Roddy Langmuir
Practice Leader
Roddy grew up in the rugged beauty of the Cairngorm Mountains where as a kid he joined the groups his father was training in mountain skills and leadership. Twenty years on, he found empathy at Cullinan Studio with a world in transition, looking to make buildings that engage with their environment.
Now, as a Practice Leader at Cullinan Studio, Roddy has developed a design method based on storytelling - a layered approach that begins with context, topography, micro-climate and the cultural drivers of his clients and their chosen setting - inspiring expressive, clearly articulated buildings.
A lifelong love of the outdoors has led to an affinity with place-making and recognition of the importance of the space between and beyond buildings. This has steered the distinctive character of his work on masterplans, cultural and education buildings over his career.
Roddy communicates persuasively and lectures widely, talking and drawing with skill and passion. He chairs design forums for Architecture and Design Scotland.
Things that have never been done before - Q&A with Roddy Langmuir
Project Experience
Alder Hey: Natural healing
I try to simplify drawings to communicate an idea more strongly. This one helps explain the purpose of our all-timber courtyard design for the new Community Cluster for Alder Hey Children’s Hospital in Liverpool. Waiting and circulation spaces look into a shared garden, while children, young adults and parents can ‘take the air’ waiting for appointments, or perhaps ‘walk and talk’ with clinicians for a different style of garden-based consultation. All this is set within a new Public Park we have designed – a boost to the physical and mental health of a community - connected to nature.
Stonebridge: Creating good homes in a crisis
In the diagrams above I’m trying to distil the key urban design moves for new mixed-tenure homes at “Spring in Stonebridge.” As we densify our neighbourhoods, how might we still prioritise sunpath, daylight and air quality. Buildings are scaled, orientated and inter-related to create a better microclimate. A terrace of homes forms a barrier to a busy road, while framing public spaces and creating a new shared garden that can still catch the sun across the day and across the seasons. While we make important strides towards net zero carbon homes, we must also value the timeless lessons of designing good social places.
NAIC: Collaboration and the Future of Mobility
Like an anatomical study, this drawing peels back the layers of the ‘collaborative hub’ of our newly opened National Automotive Innovation Centre – a game changer for research in an industry that had till now worked in more discrete silos. A thousand research engineers, industrial designers and academics can share facilities and ideas, to meet the challenge of a revolution in mobility that is set to transform how we get about, and the nature of our streets. With autonomous vehicles, imagine what a street without two lines of parked cars might become - linear parks, allotments, electric bike and scooter paths...