Biography

Katie joined the Portsmouth School of Architecture in 2016 as a practitioner-educator, a balance which she continues to maintain: 

'Teaching offers a unique opportunity to work within a highly creative and liberal environmental - alongside both students and academic colleagues, to develop innovative solutions to design problems.  It provides an insight into future trends, both in terms of design thinking and ways of working.  The students of today will become the designers, clients, and building users of tomorrow, and understanding how their cultural influences interweave with their needs is pivotal to the practice of architecture and design.'

In 2019, Katie established her own architectural practice, working primarily within the residential and education sectors - critical to both is a meaningful engagement with building users, led by an empathic and open-minded appreciation for the needs of others, across the spectrum of society.  That approach is also true of academia and it is within her teaching and research that Katie confronts the defined and undefined boundaries between education and practice, for the intended betterment of both.  This is evident in her Postgrad Research Thesis entitled 'Culture Club: Educating a Society of Architects', which built on themes in her undergraduate research 'Educating Global Sustainable Development within Architecture'.

At the Portsmouth School of Architecture, Katie is a subject lead for Professional Practice and is a member of the school's EDI and Research groups. 

Research interests

Research Areas: Relationship(s) between architectural education and practice, how one influences the other, and how to identify and foster stronger connections between education and practice.

In-progress: 'The Evolving Future of Teaching Architecture: New and Enduring Ideas, Approaches and Practicalities for Academics; McKenzie, S. & Wilmot, K., 2025, (In preparation) Teaching Architecture. RIBA Publishing

In-progress: ‘What are the influences, challenges and innovations in the curation of graduate shows in schools of architecture in the UK?’ (REF Research Development Fund)

In-progress: ‘Challenges and opportunities within the curation of graduate shows in schools of architecture in the UK: A review of exhibition curation practices in architectural education’ (CCI Research Outputs Advancement Fund)

In-progress:  ‘How differing pedagogical approaches influence the curation and organisation of graduate shows in schools of architecture in the UK’ (CCI Research Outputs Advancement Fund)

In-progress: 'Why exhibit? Reflections on the role of graduate shows in strengthening relationships between academia and practice’ (CCI Research Outputs Advancement Fund)

In-progress: 'Promoting and Embedding Values Through Self-Evaluation’ (Action Research within PSA)