Jennifer Dixon, director at Fereday Pollard, speaks to ADF about her love for the profession, and why architects must better articulate the value they bring in order to grow their presence in projects.
What made you want to become an architect?
My father was an architect in private practice, so there was always conversation about buildings, spaces and materials from an early age. This had an impact and encouraged my own path to becoming an architect.
What do you like most about the job?
The breadth of the subject has kept me interested my whole career. In any one day I’m dealing with design content, technical subject matter, law, human factors, heritage, social/environmental science, and of course business growth and development. There are deep specialists in the profession, but overall to get projects designed and delivered it’s a polymathematical pursuit, and always interesting.
What is your biggest challenge as a practice director?
Our practice is going through a period of scaling and growth, which comes with its challenges but is also exceptionally exciting. My multidisciplinary background and experience across a wide range of clients and projects in the transportation and infrastructure sectors have allowed me to bring focused direction and strategic insight to support the practice’s growth, its projects and its clients. The next big challenge is to explore how our unique specialisms can be useful beyond the UK, where we have worked almost exclusively for 30 years – I’m certain that our experience in crafting the human and environmental interface with civil infrastructure interventions will be of value in countries where new infrastructure has the potential to impact negatively on both urban and rural settings and communities. Our first overseas venture, which a project to support the Ostlig Ringvej tunnel construction in Copenhagen, is the start of this growth journey.
Could you describe the different parameters of your role within Fereday Pollard, and how much design work you are able to do?
In my ‘practice director’ capacity I spend my time identifying opportunities, winning work, creating the conditions for others to do their best design work and supporting them to do so. In my capacity as a ‘fee earner,’ I practice as an RIBA Client Adviser, the definition of which is ‘a designer who doesn’t design’ – I use my design experience to support client teams to understand stakeholders’ needs, write design briefs, devise schedules of services for design teams and review design outputs. In short, I write the design ‘question’ rather than creating the design ‘answer.’
Do you believe architecture is sometimes more about diplomacy & aligning interests than space design?
Aligning interests to create a sound brief and communicating it clearly to all parties is the foundation of a great design project. But designing buildings and spaces is definitely the main event! Architects are uniquely trained to receive and interrogate a brief, and to create design solutions that not only respond to the direct needs and demands, but also to align wider societal and environmental interests and agendas. Even after 35 years in practice, I continue to be shocked at what a small proportion of buildings globally have inputs by architects – we need to describe better what we do, how we do it and the value we add in order that a wider breadth of commissioning clients have confidence that working with an architect will create better outcomes.
How do you manage your work/life balance?
I enjoy keeping active and being on and in the water; it’s a brilliant way to switch off. Our projects are always attuned to the human experience and enhancing public spaces for social good, so going out and personally enjoying them is a must.
What piece of design work are you most proud of?
This year Fereday Pollard’s 18-year involvement in the Thames Tideway Tunnel comes to fruition with the remainder of surface sites opening during 2026. It is a gargantuan achievement which is testament to the skills of the architect and landscape architect profession to work collaboratively in a civils-led environment to produce humane, people centric places. The vision for the programme was led by Fereday Pollard, and eight further design practices (Atkins, Arup, Hawkins\Brown, Gillespies, Hyland Edgar Driver, Orbit Architects, Weston Williamson + Partners, and Mott MacDonald) were involved in the design and delivery, working with over 30 commissioned artists.
Name one thing that would make your job easier?
The ability to be in three places at once, although I do my best! Fewer different public sector procurement portals would also be nice.
What’s your big short-term goal as an architect?
To consolidate our growing workload in the North West (from our new Liverpool base), and to take the specialist skills of Fereday Pollard beyond the UK into international markets.
Given the recent controversy around Chris Williamson, the ARB and the protected title of ‘architect,’ can you see more architects dropping ARB registration?
Wearing my chair of RIBA Practice & Policy Committee hat (rather than my director of Fereday Pollard hat), I would say that Chris took this action to raise awareness of the current untenable situation regarding the lack of regulation of the function of the architect – which runs contrary to the interest of the public and civil society. He did not expect or intend that other practising architects follow suit, but it has certainly opened up productive debate which is long overdue.
Do you believe that being a woman in a senior role gives you particular skills to bring to architecture, or is it wrong to focus on gender?
Yes, it does! Logically it must be true that a more representative gender balance at all levels, and in any industry, must improve outcomes.
Jennifer Dixon is director at Fereday Pollard