (Hons) in Architecture from the University of Bath, gaining professional experience in the UK and internationally, including at Foster + Partners and Atelier PRO in the Netherlands before joining the practice in 2025. His work spans residential projects, public-sector schemes, large-scale masterplans, and infrastructure frameworks.

Selected Press

‘Bark is the original dampproof membrane!’ Meet the radical designers who let nothing go to waste
Oliver Wainwright
2025, The Guardian

Build Local!
Ellen Peirson
2025, The Architect's Newspaper

Material Cultures: the radical architects rethinking how – and what – we build
Mary Richardson
2025, Building Design

Material Cultures on transforming woodland waste into sustainable sheet materials
Derin Fadina
2025, The RIBA Journal

Material Cultures
Reuben J Brown
2024, The Architectural Review

Behind the scenes with a trio of architects pioneering sustainable materials
Malaika Byng
2024, House and Garden

Getting to the Root: Prototypes constructed using plant building materials
Lucia Gratz
2024, Werk, Bauen + Wohnen

In Search of Sustainable Materials, Architects are Turning to an Unusual Source: Hemp
Francesca Perry
2023, BBC

Selected Talks

Insulating the Bioregion
International Conference on Bioregional Architecture and Design Practice
2024, Munich

Growing Place
Spirit of Paimio Conference
2024, Helsinki

Architecture on Stage: Material Cultures 
Architecture Foundation with the Barbican
2024, London

Material Cultures: Material Transformations
École D'architecture De La Ville & Des Territoires Paris-Est
2024, Paris

Deans Talk: Material Reform
ETH Zurich
2023, Switzerland

Make Good Symposium
V&A Museum
2023, London

Symposium: On Tolerance and Transformation
HKU Department of Architecture
2022, Hong Kong