Mr Michael Westley

Biography

(University of Plymouth) Associate Senior Lecturer School of Architecture,
Module Leader ARCH 407 Connecting Sustainable Practices
(Westley Design- Landscape Architecture & Inclusive Design Practice) Practice Principal & Proprietor

Qualifications

BA (1st Class Honours) Landscape Architecture, Post Graduate Diploma in Landscape Architecture (Upper Second) , Diploma in Amenity Horticulture, Post Graduate Certificate in Teaching & Learning in Higher Education, Chartered Member of the Landscape Institute (C.M.L.l.)

Chartered Landscape Architect, Michael Westley has 20 years experience of inclusive landscape design. Beside his University of Plymouth appointment as Associate Senior Lecturer, in the School of Architecture, Design & Environment, his expertise has lead to the following relevant appointments:

Design Council (UK) Expert Panel- Health & Wellbeing

Department of Health NHS Design Review Panel.

CABE Space Enabler- public space co-design & place analysis design & training for CABE ‘Spaceshaper’

Play England Enabler- national training & consulting in play strategy & inclusive play design.

Program Manager, Sensory Trust (Eden Project)- inclusive design, training & award winning publishing

Founding Practice Principal, Groundwork Plymouth Area- community based, co-design urban regeneration projects

Founding Practice Principal, Westley Design

Michael’s practice, Westley Design delivers inclusive landscape consultancy & training, specializing in: community based public space, healthcare & learning environments e.g.: general hospitals, specialist health care, primary health care, hospices, Children’s Centres, elder care and sheltered housing, secondary/ primary/ Early Years school settings. Westley Design works in partnership with client groups, makers and health & learning sector professionals, through innovative consultation & collaboration to create unique, accessible, multi-sensory places, benefitting user health and well-being of users.

Professional membership

C.M.L.I. (Chartered Member of the Landscape Institute (U.K.)

Roles on external bodies

Design Council (UK) Expert Panel- Health & Wellbeing

Department of Health NHS Design Review Panel.

CABE Space Enabler- public space co-design & place analysis design & training for CABE ‘Spaceshaper’.

Play England Enabler- national training & consulting in play strategy & inclusive play design.

Teaching

Teaching interests

Public space design – access and inclusion

Healing and care environments design

Learning environment design

Parks and play design

Gardens Design

Sustainable residential & business landscape design

Staff serving as external examiners

(current) External Examiner at University of Essex (Writtle College) on Landscape Architecture & Garden Design Programs

(current) External Examiner at University of Edinborough (Scottish Agricultural College) on Garden Design Programs

Research

Research interests

Public space design – access and inclusion

Healing and care environments design

Learning environment design

Parks and play design

Sustainable residential & business landscape design

Other research

See: Publications, Reports & Invited Activities, Conferences Organised, Other Academic Activities set out in the sections below

Grants & contracts

See: Publications, Reports & Invited Activities, Conferences Organised, Other Academic Activities set out in the sections below

Creative practice & artistic projects

Westley Design 2005 – (Practice Principal)

Michael Westley's environmental consultancy, Westley Design, is collaborative - involving a broad range of designer-makers and development professionals in order to develop creative and holistic landscape solutions. This includes partnership based regeneration projects with residential communities, schools, health care environments, businesses and local authorities, often focusing on urban regeneration. Michael’s work attempts to create a sustainable relationship between people and place. The Inclusive landscape architecture consultancy, specialises in the following areas of work:

Public Space Access & Inclusion
Healing & Care Environments
Learning Environments
Parks & Play
Gardens & Residential
Sustainable Business & Industry
Training, Research & Education

Clients have included:

Royal Cornwall Hospital Trust
Arts for Health (Royal Devon and Exeter Healthcare Trust)
St.Rocco’s Hospice
CABE Space (Commission for Architecture & Built Environment)
Creating Excellence (Southwest)
Play England
London Borough of Southwark
Southampton City Council
Cornwall Council
Arts for Health (Cornwall and Isles of Scilly)

Publications

Other Publications

Paper - Building Bridges: Interdisciplinary Design Based Education Projects (Shared Visions Conference September 2002, University of Brighton)

Paper – Inclusive Healing Environments – Sensory Trust Case Studies (Critical Connections Health Care Arts Conference December 2002, Leeds General Hospital

Article – Sensory Rich Education (Landscape Design Magazine – February 2003 Issue 317)

Publication – English Heritage Access Guidance for Historic Landscapes, Sensory Trust, October 2004 (Landscape Institute Awards winner 2006)

Paper – CABE Healthy Environments Conference Week – Case Studies

Paper/ Workshops CABE Green Space Leaders Program – Inclusive Access to the Public Realm 2007

Paper/ Workshop – Qualitative Assessment of Public Space by Spaceshaper (CABE U.K.), Healthy Parks Healthy People – International Congress, Melbourne Australia April 2010

Personal

Reports & invited lectures

Workshop – Creating Connections; People & Place & Lecture – The Eden Project As Rural Regeneration Mechanism (Mark Harrison Fund Series April / May 2003, Rhode Island School of Design)

Paper- Conference Partner Organisation ‘Projects’ Session – ‘Making Sense’ Inclusive environmental design and management; developing links between the environment and people’s health and well-being (D21 Design Agenda for the 21st Century, December 2004, Rio de Janeiro)

Poster & forum ‘Wellbeing by Design-3 healing landscape case studies & Royal Cornwall Hospital Trust’ at the Well-Being Conference Exploring the Multi-dimensions of Well-being at Birmingham University July 2011

Poster & forum workshop ’Wellbeing by Design – healing, placemaking’ at the European Centre for Environment and Human Health (ECEHH) Securing Children's Health & Wellbeing through Outdoor Play Conference, Peninsula College of Medicine and Dentistry Knowledge Spa, Royal Cornwall Hospital, Truro. September 2011

Workshop presentation ‘Connections between Craft, Sustainability and Wellbeing’, Connecting Craft and Communities Symposia, Dartington, Totnes. September 2011

Workshop presentation, Centre for Environment & Human Health (ECEHH) Enterprise, Environment and Wellbeing Conference, Peninsula College of Medicine and Dentistry Knowledge Spa, Royal Cornwall Hospital Truro, Cornwall. October 2011.

Conferences organised

Public Parks Keep Out! Conference – Greenspace & Sensory Trust Nov 2003)

Other academic activities

Play England / CABESpace – Training Materials Design & Training Delivery 2006 - 2008

NHS Design Review Panel - Therapeutic Place-making, Quality of Place through Landscape Design- March 2008

CABESpace – Spaceshaper Place Evaluation Tool & Methodology - development & trialling & training 2005 – 2011

(including training with Parks & Leisure Australia / Australian Heart Foundation 2010)

Additional information