Initially set up entirely by volunteers, the Society now has four full-time and two part-time staff based at our London offices, with a wider community of people making vital contributions on a voluntary and freelance basis.
Staff
Catherine Croft Director
Catherine has been Director of C20 Society since 2002, and is Editor of the C20 magazine. She works Monday – Friday.
Catherine read Architecture at Cambridge University, and did an MA in Material Culture & Architectural History in the USA, where she held a fellowship at the Winterthur Museum in Delaware. She has lectured to post graduate building conservation students throughout the UK, and is an alumni of the Architectural Association course. Prior to C20 Society she worked for English Heritage as a buildings inspector in London and the Midlands. Author of a book on Concrete Architecture, Catherine writes on contemporary as well as historic buildings, lectures internationally and teaches a course on concrete for conservation professionals at West Dean College.
Oli manages the society’s campaigns, press, brand and partnerships. Amassing 10 years experience with British design brands Anglepoise and Tom Dixon Studio, he developed global partnerships with the likes of Paul Smith, Margaret Howell and the National Trust.
More recently, he co-founded the successful campaign to revive the historic Crystal Palace Bowl venue (a former Stirling Prize nominee), launching a record-breaking community crowdfunder and securing funding from the Mayor of London. He studied English at the University of Newcastle and has written on product design, urbanism and community activism.
Jonathan keeps all the society’s day-to-day activities running as our Operations Manager. With a career that started in mathematics then law and moved on to publishing, he still edits a number of titles for the legal profession.
His most recent role before joining C20 was at the Guild of Food Writers where he was the whole staff supporting the management committee on all the Guild’s activities.
Get in touch
020 7250 3857
coordinator@c20society.org.uk
Laura Mark Head of Casework
Laura Mark is Head of Casework at the C20 Society. She is an award-winning architecture critic, curator, editor and researcher. Laura is currently undertaking a PhD at Newcastle University which considers the care and maintenance of domestic spaces through an autoethnographic study of the house museum, with a particular focus on her time as Keeper at Walmer Yard.
Before joining the C20 Society, Laura co-led the undergraduate first year at Sheffield School of Architecture and taught humanities and research courses throughout the undergraduate and masters programmes. She has previously taught at the Bartlett School of Architecture, University of Greenwich and the Birmingham School of Architecture and Design and Sweden’s UMEA University.
Trained as an architect, Laura worked in architectural practice before joining the editorial team of the Architects’ Journal. She has also held curatorial positions at both Walmer Yard and the Royal Academy of Arts.
Laura’s casework regions include:
All Welsh cases
The English counties of:
Bedfordshire
Cambridgeshire
Cheshire
Cumbria
Derbyshire
Durham
East Riding of Yorkshire
Greater Manchester
Herefordshire
Hertfordshire
Lancashire
Leicestershire
Lincolnshire
Merseyside
North Yorkshire
Northamptonshire
Northumberland
Nottinghamshire
Rutland
Shropshire
South Yorkshire
Staffordshire
Tyne and Wear
West Yorkshire
The London boroughs of:
City of Westminster
London Borough of Barnet
London Borough of Brent
London Borough of Camden
London Borough of Enfield
London Borough of Haringey
London Borough of Harrow
London Borough of Islington
London Borough of Lewisham
Royal Borough of Greenwich
Get in touch
020 7250 3857
laura@c20society.org.uk
Gus Wray Caseworker
Gus holds a Master of Architecture (MArch) from the University of Edinburgh, and a BA(Hons) in Architecture from Manchester School of Architecture. Prior to C20, he worked as a sub-editor and chef.
Gus’s casework regions include:
All Scottish cases
The English counties of:
Berkshire
Bristol
Buckinghamshire
Channel Islands
Cornwall
Devon
Dorset
East Sussex
Essex
Gloucestershire
Hampshire
Isle of Wight
Kent
Norfolk
Oxfordshire
Somerset
Suffolk
Surrey
Warwickshire
West Midlands
West Sussex
Wiltshire
Worcestershire
The London boroughs of:
City of London
London Borough of Barking and Dagenham
London Borough of Bexley
London Borough of Bromley
London Borough of Croydon
London Borough of Ealing
London Borough of Hackney
London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham
London Borough of Havering
London Borough of Hillingdon
London Borough of Hounslow
London Borough of Lambeth
London Borough of Merton
London Borough of Newham
London Borough of Redbridge
London Borough of Richmond upon Thames
London Borough of Southwark
London Borough of Sutton
London Borough of Tower Hamlets
London Borough of Waltham Forest
Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea
Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames
London Borough of Wandsworth
Get in touch
020 7250 3857
gus@c20society.org.uk
Lukas Novotny Events Manager
Lukas works part-time Tue – Thu as Events Manager, being responsible for organising and promoting new events. He recruits new tour leaders and develops relationships with publishers, authors and curators all while collaborating with C20 volunteers.
