Amy Francis-Smith

Amy Francis-Smith is a multi-award-winning Disabled Architect, Inclusive Designer, and Access Consultant. She is a Senior Architect at Pinnegar Hayward Design and the outgoing Vice President of the Birmingham Architectural Association. Campaigning for legislative change, her work and research focus on improving accessibility for people with disabilities in the built environment.

Named as a Design Council Specialist Expert in 2021, she provides expert advice on accessibility policy design and top-level strategy. Amy has experience across design and construction, particularly with residential schemes, delivering multi-million-pound healthcare projects, as well as access consultancy for buildings and new products.

Fighting for improvements in access policies around accessible housing and the building regulations, she gives talks and lectures to educate students and professionals on their social responsibility. She is Housing Chair of the WM Combined Authority’s disability taskforce and has worked with companies such as The Financial Times, BBC, British Council, Telegraph, and the Architects Journal.

Featured in various articles, blogs, and podcasts, and as a panelist at numerous events, Amy is also a twice-published author about diversity and activism in architecture with RIBA Publishing. She has been featured on the Shaw Trust’s Power 100 list for four years, ranking at no.6 in 2024 among the most influential disabled people in the UK, as well as a National Diversity Award Disability Role Model & RIBAJ Rising Star.