Dr Cindy Walters

Cindy was born in Australia, studied in South Africa and moved to London in 1990 to work for Foster+Partners. She set up Walters & Cohen with Michál Cohen in 1994.

Cindy has worked on a diverse range of education, leisure, cultural and commercial projects, including the Shirley Sherwood Gallery of Botanical Art at Kew Gardens, Regent High School, Vajrasana Buddhist Retreat Centre, which was named RIBA East's Building of the Year 2017, and Newnham College, Cambridge.

Outside the practice, Cindy regularly contributes to academic and professional institutions as an external examiner and guest lecturer. Her long-standing involvement with the RIBA Awards Group has included roles as a member of the Lubetkin Prize jury, Stirling Prize jury, judge for the President's Research Awards and a member of the Honours Committee. She is also a member of the RIBA Validation Board and has acted as an adviser for competitions.

Cindy was chair of the Architecture Foundation from 2019-2023 and is now a trustee. In 2024 she became a member of the Architectural Association's Council. After being awarded the inaugural AJ Woman Architect of the Year Award in 2012, Cindy and Michál have judged subsequent awards: Cindy was also a board member for the Young Women's Trust and is proud to promote diversity and inclusion through her roles and practice. She is also on her second term as governor at Regent High School, has taken part in design review panels for the Design Council and judged the World Architecture Festival. If that's not impressive enough, in 2022 Cindy completed a PhD by Design at the Bartlett School of Architecture.