Alexander Barretta
Chartered Architect
Alex is a fully qualified ARB and RIBA registered Architect with a decade of industry experience, having worked across various public and private sector roles in the UK. Alex is passionate about socially responsive architecture and creating characterful buildings that resonate with people, time, and place. Alex believes that carefully considered architecture can and should be a catalyst for social betterment, improving mental and physical wellbeing, challenging conventional expectations, and encouraging sustainable living.
Good architecture, in Alex's view, must consider its contextual impact, financing, delivery, maintenance, and carbon footprint. Review Panels, therefore, play an important role in the design process, allowing professionals and clients to reflect on the appropriateness of a scheme. Alex feels that their expertise in architecture, development, and modular construction could contribute significantly to these panel discussions.
During his tenure at Croydon Council and Brick By Brick, a publicly owned development company, Alex was responsible for the design and delivery of various award-winning residential projects, ranging from high-street locations to large estate infills and smaller suburban brownfield sites. Alex played a pivotal role in overseeing the Smaller Sites Programme, which facilitated collaboration between architectural practices and industry professionals, delivering over 800 new homes. This project was awarded Masterplan of the Year by the Architects Journal in 2017. Working on this portfolio has given Alex strong commercial awareness and an understanding of the challenges in urban and suburban development projects.
As a founding member of the Architects’ Journal 40-under-40 recognized practice Common Ground Architecture, one of Alex's recently completed projects, ‘Pump House’, is an exemplary residential scheme. Alex also designed and completed refurbished offices for Brick By Brick within a former Victorian Townhouse, revitalizing an unused shop front.
In addition to leading building design, Alex's client-side roles have included site assessments, feasibility studies, creating design briefs, and strategic masterplans. Alex has appraised projects by external architecture practices, reviewed Contractor’s Design Documents, and conducted site inspections, gaining expertise in delivering design advice and constructive criticism.
Alex has extensive experience in presenting and discussing projects at professional reviews, planning meetings, public consultations, and leading building tours. They are proud of the work created at Brick By Brick, especially the adoption of ‘One Planet Living’ principles, focusing on holistic sustainability improvements. Alex's recent work emphasizes MMC (Modern Methods of Construction) to reduce construction costs and environmental impacts.
With broad experience in Local Authority contexts, private and public sector architectural practices, modular construction, and traditional construction, Alex believes they would bring a unique perspective to the panel pool. They are passionate about knowledge sharing and collaboration, serving as a FLUID Diversity Mentor and visiting critic at the University of Nottingham.
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