Inclusion Emergency

Hannah Durham is a Senior Lecturer at Oxford Brookes University in the School of Architecture, and an architect. She leads a design studio called Building Stories with a focus on storytelling and architecture and runs the module 'Cities, Culture & Society'. She is an External Examiner and a RIBA Validation Panel member. She was named a RIBA Journal Rising Star in 2021 and for several years her students have been nominated for national awards. She studied at Oxford Brookes University, RMIT Australia and, with a scholarship, attended the Architectural Association (Part 2), completing Part 3 studies at the University of Westminster. Before working full-time in academia, she worked in practice for eight years. Hannah was educated at state schools and has no built environment professionals in her family. She has found navigating a career in the architectural profession has not been easy. As a reaction to her experiences and those of people she has met, she gives priority to improving equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) in our profession and aims to support students so they feel empowered. Her research focuses on alternative (hi)stories in architecture. She has co-conducted oral history recordings with women architects, whose stories were unheard, in order to embed them in our collective history. Grace Choi is an award-winning Architect of South Korean descent who brings a balanced perspective and two decades of diverse professional experience to the table. After flunking her A-levels, Grace was determined to study architecture against all the odds. She graduated from the Mackintosh School of Architecture being awarded the prestigious RIAS silver medal and portfolio prize for Scotland. She later worked for several renowned UK practices for 10 years, with much of her work being highly acclaimed before leaving traditional practice. Challenged by social, ethical and economical imbalance around her whilst raising a young family, Grace founded a practice in the North East. Her value led, design oriented small practice now focusses on the transformation of local communities and homes. Alongside practice Grace acts as RIBA NE co-chair, leads the Equity, Diversity and Inclusion group and sits on the RIBAJ editorial panel. Grace has been influential in her efforts to bring issues of Inclusion and discrimination to the attention of the architectural community, primarily via the J.E.D.I. talks and Inclusion advocacy in the wider construction industry. She is a regular visiting reviewer, teacher and lecturer at various UK schools of architecture.