Creative Reuse, Interpretation & Heritage
the art of storytelling in physical space
…weaving story, space & sensory experience
Clare recently joined Arup as Heritage Integrated Services Leader, a new role focused on bringing heritage thinking into the heart of how we design, regenerate, and shape places. As a global consultancy that guides, plans and designs the future of the built environment Arup considers heritage and all its associated cultural, social, material and architectural stories to be an essential tool in placemaking.
Clare works across disciplines to connect heritage with wider challenges and opportunities, from retrofit and adaptive reuse to place-making, community building, and urban development. Her role combines technical heritage expertise with a strong focus on people, storytelling, and systems thinking, helping clients unlock the full value of heritage in shaping future projects.Working across multi-disciplinary teams she guides clients, stakeholders, and communities to unlock the cultural, social, and spatial potential of buildings, neighbourhoods, and cities.
With foundations in BBC documentary production, a Masters in Historic Building Conservation, and leadership roles in architectural and exhibition practices, Clare brings a rare combination of research depth, narrative clarity, and design intelligence. She has guided major projects from competition stage through planning, design, and delivery, helping teams understand significance, engage communities, and realise heritage-led transformation. Prior to joining Arup, she worked at Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios and subsquently Thinc Design in New York with a wide range of clients, including Alexandra Palace, Southbank Centre, the Ashmolean Museum, the Empire State Building and the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum.
Connecting to Place
The Backstory…
After ten years as a documentary film-maker at the BBC in London, Clare retrained in Architectural Regeneration and joined architects Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios as part of their Creative Reuse Team. Embedded within the design team, and starting from the premise that every building and landscape tells a story, she worked across the practice to deliver dozens of cultural, heritage and landscape projects. With this unusual approach to architecture and heritage, she became a was partner and served five years on the Partnership Board until she went to work in New York City.
“One must have the utmost respect for matter.
It is the starting point. It dictates the work. It imposes it.”
Joan Miró
The emotional layer…
Contemporary or ancient, materials define and describe our experience of the world. They also broker the relationship between our bodies and our environment — both built and grown.
Making and haptics are essential to Clare’s creative practice, using installations, books, film, planting, ceramics and textile interventions. As a keen ceramist, and an eternally curious gardener, she is passionate about the value of the material and natural world around us.
“Take time to look…”
Georgia O’Keeffe
In 2017 Clare moved to New York as Creative Director at Thinc Design with whom she led a project in New Mexico. We worked with diverse communities of residents, students, artists, and museum staff on shaping a more inclusive and sensory experience at a new museum campus celebrating the life and work of Georgia O’Keeffe. Considered by some as a genius of modernism, by others as a feminist icon, and still others as a settler abusing her white privilege, this work helped deepen Clare’s understanding of the complex relationship between culture, nature, and identity – and added to her conviction that the stories we tell are as important as ecology and data in creating healthy buildings, healthy communities, and a healthy planet.
Culture & Climate
