Alistair Barr

Alistair is an architect who enjoys the opportunities good design creates. From 1986 to 1990, he worked at Farrell’s office designing the public realm at Charing Cross and Villiers Street. Terry’s idea that “the place is the client” has been applied by Alistair since then.

He founded Barr Gazetas in 1993 with a sustainable leisure project in Greece. This project set the initial green agenda for BG projects at a time when clients were reluctant to engage with design for the planet. BG designs combine sustainable innovation with respect for heritage. Projects for The Crown Estate, Grosvenor, and blue-chip clients have won awards from AJ Retrofit, Breeam, AJ, and Dezeen. Greenwich Market, Greenwich Peninsula, and Battersea projects show the benefits of community engagement and pragmatic urban design.

Alistair is a Director at the Academy of Urbanism where he leads the Great Streets awards. He spent 20 years at Greenwich University as a visiting tutor for sustainable design. Since leaving BG in 2021, he has become a part-time Senior Lecturer Practitioner at Anglia Ruskin University.

A Design Council expert since 2013, Alistair has been involved in many design review panels, the High Street Task force design coding, and the Network Rail Academy. He also plays drums in two rock covers bands with notable gigs at Ronnie Scott’s, The Water Rats, the Troubadour, Ipswich, and the Isle of Wight.