Lukas also works as an illustrator and graphic designer and is an author of Modern London and Modern New York.
Samira Ahmed is a journalist, broadcaster and writer whose work explores the intersection of popular culture, heritage, art, science, politics and social change. She presents the BBC’s flagship arts and culture show ‘Front Row’ on Radio 4 and ‘Newswatch’ on BBC1.
She was named British Broadcasting Press Guild Audio/Radio Presenter of the Year 2020. Her BFI Classic book on A Hard Day’s Night is due to be published by Bloomsbury in April 2026. Samira is also a member of Historic England’s National Blue Plaques Panel, a trustee of the Centre for Women’s Justice, and an Ambassador for the Theatres Trust.
Sandy is a long-time C20 member with a successful career in finance. He worked for Goldman Sachs and Man Group before developing his enthusiasm for architecture by enrolling in The Bartlett’s MA in Architectural History at the University of London. His thesis on the Royal Festival Hall put him in contact with Allies and Morrison, architects for the 2007 renovation. He is currently an advisor to Allies and Morrison, senior adviser to Capula Investments, a board director of MSCI Inc., a governor of the Southbank Centre and chair of the King’s College London Mathematics School. He has also co-edited a new book on the RFH.
Hiba Alobaydi Trustee
Hiba Alobaydi is a British-Iraqi historian, researcher and curator specialising in architecture and design. She is currently the Editor of The Architectural Historian, a biannual magazine published by the Society of Architectural Historians Great Britain.
With over a decade’s experience in the industry, Hiba has contributed to numerous institutions and publications including Architecture Ireland, London Festival of Architecture, and Dezeen. Hiba was previously Managing Editor at Archello, Assistant Editor at world-renowned architecture and engineering firm Foster + Partners, Features Editor at the UK’s premier commercial architecture magazine OnOffice and formed an integral part of the Design Museum’s first publishing team as their resident Editorial Assistant. She has also collaborated with renowned international publishing houses Taschen and Phaidon.
Michael can’t remember a time when he did not like Brutalism. He has been a member of C20 since 2017. He is an English barrister and an Irish solicitor with more than 30 years’ experience working in legal and regulatory roles in the communications and media industries. Michael has a particular interest in corporate and charity governance. He was previously a trustee and secretary of Orchid, the UK’s leading charity for those affected by male cancer. Michael lives and works in London.
Adam Coleman Trustee
Adam is an experienced producer, fundraiser and strategist in the cultural sector, where he has championed widening access for children and young people. Returning to university to study architectural history, he now also works as a socially engaged researcher and historian. He currently combines a policy role at Arts Council England alongside PhD study at the University of Warwick, where his research is focused on towns in postwar Britain.
He has previously held leadership roles for Gloucester Culture Trust, Eden Court Highlands, Company Three and the Lyric Hammersmith, and has undertaken various voluntary roles, including Trusteeship for theatre/games-makers Coney. He hopes to bring particular experience and energy to support C20’s ambitions concerning strategic planning, income generation and youth engagement.
Emma is Head of International Membership Experience at RIBA, with over twenty years’ experience working with architects and championing good design. Having studied History of Architecture, she worked at the Richard Rogers Partnership and then moved to the RIBA as Director for the Yorkshire Region, later working on the delivery of the RIBA Stirling Prize and launching the new RIBA Reinvention Award.
She brings significant expertise in engagement strategies, membership campaigns, awards and partnerships working with diverse stakeholder groups in the built environment for profile raising and recruitment and retention, alongside commercial experience of securing sponsorship, winning bids and securing contracts to fund major projects.
Ellen worked as an American lawyer and English solicitor for over 30 years, specialising in major infrastructure, transport and energy projects. Since retirement, she has pursued a lifelong, but amateur, interest in architectural history, with a focus on twentieth century architecture. Ellen volunteered for the Society for a number of years, assisting the Caseworker team, and served as Secretary of the Society between 2022 and 2025. She has also chaired her local Neighbourhood Forum (established under planning legislation) in producing a Neighbourhood Plan setting out policies for use of land in the neighbourhood. She is a long-time volunteer at 2 Willow Road, the home of modernist architect Erno Goldfinger.
Jeremy Gostick Trustee and Honorary Treasurer
Jeremy is our Honorary Treasurer. He trained as an accountant and spent his career at the National Audit Office, engaged predominantly in work to assess the economy, efficiency and effectiveness with which various government departments implement government policy – in particular the NHS, Ministry of Defence and government estate.
