Architype
Our Team
Sarah Ernst
Senior Architect
BA(Hons) MArch
Sarah joined Architype in 2007 after her Part 1, and returned after completing her Part 2 in 2011. She has worked on projects across the education, housing and public sectors.
Sarah is passionate about community-led housing and sustainable retrofit of existing homes. She recently worked with the Rural Urban Synthesis Society (RUSS), a forward-thinking Community Land Trust to develop 33 self-build homes in Lewisham up to RIBA Stage 4, and with Lewisham Homes (an ALMO) on a pilot project to refurbish seven sheltered housing schemes for the London Borough of Lewisham.
Sarah also led the early stages of Greenwich Park Revealed for the Royal Parks to develop a new learning centre to provide indoor and outdoor learning spaces, opportunities for training, volunteering, social activities and commercial events. Prior to this she worked on school expansion schemes in Hertfordshire and a RIBA award winning retrofit and extension in Highgate.
Sarah volunteered for Architecture Sans Frontières - UK for 8 years and co-facilitated a series of workshops in India in the UK, India and Colombia to engage built environment students and professionals with participatory approaches to address complex issues such as vulnerability and risk.
From 2019 – 2020 Sarah lead the Industry and Practice modules at the University of Reading’s new School of Architecture and supported students in their year out in practice to obtain relevant employment experience. Sarah is a regular visiting critic at the Sheffield School of Architecture.
Education
Sarah completed her Part 1 and 2 at the University of Sheffield where she became motivated by issues concerning social and environmental justice, and public participation in planning and design. She undertook her Part 3/Advanced Diploma in Professional Practice at RIBA North-West in 2013.
Lectures
Sarah co-facilitated a MArch/Masters Design Studio at the University of Sheffield in 2013/2014 questioning the process of market-led urbanisation by getting to grips with the global urban housing crisis, and exploring some of the responses by citizens through different forms of collaboration and exchange.