Nick Hayhurst

BA, AADipl, ARB, RIBA, FHEA, RIAS

Nick trained at Edinburgh College of Art and the Architectural Association where he was a recipient of the Future Practice Prize and an honours nominee. He was a scholar at the British School at Rome (Boas Scholar, 2003) and completed his professional training at the Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL. Nick founded Tyler Hayhurst in 2004 and later reformed his practice as Hayhurst and Co. in 2009 where he has led a series of pioneering education, community and residential projects.

Nick has taught and lectured widely and is a Senior Lecturer at University of Brighton where he specialises in design theory and practice. He is currently the subject lead for Future Practice: exploring evolving forms of architectural and design practice. He became a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy in 2018. Nick has sat on RIBA Council, was one of the author’s of the RIBA’s publication ‘Tomorrow’s Architect’, and is a member of the RIBA Visiting Board where he has chaired the validation of schools of architecture in the UK and overseas. Nick has been an External Examiner at Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen and is currently an External Examiner at the Macintosh School of Architecture in Glasgow and Sheffield Hallam University.

Nick has lectured widely on the work of the practice at schools of architecture and professional institutions around the UK and regularly contributes to journal articles and the professional press. He was appointed to the Southwark Design Review Panel in 2012 which he went on to chair between 2018-2023, has chaired the Brighton & Hove Design Review Panel since 2016 and chaired the Croydon Design Review Panel since 2023. He has been appointed as an Expert Witness on design related matters in public enquiries and has been a judge for the AJ Retrofit and Civic Trust Awards. He chaired an RIBA London Awards jury in 2021 and the RIAS Awards in 2024.

Jonathan Nicholls

BA (Hons), AADipl, ARB, RIBA

Jonathan graduated from the Architectural Association in 2003 and completed his professional qualifications at the Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL. He is a founding member of Hayhurst and Co. and became a Director in 2013. Jonathan is registered with the ARB and is a Corporate member of the RIBA.

He was a Visiting Lecturer at the University of Nottingham from 2005-2008 and has been a visiting critic at schools of architecture in the UK and in India. Outside of the office he has had articles published in AD, Architects Journal and Blueprint magazines and he has contributed to events and public discussions on the themes of demographic profiling, local cultures, and the effects of behaviour patterns on design performance.

He is an author of the Chandigarh Catalogues; a Graham Foundation funded research project documenting the Indian city of Chandigarh, which was exhibited at the RIBA in 2009, and he is the initiator of Postcode Portraits, an Arts Council funded project that investigates the effects of social classification on the British landscape.

Jonathan leads the technical and material, research and development within the practice and is behind many of the practice’s innovative material approaches to design.

Holly Zarnecki

BA (Hons), MA

Holly studied Photography at Edinburgh College of Art and Illustration at Camberwell School of Art and worked at the Royal College of Art and the Photographer’s Gallery before helping to reform Hayhurst and Co. in 2009.

Holly also works as a freelance illustrator under the name ‘Holly-Paper-Scissors’ and is a member of the Association of Illustrators. She specialises in the use of collage, drawing and printing techniques to create work on a range of topics including the natural world, current affairs and politics. Her work has been exhibited at the Bankside Gallery, Peckham Space and was selected for the AOI’s Images 36 publication and touring exhibition.

Jamie Wakeford

BA (Hons), MArch, ARB, RIBA

Jamie studied at the University of Sheffield, where he was awarded the masters travel scholarship and a distinction for his masters thesis, before he completed his professional qualifications at the Bartlett, UCL.

Before joining Hayhurst and Co, Jamie worked on major public building projects for leading practices in both the UK and Denmark. This includes his role as project architect on the Athletes’ Village Health & Wellbeing Centre for the London 2012 Olympics, as well as a new Business & Mathematics Building at the University of Kent, and the post-earthquake re-construction of Christchurch’s City Library, New Zealand.

Jamie has been an invited guest critic at numerous schools of architecture in the UK and Denmark and he currently delivers an undergraduate technology course at UCA, Canterbury. He is also a Professional Studies examiner at Brighton University and leads Hayhurst and Co’s involvement in the RIBA mentoring scheme with UEL.

Jamie is currently project architect and design guardian for the re-building of Edith Neville School, as part of the Central Somers Town Masterplan and is responsible for the development of Hayhurst and Co’s QA and CAD standards.

Claire Taggart

BSc (Hons), MArch, DipArch, ARB, RIBA

Claire studied at the Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL for both BSc and MArch, before completing her professional qualification at Westminster University. Claire has a particular interest in exploration of social and cultural dimensions of architecture and the relationship between architecture and interaction on a human scale. She also enjoys also working with the finer details of materiality and tactility, particularly in relation to the integration of nature and architecture, innovative uses and applications of natural materials and circular design. Claire is the Environmental and Sustainability champion for Hayhurst and Co and leads the practice’s environmental policy agenda.

Before joining Hayhurst and Co, Claire worked in studios in Rome, Milan and London on a range of projects, ranging from temporary installations to sensitive historic restorations, large-scale master-planning and public realm projects.

Claire joined Hayhurst and Co in 2015 and has worked on a range of residential and education projects and delivered a number of complex projects from initial design to completion, driving design development and managing design co-ordination, through to hands-on involvement and delivery on site. Completed projects have included schools, learning centres and homes, working with listed buildings, extensions, refurbishments and new-builds. Claire was named RIBA Project Architect of the Year for delivery of Green House, winner of RIBA House of the Year in 2023.

Claire was made Associate in 2021 and now leads a team delivering a range of educational, community, cultural and residential projects.

