Marcus Beale

Marcus Beale has designed radical alterations to historic sites and delivered new developments in sensitive settings for over 30 years. New buildings include: housing at Archery Gardens at St Leonards on Sea, sports pavilions atUniversity College School and King’s College School,  a theatre at Cumnor House School, student accommodation for St Peter’s College, Oxford, quadriplegic student accommodation at New College, Oxford, and a residential care home at Beulah Hill. Alterations include: multiple projects at at Oriel College and New College, Oxford; boarding houses for Clifton College and Harrow School; the library at UCL School of Pharmacy and the theatre and foyer at Wimbledon College of Art.

Marcus has worked on Masterplans for Oriel College, Cunmor House School (Sussex) and Oxford Brookes University; on Conservation Management Plans for Oriel College, New College, and Oxford Covered Market.

He is a member of the Design Review Panel for LB Hounslow.

Marcus and team collaborate with design practices as conservation architects on major projects, including Oxford Covered Market, St Hilda’s Oxford and St Catharine’s College Cambridge with Gort Scott;  New College Oxford with David Kohn; Rhodes House with Stanton Williams;  Mansfield with Feilden Fowles.

Marcus has a particular interest in spatial acoustics.

He chairs Merton Priory Trust and is a director of  Wimbledon Concert Hall, a charity promoting a new centre for music by Frank Gehry in Wimbledon.

Visting lecturer:

University of Cambridge – Architects scope and fees [part 3 course] 2019 to present

University of Nottingham – Conservation, Scope and fees 2023-present

Oxford Brookes University – Conservation, Scope and fees 2026-present

Visiting examiner:

Westminster University [Part 3] 2017 – present.

Marcus worked at Green Lloyd Architects from 1987-91, assisting at Somerset House North Block Courtauld Institute of Art 1987-89 [Grade 1], then job running projects at Innholders’ Hall 1989-1991 [Grade 2* and AM] and Barrington House 1990-91 in the City of London. He studied at Trinity College, Cambridge (1978-81, 1985-87). Teachers included: Nicholas Ray, Peter Carl, Dalibor Vesely, Dean Hawkes, Bob Allies, Peter Blundell-Jones, Eric Parry and Sandy Wilson.

Music: from 1981-5 Marcus’ main occupation was music, playing violin and electric violin with various groups including Simon Jeffes’ Penguin Cafe Orchestra from 1981 to 1984 [Albums ‘Broadcasting From Home’ ‘PCO Mini-Album’, tours: Holland, Germany, Austria, Japan, USA], and writing ballet scores for the contemporary dance group Dance Unlimited [choreographer Matthew Hamilton: This Fragile Forest, Kartografi, George and the Dragon, performed at The Place and the ICA.] For a video of young Marcus on the BBC Whistle Test 1984 click here, live on the same bill as Lou Reed. He still composes, plays violin and sings tenor. His ‘Credo’ was performed on BBC Radio 3 at Pentecost 1995, recorded by the BBC singers. An advocate for acoustics as a tool of design, his designs normally incorporate acoustic features.