Sandra Woodall, FRIBA

Sandra Woodall is an internationally recognised British architect and urbanist whose career is defined by delivering architecture that responds intelligently to climate, culture and community. Her philosophy is unwavering: architecture is about people, and sustainability is about life.

As Design Principal of tangramMENA’s regional studio in Abu Dhabi, Sandra leads significant social, and critical infrastructure projects that seamlessly blend context, environmental responsibility, and innovation whilst creating opportunities for architecture and public realm to enhance the way people and communities live, work, and connect, whilst creating positive environmental impact and lasting value.

She drives designs around context and resilience, that give a responsive and regenerative futures founded on the conviction that lasting architecture succeeds through the creation of spaces that can evolve to meet the changing needs of future generations.

Her career in the Gulf began with establishing a lifelong engagement in responsible desert urbanism and the relationship between climate, culture and human settlement, followed by works in the regeneration of historic Heritage Areas, and Dubai’s trajectory of sustainable developments with the first green-roofed government building, and for the last 15 years delivering sustainable infrastructure for the UAE’s Nuclear Energy Programme.
Her pioneering work in healthcare is exported across Africa, and further explores how nature, landscape and technology can transform healing environments to support wellbeing, and recovery.
Beyond practice, Sandra is the RIBA Regional Ambassador for Sustainability, educator and industry voice championing a regenerative future with architecture that restores, reconnects and gives back, to enrich everyday life, and remains relevant for generations to come.