At the heart of our multidisciplinary practice, are socially driven people committed to delivering great experiences, buildings and cities.
As ‘architects plus’, the team has a core architectural thread while bringing in other expertise, skills and experience; from designing fashion shows, through to curating exhibitions, making documentaries, establishing community institutions, drafting policy research and delivering urban masterplans and visions.
Each member brings a fresh perspective to the fabric of JA Projects. As a result, our team is well-suited to projects at a variety of scales that require a broad diversity of skills, creative thinking and innovative delivery.
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JAYDEN ALI
Director
Jayden Ali is the Founding Director of the practice and oversees all projects. As an Architect, artist and educator, he has been recognised by the Design Museum, Vogue and Wallpaper Magazine as a key voice in shaping the future of our cities, whilst also being included on the Architects’ Journal’s prestigious ’40 Under 40’ list. He is a Mayor’s Design Advocate, sits on various quality review panels and is a Dean’s Visit Professor at Columbia University, NYC and Politecnico di Milano, Milan. In 2023, Jayden co-curated the British Pavilion at the Venice Biennale, with the exhibition 'Dancing Before the Moon' being awarded a prestigious special mention.
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ABBY BIRD
Snr Architect
Abby has a wealth of experience delivering a range of project types within the practice - from site-wide infrastructural upgrades at Queen's Market to inclusive public realm schemes at Camberwell Station Road. Abby leads and oversees all museum/gallery projects within the practice. Most notably, she has led the delivery of two permanent galleries at the V&A East and landmark temporary exhibitions such as Fashioning Masculinities and Entangled Pasts. Abby’s work champions social and spatial changes that are truly designed with, and are representative of, the people that enliven them. As such, her work is always driven by innovative engagement and creative co-design. Outside of JA Projects, Abby is involved with local nature reserves and an independent arts/music festival, Earthworks.
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CAMERON BRAY
Snr Urban Designer and Co Design Lead
Cameron has contributed to projects in strategic masterplanning, town-centre renewal and the public realm improvement. He is interested in projects that focus on engagement and co-design, with an emphasis on working with project stakeholders to deliver work that is representative of their needs and desires. Cameron’s approach to architecture is to deliver embedded projects with a strong sense of social and environmental sustainability. He has delivered our community and social infrastructure-focused Place Making Vision for Redchurch Street and led the engagement and co-design programme for Queen’s Market. Before joining JA Projects, he co-founded the Civic Soup collective in Scotland (2016) and has worked on construction projects across the UK, Madrid, Stuttgart and Mumbai.
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ALICE SHEPHERD
Snr Architect
Alice is central to the JA Projects’ commitment to housing delivery, leading the Tustin Estate Regeneration team designing two streets of infill social housing reflecting and tying into the existing character of the estate. She led the practice’s contribution to a large mixed-use regeneration scheme within the Silvertown Quays masterplan, Newham. Her experience includes working within the public and private sector delivering cultural and housing projects. Prior to JA Projects, Alice worked at Caruso St John and Gort Scott Architects. Notably, Alice led Gort Scott's Central Parade project, a cultural hub, and workspace in Walthamstow awarded the NLA Mayor’s Award and London RIBA Award in 2017 & 2018 respectively. Alice was also assistant Creative Director for Greenpeace, designing the Greenpeace field at Glastonbury.
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CHLOE MUNKENBECK
Architect (RA in the USA)
Chloe is a Architect (registered in the USA) and artist originally from London and currently based in New York City. She is involved in the studio's North America projects, including leading the design team for the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum and Art Gallery Ontario. Chloe has led projects ranging in scale from the 2024 Costume Institute exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art (Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion), and the multi-disciplinary exhibition Static Range by Himali Singh Soin at the Art Institute of Chicago, to interiors for the restaurant Bronzeville Winery, and mid-rise residential developments in Chicago. In 2023, she was selected as exhibition designer for the US Pavilion at the Venice Architecture Biennale. Chloe practices as an artist, her first solo exhibition was included in Art Forum's Must See List.
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SIOBHAN HENDERSON
Operations
Siobhan brings to JA Projects 10 years’ experience in developing multi-partner, cross-sector projects that connect culture, creativity and enterprise in ground-breaking ways. Here, she oversees daily activities across the practice from supporting external partner and client liaison, resource, strategy and internal/external communications. Before JA Projects, she managed external partnerships and projects for Spatial Practices at Central Saint Martins, and was Festival Manager at London Design Festival, the world’s leading design event, overseeing its residency at the V&A museum. As a Cultural Studies and Arts Management postgraduate, she has a passion for organisations and practitioners that make you discover and see things differently through design and creativity.
Collaborators
Adam Khan Architects
AKTII
Alison Brooks Architects
A Practice for Everyday Life
Archio
Architecture00
Arup
BBUK
Beyond the Box
BIG
Camden Highline
Capoeira for All
CAVA Institute
David Chipperfield Architects
dRMM
Etude
Feilden Fowles
Freehaus
Futurecity
Gort Scott
Harrison Stringfellow
Haworth Tompkins
J & L Gibbons
Kelly Drake
Levitt Bernstein
Mæ
Marc Koehler Architects
Peter Adjaye
Poor Collective
Prior and Partners
Studio Hugo Blanzat
Sage Culture
Schulze+Grassov
Soundings
Studio Weave
Scouse Flower House
Studio ZNA
St Joseph’s Hospice
The Place Bureau
Theatrum Mundi
Turner Works
West 8
William Floyd Maclean
Clients
Barbican
BetterBankside
British Council
The Cherry Trees School
Greater London Authority
Peabody
Lendlease
London Borough of Hackney
London Borough of Haringey
London Borough of Hillingdon
London Borough of Islington
London Borough of Newham
London Borough of Southwark
London Borough of Tower Hamlets
Metropolitan Museum of Art
National Museums of Liverpool
National Portrait Gallery
Nike
Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation
onRedchurch
Royal Academy of Arts
Victoria and Albert Museum
Vitra Museum
Vogue
Wellcome Collection
Wider Team
Zuzia Rostocka
Designer
Oli Brenner
Architectural Assistant
Jade Nembhard
Studio Administrator
Previous Team Members
Heloise Peringnon
Issi Nanabeyin
Dhara Bhatt
Divya Patel
Tatiana Gamuchirai
Brian Yue
Chris Gabe
Camilla Ocejo
Laurence Neal
Freya Spencer-Wood
Macarena Poppe
Arielle Shaul
Lea Lahaj
Cristina Silva