John Cooper

John is a leading figure in healthcare design and has been a principal in practice for 36 years. He is actively engaged in reshaping the healthcare environment and improving and re-forming its architecture, combining an expert understanding of health planning with genuine design skills at both a strategic and a detailed level.

He set up JCA in 2009, and the practice has already designed hospital projects in the UK, Ireland, South Africa, Iceland and Australia. This provides John with an international perspective and a wide-ranging knowledge of best practice. He has led government report panels and provided peer review on major projects in the UK and Australia.

John co-founded Avanti Architects in 1981, pioneering social architecture and designing a wide range of residential, community and regeneration projects. In 1995, he led the design team for the ACaD Centre; on the strength of this project, Avanti developed rapidly as a major healthcare practice under his leadership.

After 20 years at Avanti, John joined Anshen Dyer (reformed as Anshen + Allen in 2006) as healthcare director. During his seven years at the practice, A+A won and designed 12 major projects – from complex tertiary hospitals for oncology, paediatrics and maternity, to innovative community facilities and competition-winning mental health units.

He is a regular speaker at conferences in the UK and overseas and has written for the major architectural journals in the UK. He was chair of Architects for Health (2009-2014) and is still actively engaged in this organisation. He has been a judge for the BBH awards and contributed to NHS Design Reviews.