Phineas Harper Trustee
Phineas Harper is an innovative leader in developing sustainable cultural programmes that engage broad audiences with architecture and design. A regular contributor to The Guardian, their career spans criticism, curation, education, youth engagement, journalism and sculpture. As Chief Executive of Open City until 2024, Phineas led far-reaching and impactful change across the organisation steering the charity through the challenges of the pandemic while transforming and growing its programmes. Phineas’ career is marked by a long-standing commitment to making architecture and heritage more engaging and accessible to younger and more diverse audiences.
In 2019 Phineas co-curated the Oslo Architecture Triennale on the theme of degrowth, and curated the 19th Architecture Prize of the Land Steiermark in Austria. Currently a columnist at Dezeen, alongside writing, their work spans kinetic sculpture, film and print making, and has been exhibited at the Royal Academy in London, the Architecture Biennale in Venice and the London School of Economics.
Sarah has been a registered architect since 1994. After working in architectural practice and teaching history of architecture, she joined CABE, where she was Head of Design Review. Sarah is currently a townscape and heritage consultant, working on major developments in London.
Robert Milburn Trustee and Chair of Audit and Risk Committee
Robert is a chartered accountant and was a partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers for 25 years until his retirement in 2014. Since then, he has served as trustee, chair, vice-chair and audit committee member of several charities and government bodies, including Marie Curie, the Canal and River Trust, Paintings in Hospitals and The National Archives. He is currently a non-executive member of the audit and risk committee at the National Lottery Heritage Fund and chair of a small charitable foundation supporting vulnerable young people in Lebanon to learn coding and tech skills. Robert was also a governor and chair of finance at a leading girls’ independent school from 2016 to 2025. He has been a member of the Society since 2014.
Colin Mitchell Trustee and Chair of Fundraising Committee
Colin is a marketing consultant with over 30 years of experience. He was Chief Strategy Officer for Ogilvy, a major international ad agency, for many years and led global marketing (reporting to the CEO) for McDonald’s. He grew up in Scotland, has lived in the US and currently splits his time between Chicago and London. Colin’s father was a Town Planner and instilled a love of architecture and preservation.
Colin is active in DoCoMoMo US and has toured and read widely to study the modern movement. He brings business, branding and American non-profit experience as well as passion for protection to C20.
Peter Parkes Trustee
Peter is a technology entrepreneur and co-founder of Qualdesk, which was acquired by collaboration software company Miro in 2022.
His early career spanned strategy consulting, product marketing and corporate communications, with a focus on mass-market technology products at Skype and Expedia and for clients at Made by Many. He has an MA in Economics from the University of Cambridge, specialising in the intersection of economics and psychology, writing about economic modelling of human behaviour and decision-making processes.
Dr Alan Powers Trustee
Alan is an architectural historian specialising in British architecture. A founder member of the Thirties Society in 1979, he has filled a number of roles since that time, as caseworker, Honorary Secretary and Chairman. He is joint editor of the Society’s journal, Twentieth Century Architecture, which he founded in 1994, and of the monograph series Twentieth Century Architects. He usually organises the spring and autumn lecture series in London and has led many events.
Otto Saumarez Smith Trustee and Chair of Casework Committee
Otto teaches architectural and urban history at the University of Warwick. He is the author of Boom Cities: Architect Planners and Politics of Radical Urban Renewal in 1960s Britain, and chairs C20’s Casework Committee.
Cela was employed by the Society for 10 years as office co-ordinator, and then developed the role of C20 Volunteering Co-ordinator. She is also a director of a successful sports and leisure facility.
Polly Schlesinger Trustee and Events Secretary
Polly has a marketing and design background, which was followed by several years working as an advisor for her local Citizens Advice Bureau. An amateur interest in modern architecture led her to become a C20 member ten years ago, taking on the role of volunteer UK Events Coordinator in 2023. She trained as an Open City tour guide in 2024 and is now completing the Green Badge tour guiding qualification, aiming to be fully accredited by Summer 2026. The subject of her assessed, written project for the Green Badge is ‘20th and 21st Architecture in St Albans’, the city where she grew up and currently lives.
Website and publications
James Hunter Art Director, C20 Magazine
Alexa Baracaia Deputy Editor, C20 Magazine
Studio Hunter & Stephen Coates, & Ebow, the digital agency Web design
James Sui Web developer
Volunteers
Position Vacant Volunteer Press Officer
Mark Bessoudo Building of the Month Editor
Graham Orbell Casework volunteer
David Thomas Administrative volunteer
Barry Needoff Carlos Finlay Daumantas Patamsis Gerry Wyld Mark Davies Oliver Lack Polly Schlesinger Sarah Lewis Simon Wartnaby Suzanne Waters Wilf Watkins Events volunteers
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