Marc Cairns

Marc Cairns (he/him) is Managing Director of New Practice, a women and LGBTQIA+ architecture practice with offices in Glasgow and London. New Practice is leading the way in embedding social value in place-based practice across the UK through community engagement, meanwhile use, retrofit, and spaces for the community; ensuring that community-led briefs and shared decision-making shape the future of our built environment. His practice is anchored in a commitment to the design and delivery of beautiful, practical places which offer social and environmental sustainability for healthier and happier neighbourhoods. He represents New Practice at industry events, schools of architecture, and private practice across Europe. He is a regularly featured critic and writer across architecture and planning discourse in the UK and beyond, including contributions to BBC Scotland, BBC Radio 4, and The Guardian.

Building on existing and past work towards LGBTQIA+ advocacy in architecture, Marc is a founding organizing committee member of Open Plan Scotland, a volunteer-led network for members of the LGBTQIA+ community who are studying or working in architecture in Scotland. Marc is currently a Director of Many Studios - an arts organization, creative workspace provider, and community interest company, and on the Board of Cure Crohn’s Colitis - a charity established to exclusively fund new patient-centric research.