Spotlight on…

Joel Cady, Research Associate, Cardiff University

What’s your current role at your institution?

I am a Research Associate at the Welsh School of Architecture, Cardiff University. My background is in architectural practice, and I joined the school in 2024 to take up my role on the Transforming Homes Project. This has two main aspects. Firstly, in collaboration with colleagues at WSA and Swansea Council I lead the day-to-day academic input into the design and delivery of the Demonstration Homes in Swansea; and secondly I am a key part of the team working on the broader scalable and transferable Design Research elements of the project, including delivering community charrettes and developing the Transforming Homes Design Catalogue.

Which past experiences have helped you the most in your current role?

Before joining the project I spent 15 years working in leading architectural practices in England and Wales. Much of this time was spent delivering buildings on site, where flexible thinking and clear verbal and drawn communication is essential, especially when overcoming unexpected issues. This has been very useful in our work on the demonstration homes in Swansea, where existing homes approaching 100 years old have produced a wide range of interesting challenges for the team to solve. I also have a lot of experience in engaging broad client and stakeholder groups in design development work, for example as lead architect on the proposals for reimagining a major national museum. This has helped inform the community charrettes, where we have developed inventive formats and content to ensure that residents and other stakeholders are able to engage in the discussion of often complex technical and design-related subjects in their homes.

What excites you about the research in the Transforming Homes project?

The research we are doing has the potential to improve the homes and lives of thousands or even millions of people. It’s exciting to be a small part of this, perhaps especially when so much of my previous experience is in designing and making buildings without such direct transferable potential.

How is your expertise contributing to the Transforming Homes project?

I really enjoy teamwork, especially in large multidisciplinary groups. The team on this project has a lot of parallels with the design and construction team for a building, where many different disciplines and perspectives contribute to imaginative thinking and complex problem solving. A real success of the project so far has been effective and enjoyable teamwork in this way, and I am pleased to have contributed to this.