aLL Design

aLL Design is an international collective of young and established architects and designers, each with broad artistic interests and specialisms. Formerly under the direction of the late Prof. William Alsop, OBE RA, and now lead by co-founder Marcos Rosello, the studio has designed some of the world’s most iconic architecture. These landmarks have often increased tourism, encouraged learning and lured people into their community.

aLL Design practices to make life better; their philosophy concerns listening to people and each other, looking keenly at a brief and responding to the site and all those who are involved or connected in some way to the development. ‘aLL’ endeavours to make people happy and engaged – forging community links in the process of design and absorbing ideas which enable them to evolve unique places for shared experience. The practice pioneers a collaborative approach and strives to be innovator and enricher of life and learning - they actively promote the artistic contribution to built environments.

Occupying a creative hub on Regent’s canal in East London, aLL has developed a series of similar spaces in London and China, the first of which - TESTBED1®, was a 7,000 sqft space, fashioned from what was once a Victorian dairy, then a tile-kiln, on the Thames between Battersea and Albert bridges. It was an incubator for arts practice - be it film, music, fashion, art or pure experiment.

TESTBED1® housed Edge of Arabia Gallery; Doodle Bar and a variety of burgeoning businesses. A programme of events and visiting speakers emerged that attracted an international following - the venue welcomed around 3,000 visitors weekly. The studio recently completed TESTBED2® in Chongqing, China, and TESTBED3® in South London began with the opening of Doodle Bar in August 2016 and is due to complete in early 2019.

aLL Design has specialised in large-scale master plans and regeneration projects for boroughs and districts in Manchester, London, Essex and China. They recently designed part of the regeneration of Kew Gate district for the London Borough of Hounslow and are currently developing schemes for Vauxhall’s regeneration and working internationally in China, Canada and Europe.

Their two TTC (Toronto Transit Commission) subway stations completed in Autumn 2017 in Canada and they have projects underway in London, Manchester, Liverpool, China and the Middle East - creating a mixed-use, sustainability-led waterfront development in the UAE; a second commission from Queen Mary University for additional public engagement and exhibition space alongside the award-winning Blizard Building and two residential buildings on London’s riverside. Many of aLL’s designs have become icons for their cities, encouraging and increasing tourism and establishing them as visionaries in the field of architecture.

The studio is committed to new technology, particularly if it contributes to a greener profile and introduces elements of surprise. aLL works with people and organisations with whom they have a rapport, regardless of the scale of the project. They are passionate educators and affiliated to numerous institutions around the world including TU Vienna, UCA Canterbury, the Royal Academy and most recently the London School of Architecture, from which a small group of students have embarked upon the first structure at ‘Las Heras’ – an 800 hectare art and architecture educational retreat in Girona, Spain and a place dedicated to cultural exchange and exploration.

Marcos Rosello, Director
Marcos is a Founding Director of aLL Design, based in the London studio. He manages aLL Design globally and works on projects both in the UK and abroad. Marcos has a design-focused history, specialising in sustainability and international business development. He has lived and worked in the UK, Spain, Switzerland and Abu Dhabi, where he set up an international office and worked on high-profile sustainable projects such as Masdar SAF and The Park Marriot - a mixed-use hotel and office building. Marcos worked for the Environment Agency in Abu Dhabi, which intensified focus on sustainable housing in the region.

His broad range of experience includes Residential, Commercial, Educational, Mixed Use, Hospitality, Sustainability, Client Liaison, Business Development, International Office Set-up and Project Management. As Managing Director of aLL Design, Marcos worked closely with Will Alsop to strategise his vision internationally and to develop projects across the London, Qatar and China studios. Marcos has led a design unit at Greenwich University and is a mentor at the University of East London.

Lucy Atlee, Director
Lucy studied in Glasgow, lived in Florence as a John Kinross Scholar and worked as assistant to the Scottish Sculptor Alexander Stoddart before qualifying as an Architect in 2001. She worked in Scotland on projects of varying size from furniture and interiors, a one off house and a 250 bedroom hotel to large-scale masterplans.

She began working for Will Alsop in 2009 on the Rough Luxe, La Fosca Beach Hotel, the Neuron Pod Extension to the Blizard Building for Queen Mary University in Whitechapel and TESTBED1®, Battersea. Lucy recently completed the delivery of a residential project of 138 apartments at Millharbour on the Isle of Dogs and is currently working on a shopping mall project in Kenya, an education project in Cambridge and a private residential project in London.

Lucy loves to find low energy and innovative solutions to minimise the environmental impact of design. She is a qualified BREEAM Assessor and served on the Hackney Design Panel for five years giving advice to the borough on the sustainable impact of new projects. Lucy is a trustee of Lewisham Building Preservation Trust and has taught at the University of Strathclyde and Canterbury School of Architecture.

The Late Professor Will Alsop OBE RA
The late Prof. Will Alsop OBE RA was aLL Design’s principal, it was with his guidance and tireless endeavours to inspire and question that the studio’s ideas were sprung and crafted. Will was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire for services to Architecture and elected to the Royal Academy of Arts. He was granted numerous honorary positions and lectured internationally for over 40 years.

His core values were innovation and expression with an emphasis on enjoyment - his practice was founded principally to 'make life better'. His method incorporated painting and his involvement of people both within and outside the arts led to design that instigates change.

Will specialised in large-scale master plans and regeneration projects for boroughs and districts in Almere, Singapore, Rotterdam, Groningen, Berlin, Manchester, Middlesbrough, London and Barnsley, for which he won the 2003 Architects' Journal Award for Architecture. Alsop's iconic designs such as the Glenwood Power Plant in Yonkers, New York and the HQ of the French government in Marseilles have established him as a visionary in the field of architecture.

Will sat on architectural advisory boards for Wandsworth and Kensington and Chelsea Councils and was Professor of TU Vienna and Professor of Architecture at Canterbury School of Architecture, UCA.

aLL Design won the Grand Award for Architecture in the Royal Academy of Arts Summer Exhibition 2016 for their model of Heliport Heights, a mixed-use residential scheme with ground floor art gallery that is elevated on stilts above an existing building in Battersea, London. aLL’s Pioneer Village station in Toronto has been shortlisted for a WAF (World Architecture Festival) 2018 award (winners to be announced in November 2018).

The late Prof Will Alsop’s design for Peckham Library won the RIBA Stirling Prize – the United Kingdom’s most prestigious architectural award - for Peckham Library, and the Ontario College of Art and Design that reinvigorated a bleak district of Toronto and increased tourism by 2.5%, won the first RIBA Worldwide Award.

Prof. Alsop personally received over 25 honorary awards and academic positions and his practice has won over 50 awards for design and innovation, including: Regeneration, Preservation of Historic Buildings and Waterfront Development, Education; Civic Trust and Community, LEAF, BREEAM, Town Planning and Design.

These include: The Public Community Arts Centre; Peckham Library, Hamburg Ferry Terminal, Clarke Quay riverside development in Singapore, and Goldsmiths Art College, to name a few. North Greenwich subway station, the Millennium Dome’s transport hub, was shortlisted for the RIBA Stirling Prize, as was the Fawood Children’s Centre.