Chloe Anderson

BA(Hons), DipArch, PG Dip, ARB, RIBA

Chloe joined Hayhurst & Co as a Senior Architect in 2024 and spends her time between the Bristol and London studios. She enjoys delivering residential, community, cultural and education projects and collaborating with clients across the public and private sector. Some of her favourite projects previously include a late-night bar and event space for Tate Modern and a homeless shelter in North London.

Prior to qualifying at Westminster University, Chloe trained at Sheffield School of Architecture and with The Free Unit at The Cass where she was awarded the RIBA NWLSA Live Project Award for exemplary social engagement, entrepreneurship and activism. She was recipient of the 2014 RIBA AHR scholarship and is committed to increasing access into, and diversity across, the profession through her ongoing work as member of the RIBA Education Development Group and a RIBA Schools Ambassador.

Chloe is passionate about the social value of projects and her award-winning work in the homeless sector inspired the launch of the AJ100 Community Impact Award which has been running since 2020.

In her spare time, Chloe likes drinking tea, eating biscuits and cycling across countries.

Christina Agoston-Vas

BArch (Hons), MArch, DipArch, ARB

Christina joined Hayhurst & Co as a Senior Architect in 2024 and is part of the newly formed Bristol Office.

Christina is the Project Architect on Filwood Community Centre in Bristol where her experience of existing buildings and project delivery will be utilised to deliver the LUF funded community scheme in Knowle West for 2025.

Prior to joining Hayhurst & Co, Christina worked for Stirling Prize winning architects where she worked on substantial office and refurbishment projects from design through to delivery and completion.

In her spare time she can be found hiking with her dog, jogging around the harbour or cycling in Spain. Christina studied at the University of Nottingham, for both BArch and MArch, before completing her professional qualification at RIBA Northwest.

Ruby Sleigh

BA (Hons), MSc, ARB

Ruby started her architectural education at the University of Liverpool, where she established a deep passion for socially and environmentally sustainable design, driven by a craft-based approach. She later expanded her education at the TU Delft in The Netherlands where she graduated Cum Laude with her thesis project entitled ‘Cultural Cultivation: Cultivating Culture’, before completing her professional qualification in 2022 at the University of Westminster.

She has previously worked both for Architype and Prewett Bizley Architects on a range of housing, education and cultural projects. She has gained experience in a range of sustainable construction approaches including Passivhaus, bio-based construction and self-build, contributing further to her developing passion for low-impact design. She is also a technology tutor at Oxford Brookes University, teaching on both the undergraduate and postgraduate architectural design courses.

Since joining Hayhurst and Co. in 2019, she has worked on a number of residential, education and community projects at various scales and across all RIBA stages. When not in the office, Ruby is passionate about ecologically-driven design, responsible supply chains and multi-species environmenta and is co-ordinator of the ACAN Ecology working group. Her projects both inside and outside of architectural education and professional practice explore the agency of design to instigate change and its relationship with people, behaviour and the wider ecosystems we comprise.

Dovile Ciapaite

BA (Hons), MArch

Dovile graduated from Oxford Brookes University with a first class degree and received her MArch with Distinction from the Bartlett, where her final year project ‘Crafting a Lithuanian Forest’ delved into an exploration of cultural identity through making practises in architecture.

Dovile’s keen interest in boldly illustrated narratives that combine both, traditional mark making and industrial printing techniques, recently led her to publishing her first children’s picture book.

Before joining Hayhurst and Co. she worked with MATT + FIONA, on a range of community and education projects that empower children and young people to take an active role in the built environment around them. Dovile is a visiting lecturer and critic at a variety of universities, and has run several architecture summer schools.

Dovile joined Hayhurst and Co. in 2021 and is working across education and residential projects.

Julia Miroslaw

BA (Hons), MArch

Julia completed her undergraduate degree at the Liverpool John Moores University and was shortlisted for the Liverpool Architectural Society Award. She then received her master’s degree at the University of Brighton, where her final thesis project ‘Whitehawk Common- Activating Civic Space at a Neighbourhood Level’ was awarded the Sustainable Social Legacy Award by HNW Architects and shortlisted for the Waste House Award by BakerBrown Architects.

Julia’s interests within and beyond educational and professional practice are driven by place-making in a broader social context, humanising architecture.

Julia joined Hayhurst and Co. as an Architectural Assistant in 2024 and is currently working on a range of residential projects at various stages.

Carl Dela Cruz

BA (Hons), MArch

Carl graduated from the University of Brighton with a BA (Hons) and an MArch in Architecture, where his thesis explored regenerative systems through kelp as both a material and ecological asset. His work received recognition from Make Architects, WILL + PARTNERS, HNW Architects, and the RIBA (Sussex Branch), as well as several drawing and model-making awards.

Carl’s design interests focus on creating architecture that responds to both people and the environment, blending social engagement with ecological awareness. He seeks to craft spaces that foster community, restore natural systems, and promote well-being, drawing inspiration from his experience on a variety of community projects.

Before joining Hayhurst and Co., Carl worked at APEC Architects as a Part 1 Architectural Assistant, where he contributed to various projects with a strong emphasis on social value and sustainability.

Carl joined Hayhurst and Co. in 2025 and is currently working on a range of residential projects.

Lexie McDougall

BA (Hons), MA

Lexie joined Hayhurst & Co in the summer of 2023, assuming the role of Practice Manager. Coming to the UK from Canada where she studied Arts Administration at Bishop’s University in Quebec, she first lived in Bristol when arriving in the UK.

The skills she brings to the day-to-day at Hayhurst & Co were honed in South London where she is a founding member and acted as Operations Manager of Streatham Space Project, a multi-disciplinary arts venue that serves as a creative hub, offering a diverse range of cultural experiences including theater productions, live music performances, visual art exhibitions, workshops, and community events.

Lexie is proud to continue supporting community based, environmentally conscious work at Hayhurst & Co.