Some journeys begin in the most unlikely of places. Mine began growing up in Liverpool in the 1970s and 80s and led, through an extraordinary series of moments, to the Yale University School of Architecture, the Hollywood Bowl, the London 2012 Olympics, and now, full circle, back to establishing my own design studio in downtown Los Angeles.

I am incredibly proud and excited to be attending Greater Together LA as part of the GREAT Campaign’s landmark US-UK summit – it feels deeply personal.

Over 75 years ago, the Fulbright Programme invested in human potential, building understanding between two nations and inspiring generations to think beyond borders. I remain profoundly grateful to have been part of that story. Following in the tradition of British Yale architectural scholars Norman Foster and Richard Rogers, being awarded a Fulbright Scholarship to study my Masters at Yale was a genuine honour – one that didn’t just help fund an education, it fundamentally changed who I am and what I believed was possible.

A leap of faith led to an incredible chapter of my career – I moved to LA and joined the Santa Monica practice, Hodgetts + Fung, who had just won the commission to reimagine the Hollywood Bowl, one of the world’s most iconic and unique cultural venues. The Hollywood Bowl nearly doubled in size, a new 124-foot shell was prefabricated off-site, craned into position overnight, while honouring the acoustics, identity and memory of a hundred-year-old icon. The project has been described as a sensitive infusion of new into old, reconceiving the arch while incorporating emerging technologies to reveal the colors, shapes, sounds, and emotions that form human existence. That same spirit of connection and collaboration has defined my work ever since.

Looking back across two decades of Olympic design – from the extraordinary summers of London 2012 through to Tokyo 2020, Paris 2024, and now our work taking shape for LA28 – what strikes me most is not the scale of the venues we have created, but the depth of thinking that has evolved with each cycle. London 2012 was a watershed moment, not just for WOO, which was born directly from the design team we assembled for the Games, but for the entire philosophy of how major events could and should be designed.

At London 2012, we knew from the outset that this would be the design challenge of our lives – seven years of effort culminating in six glorious weeks and a lifetime of memories. It becomes the backdrop for human achievement, and the stage upon which history is made. Getting that moment right is what drives everything we do at WOO.

London’s enduring contribution to the Olympic movement was its demonstration of how much can be achieved with considered, temporary design – locating beach volleyball on the historically iconic Horse Guards Parade, transforming Greenwich Park into the location for equestrian – using celebrated London landmarks as a stage upon which to celebrate both the sport and the city. These interventions challenged the accepted wisdom that a great Games required heroic, permanent structures. This shift in thinking was not simply a budget decision. It was a design philosophy and has shaped everything we have done since.

Returning now to establish a permanent, locally based WOO studio in LA, feels like the completion of something that began before I could have known it was beginning. LA28 has committed to the most radical reuse philosophy ever attempted in an Olympic context: no new permanent venues, every competition space is either existing or temporary. It is, in many ways, the logical culmination of the shift that London started in 2012.

The UK-US relationship that made my career possible is the same relationship that now underpins some of the most exciting design work of my life. This bond is not simply political or economic — it is deeply cultural and profoundly human. Our shared investment in education, creativity, design and the arts creates lasting connections, fuels innovation, and opens doors for future generations. And reconnecting with LA colleagues and friends after so many years makes this moment all the more meaningful.

We are always greater together.