Sowmya Parthasarathy

Sowmya is an architect and urban designer with 25 years of global experience in the masterplanning and sustainable regeneration of urban areas experiencing growth and change.

She is a Director of Integrated City Planning in Arup and practice leader for the London urban design team. She also serves as Arup’s leader for its multidisciplinary practice in India, Middle East, and Africa. Sowmya has been a designer and advisor on projects in the public as well as private sector including London's Olympic Legacy Masterplan, the Wellcome Trust Genome Campus in South Cambridgeshire, the 10,000-home St. Cuthbert’s Garden Village, a placemaking strategy for London’s Broadgate office campus, and a masterplan vision along the OxCam Arc.

Sowmya was appointed in 2017 by the Mayor of London as a Mayoral Design Advocate. As part of this role, she is responsible for working with City Hall and London boroughs to advance London’s Good Growth by Design programme. She is a member of the London Design Review Panel and review panels for Transport for London and the Old Oak Park Royal Development Corporation. She also sits on the Planning Reform Advisory Panel to the Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government and is one of the 2021 Women of Influence awarded by RTPI’s The Planner.