Wayne Hemingway to address Lancashire's design community

Renowned designer Wayne Hemingway will speak to Lancashire’s architecture and design community next week during a visit to Preston in honour one of the UK’s most famous architects.

Wayne, famous for co-founding the acclaimed Red or Dead fashion label, and for his work in urban design and town planning, will visit the city on May 26 to present the prestigious Sir George Grenfell-Baines Memorial Lecture on behalf of the North Lancashire Society of Architects (NLSA).

The designer, who was born and raised in Lancashire, founded Red or Dead with wife Gerardine in 1982 making the label part of the fashion establishment before selling the business in a multi-million pound deal in 1996.

In 1999, Wayne and Gerardine set up Hemingway Design which has been behind a number of high-profile projects, including the master planning and architecture for the Staiths South Bank housing regeneration development on Tyneside.

Mick Goode, president of NLSA, said: “It’s a huge coup for us to have someone of Wayne’s professional stature, flair and expertise to come and talk to our NLSA members and other local professionals.

“It promises to be a highly informative and entertaining evening where Wayne will speak about regeneration, creating communities and homes, and how these relate to the current political and economic landscape.”

As well as his work with Hemingway Design, Wayne is the chairman of Building for Life, an organisation that promotes excellence in the quality of design of new housing. He was made an MBE in the 2006 Queen’s Birthday Honours.

Sir George Grenfell-Baines was a Lancashire railwayman's son who is credited with bringing modern architecture to Preston and throughout Britain. He founded Building Design Partnership in Preston in 1961 and the firm has grown to become one of the largest interdisciplinary firms of architects, designers, and engineers in Europe. Sir George died in 2003 aged 95.

The NLSA’s annual Sir George Grenfell-Baines Memorial Lecture, part of its Design and Wine lecture series, has seen international architects and designers, including Norman Foster and Partners, Richard Rogers, Ian Simpson, and Eva Jiricna CBE, coming to speak in Lancashire.

Wayne will present the lecture on Thursday, May 26, at The Atrium, UCLan Students Union. The lecture will be followed by an evening of Northern Soul music presented by Prestonian and retired landscape architect Trevor Bridge.

The event, which beings at 6pm and includes a buffet dinner, is open to both members and non-members and tickets are £10 or £5 for students. To reserve your place contact Mick Goode at Croft Goode Architects at [email protected]