Diana Griffiths
Director Urban Design
BArch MURP(Hons) RPIA (Fellow)
Diana is a founding director of Studio GL and an award-winning urban designer with 30 years professional experience in urban planning, urban design and architecture. Diana holds a Bachelor of Architecture from UNSW and a Master of Urban and Regional Planning specialising in urban design from the University of Sydney.
Diana has provided urban design expertise on major transport and precinct studies, commercial/mixed use developments and on large masterplanning projects in the UK, NZ and across Australia and has lectured in urban design at the UNSW. Prior to establishing Studio GL, Diana has held senior urban design roles at Arup (Senior Associate), Stockland (National Urban Design Manager) and Architectus (Associate). She has played a critical role in a number of award winning projects including the Five Dock Urban Design Study (Studio GL), the Nowra CBD Urban Design Master Plan (Arup), Newhall (Studio REAL) and Thornton Park (Architectus).
Felicity Lewis
Director Architecture
Nominated Architect (NSW Reg: 6861)
BArch(Hons) MArch MBA
Felicity is a founding Director of Studio GL and a registered Architect with over 29 years experience in design, sustainability, project management and contract administration. Felicity has a unique combination of skills combining architecture and management and holds a Bachelor of Architecture from UNSW, a Master of Architecture in climate responsive design from the University of Arizona, USA and an MBA from Macquarie University (MGSM).
Prior to establishing Studio GL Felicity worked in a number of senior management positions. She was a Director of QOH Architects where she focused on the design and delivery of educational facilities and was Manager, Architectural Services at the University of Newcastle, where she acted as Client representative across all University campuses.
Gauri Torgalkar
Associate / Senior Urban Designer
BArch MArch
Gauri is a creative urban designer with 20 years professional experience in urban design, regional masterplanning, research, and graduate teaching. Gauri has qualifications in architecture from Mumbai, India and a post graduate Master of Architecture from Kent State University, USA. Gauri’s experience covers a wide range of projects, from design and research on neighbourhood master planning, campus redevelopment, design guidelines, sustainable multi-modal transportation, to re-utilisation strategies for ecological, economical and social benefits, and community engagement around temporary pop up projects for neighbourhood regeneration.
Prior to joining Studio GL in 2013, Gauri worked at the Cleveland Urban Design Collaborative (CUDC) in the US for over eight years. At the CUDC she was actively involved in developing designs based on extensive community engagement covering a wide spectrum of projects. Gauri has facilitated charrettes and community discussions with intimate and large groups of stakeholders, designers, government organisations, and communities in collaborative and leadership roles.
Adam Natoli
Senior Urban Designer
BDes(Arch) MArch
Adam has been working at Studio GL for over 7 years. His work focuses on the translation of architecture and urban design ideas through highly effective reports, drawings, diagrams and graphics. During this time Adam has also graduated from the University of Technology Sydney with a Master of Architecture and has developed his understanding and appreciation of urban design and placemaking.
While at Studio GL Adam has been integral to a wide mix of complex projects, ranging from regional level strategic transport planning to precinct plans, town centre masterplans and detailed urban design reports and development control plans. Adam has also developed community consultation experience which has strengthened his understanding of the significance of visual communication in effective public engagement.
Simina Simaki
Senior Urban Designer
BDes(Arch) MArch
Simina has over 10 years experience as an urban designer, working across a range of diverse projects, at a variety of scales and urban contexts. Her experience spans strategic planning, town centre strategies, mixed use precinct masterplanning and rezoning, street design, placemaking, and stakeholder consultation. She has found that interventions which resonate with local communities and stand the test of time are always grounded in a strong understanding of place. Therefore a robust evidence base, comprising the analysis and synthesis of a range of data, including community consultation, is needed to underpin the design and resolution of urban projects.
At Studio GL, Simina contributes to a range of projects, including design, documentation, report writing and project management. Prior to working at Studio GL, Simina was an urban designer in local government (Maitland City Council and the City of Sydney), and in private practises locally in Sydney and overseas in Vancouver, Canada.
Nicky Hughes
Consultant
BDes(Arch/DigMedia) BArch(Hons I)
Nicky is an experienced designer with over ten years of experience in design and architecture. She has qualifications in Architecture from the University of Sydney and later expanded her digital design skills by studying and working in Web Development and User Experience Design.
Nicky has worked on projects ranging from large scale healthcare and transport projects to small scale residential developments. She has a strong interest in a range of fields across the built environment from sustainability to urban design. She joined Studio GL in 2022 where she contributes to the production of graphics, multi-dimensional models, documentation and reports.
Madeline Sloane
Urban Designer
BArchEnv MUrbDes
Madeline joined the Studio GL team early in 2022. She has completed a Master of Urban Design and a Bachelor of Architecture and Environments at the University of Sydney, where she developed a well rounded understanding of the design process working at both an architectural scale and the strategic scale of urban design and city planning.
At Studio GL Madeline has been involved with a number of projects ranging from single site urban design reviews to town centre master plans. She has worked with the team at all stages of their projects including study area analysis investigations, community consultations, design development and documentation of projects. Madeline is a positive, creative and hard-working team member who is very attentive to the finer details of projects, and appreciates the art of effectively documenting a design or vision.
Lily Gibson
Urban Planner / Designer
BArchEnv MURP
Lily joined the Studio GL team in 2022. She recently graduated from a Bachelor of Architecture and Environments degree at the University of Sydney, where she learnt vital skills about designing public and private spaces in the built environment at a wide range of scales. Lily is currently studying a Master of Urban and Regional Planing at the University of Sydney. She chose to focus her postgraduate studies in the planning field to gain a greater understanding of large scale strategic planning and design. These studies have reaffirmed her passion for designing functional, accessible, sustainable and attractive urban places and spaces.
Prior to working at Studio GL, Lily had almost two years professional experience working at a town planning firm, where she was involved in coordinating and managing a variety of residential and commercial development applications. At Studio GL, Lily assists the team in all project areas, from design creation and development, to visual representation and written documentation.