As Senior Executive Partner and Head of Studio, Gerard Evenden’s approach to leading international teams is guided by collaboration, technological innovation, and a commitment to regenerative, ecological design. Alongside overseeing a string of high-profile projects, he has built enduring relationships with clients, collaborators and a trusted studio leadership group, which brings together decades of shared knowledge and expertise. Gerard has sought out and thrives on the challenge of working in extreme climates, delivering projects that often combine technological complexity with traditional principles to achieve unprecedented environmental aims. This desire to work in new markets has driven Foster + Partners’ broad geographical spread and diversity, through projects in China, Thailand, Cambodia, Singapore, Australia and the Middle East including the sustainable masterplan for Masdar City, the UAE’s 2020 Dubai Expo pavilion and Zayed National Museum, the centrepiece of the Saadiyat Island Cultural District in Abu Dhabi. Early projects include Sarriko Station on the Bilbao Metro, where he subsequently led the design teams on Canary Wharf Underground Station in London, and the High-Speed Rail Station in Florence. More recently, this scope has included significant new projects in the UK, such as the Ellison Institute of Technology in Oxford, and work in the USA and Africa. With oversight of the practice’s model-making capabilities, he has applied his passion for technology to advancing the department’s use of the latest tools, materials and systems. A great believer in the value of travel and a local presence, Gerard has developed a deep understanding of the cultural and social changes in the regions where he has worked. He has witnessed significant transformation in cities like Sydney, Singapore, and Dubai, and has been proud to play a part in their sustainable growth and evolution.
Gerard Evenden
Senior Executive Partner, Head of Studio
BSc, BArch (Dist), RIBA
What’s really important – as well as witnessing the physical change in these places – is you’re seeing social change. Our buildings and projects help to support that process of opening up. As much as design, I think that’s what this job’s about – being part of progression and change.