MSA Lecture – New Practice

Marc Cairns is Managing Director at New Practice, experts in place working across the UK and Ireland.

The practice exists to develop the community, creative and cultural capacity of places and to connect people with the decision making processes that underpin lived experiences. The practice is committed to embedding social value in place-based projects across the UK and beyond through community engagement, meanwhile use, retrofit & reuse and strategies for community; ensuring that community-centred briefs and shared decision making shape the future of the built environment.

New Practice, a RIAS and RIBA chartered practice, became part of Civic in Autumn 2024 through a shared commitment to the design and delivery of places that have a positive impact on the environment and enable people to lead healthier, happier lives. Building on existing and past work towards LGBTQIA+ advocacy in architecture, Marc is a founding organising committee member of Open Plan Scotland, a volunteer led network for members of LGBTQIA+ community who are studying or working in architecture in Scotland. He was previously part of ArchitectureLGBT+.

Marc is a Design Council Expert and also currently a Director of Many Studios – an arts organisation, creative workspace provider and community interest company based in the East End of Glasgow. He also sits on the Board of Cure Crohn’s Colitis – a charity established to exclusively fund new patient-centric research. He was recently appointed as a Trustee of the Springburn Winter Gardens Trust, tasked with saving and repurposing the A Listed Winter Gardens and developing its Park location for the benefit of the local community.