Dr Philip Graham
Architect, Researcher, PhD, AHRC Innovation in Design Scholar
Philip’s award-winning research at the University of Cambridge shows how spatial and tenure design could halve the risk of overcrowding in housing, whilst almost eliminating under-occupancy. This addresses affordability, climate, wellbeing and viability problems he encountered designing hundreds of homes and a new city, during 20 years at Cullinan Studio.
Funded by a postdoctoral ‘UKRI Innovation Design Scholarship’ and combining architecture, economics and real estate, Philip’s work puts measurable value on the idea that ‘architecture is a social act’. He was also the first to publish using the term ‘spatial sufficiency’, now an important field in demand-side research.
Philip has developed an AI tool to simulate occupancy patterns in diverse floorplans, using real demographic data. Developers and government agencies in the UK and Nordics are now vying to pilot his model for ‘room-based circularity’.
Philip is a Fellow and Director of Studies at Homerton College Cambridge, a supervisor at the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership, and a visiting researcher and teacher at Tampere University, Finland. He lectures internationally, examines widely, has given evidence to the UK government, and will publish a book on ‘Living without the housing ladder’ in 2027.
He is open to collaborations on research and pilot projects.