Jim Chapman

Jim is a chartered architect and urban designer with over 35 years’ experience as a consultant delivering a wide range of projects in many sectors. In 2006, he established an independent consultancy, which focuses on supporting and advising clients on the delivery of high-quality projects.

Jim is an Emeritus Professor of Architecture for the Manchester School of Architecture, following nine years on the governing board, and he continues to advise the Manchester Metropolitan University on design and procurement matters on several strategic developments, including the Business School; Art and Design Building, short listed for the Stirling Award in 2014; Birley Fields, the faculty of Education and Healthcare, and the campus masterplan focusing on the All Saints campus. In 2014, RIBA presented the University with its Client of the Year award.

Jim has been appointed by the Design Council as a member of the Built Environment Expert [BEE] network, and he was a member of the national design review panel for the Design Council/CABE (the Commission of Architecture and the Built Environment), acting as a vice-chair of the school’s design review panel and an enabler in urban design, residential accommodation, and healthcare.

He is currently supporting two healthcare trusts as client design advisor and as a facilitator for design quality indicators, and he is involved in design review panels on two major urban design projects. He is a member of the design review panel for Architecture + Design Scotland and an accredited DQI facilitator in the healthcare sector for the Construction Industry Council (CIC).

Intimately involved in the regeneration of Manchester, he prepared the masterplans for both the Commonwealth and Olympic Games, and he was a key member of the team in the rebuilding of the city in 1996, after the IRA bomb. He led the design teams for two city centre spaces, Piccadilly Gardens and Exchange Square, working closely with EDAW and Martha Schwartz.

He was a vice-president of RIBA and has acted as an assessor for RIBA competitions on several universities (Oxford University, Lancaster University, and Manchester Metropolitan University master plans, and individual buildings on other campuses), regeneration and healthcare projects.