Ian Banks / Atoll CV Contact Details:

Ian Banks Director Atoll Ltd 73 Manchester Road Knutsford Cheshire WA16 0LX Web: www.atoll-uk.com Linked-in: http://www.linkedin.com/in/atoll Twitter: https://twitter.com/AtollUK Blog: http://atolluk.blogspot.co.uk/ Email: ian.banks@atoll-uk.com Tel: 07717710014

Practice Profile:
Atoll is a deliberately small art + architecture collaborative that works creatively with a network of artists, architects, landscape architects, engineers, designers, and other creative individuals and organisations. Atoll is involved in many creative areas, explored through both strategy, policy, project management, curatorial delivery and Joint Lead Artist type roles all set up on a project-by-project basis to meet the needs of particular projects and clients. The role that Ian Banks provides is both a traditional (essentially reactive) public realm consultant and curator, and also a collaborative (more proactive) creative enabler to explore wider commissioning opportunities for place-making - i.e. beyond just public sculpture, artisan craft and integrated arts. This latter role often involves acting as a 'cultural broker' for the client, design team, community, cultural advocacy bodies (i.e. Local Authorities, Arts Council England etc) and artists to question the brief and then produce and deliver innovative curatorial approaches that help us all to question, identity, understand, appreciate and enhance our public sense of space and place. As well as being an RIBA Chartered Architect, professionally speaking, Ian is both a Fellow of the RSA, and a Built Environment Expert (BEE) for Design Council Cabe. From a voluntary perspective, Ian is also an appointed Member advising on culture in the public realm for the Manchester & Pennine Waterways Partnership for the Canal & Rivers Trust.

Professional Experience Abridged:

Director of Atoll, Ian Banks qualified as a Chartered Architect in 1990 after a 2-year VSO posting as Head Architect for the Maldives Ministry of Education. This was followed by 10-years working in the UK in the community architecture and commercial design sectors. For 4 years between 2000 and 2004, in a midcareer sabbatical, he began to expand on his past interests in public art whilst on a temporary secondment as the Public Art & Architecture Officer for Arts Council England, North West. Following this, Ian launched Atoll, his public art and architecture collaborative in January 2005. Eight years-on from this, he has been involved in fronting in a broad portfolio of public realm projects, mostly based in a 'Greater North'. As such, he is currently leading on a project called ArtistCall for Blackburn with Darwen Council, in delivering 8 Lead Artist residencies and a wider public art programmes for Blackburn's Building Schools for the Future projects; He has recently completed work on public art consultancies for both

the Isle of Man government (with artist Noah Rose); and for Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen; In 2012, he prepared the public art feasibility for the 3.5m Staffordshire Saxon sculpture, linked to the Staffordshire Hoard for Stoke-on-Trent City Council; and in 2011, working for Lancashire County Council (and linked to BAE Systems and the NW Aerospace Alliance), developed the creative feasibility for a potential 1.5m aerospace public art commission(s) for Lancashire and the North West; In October 2010 he facilitated Whats Up-Whats Down, a 3-city tour for the Netherlands Foundation for Visual Arts, Design and Architecture; In March 2010 he co-facilitated with artist Noah Rose a Space Shapes Learning school design study tour to take 20 head teachers to Copenhagen; and in 2009, he co-curated with Noah the CreativityWorks awardwinning mini-festival for public art called Hiddenplace for Burnley Borough Council. As well as these collaborations, other recent consultancies have included preparing a range of public art and cultural review strategies for Burnley, Carlisle, Lancaster & Preston City Council and Weaver Valley Regional Park (with Taylor Young) in the North West; For Sunniside Partnership and Wearmouth-Jarrow Partnership World Heritage bid in the North East; And for Bradford Metropolitan District Council in Yorkshire - where he project managed the pre-construction phases of a 1m public art commissioning proposal for the 25m Mirror Pool City Park; In addition to this, in October 2008 he was commissioned to act as public art consultant to review past and future public art policy throughout Cheshire County Council - leading up to the Local Government Restructure of Cheshire in April 2009. In 2006, he acted as the lead facilitator for Arts Council England WMs region-wide Explore pilot - a 3-year project to try to seed public art projects and bring the client base closer to artists, consultants and professionals. Since 2004, Ian Banks have occasionally acted as Associate Consultant at Beam in Wakefield part of the national Architecture Centre Network. Here, his past strategic roles have included preparing the 4.5 million public art funding strategy for the pan-regional Icons of the North pan-regional marketing programme for Northern Way (with part-funded projects including Anthony Gormley's Another Place on Sefton Beach and Jaume Plensa's Dream at St. Helens - amongst others); Prepared the East Midlands regional public art review for Arts Council England, East Midlands; Has curated and delivered a public art delivery programme for the Widnes Waterfront EDZ; Co-written the Public art and Wayfinding Strategy for Derby City Council; And most recently (April 2010) wrote the Sustainable Art & Design in Public Realm Strategy for Craven DC and Public Art Delivery Plan for Markham Vale in Derbyshire. Ian Banks has written regularly on art and architecture for a number of specialist publications, which have included: Art & Architecture Journal, The Art Times supplement to the Times newspaper, Prospect NW, A Magazine, Architecture Centre Networks Snapshots, and the US publication Public Art Review. He is currently the Deputy Editor of the Art & Architecture Journal. He have also written the feature article Public Art - Guidelines for Commissioning ' in the Manual for Historic Streets' produced by the English Historic Towns Forum.

Current Affiliations & Memberships

Fellowship of RSA (Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce) . http://www.thersa.org/fellowship - October 2012 and ongoing. Membership of Arts Development UK Skills Bank (AD:uk), national charity and one of the largest national organisations representing the interests of those working in arts development for local communities. Membership represents almost 400 organisations and local authorities working in the arts and communities sector. http://artsdevelopmentuk.org/ - 2012 and ongoing. Built Environment Expert (BEE) appointed to a new expert network by the Design Council Cabe. See http://www.designcouncil.org.uk/bee - appointed July 2012 and ongoing. Member appointed to the Manchester & Pennine Waterways Partnership, 1 of 10 volunteer advocates and advisors acting regionally for the Canal & Rivers Trust . See: http://canalrivertrust.org.uk/noticeboards/manchester-and-pennine-waterways/whos-who - from March 2012 and ongoing. Executive Member acting voluntarily for the Love & Etiquette Foundation a Lancashire based initiative which uses Art, History and Culture as a means of communication - http://www.loveetiquette.com/about.html - appointed February 2012 and ongoing Nominated Beam Associate, 1 of 12 appointed from a pool of experts drawing on place-making, cultural and other practitioners. See: http://www.beam.uk.net/beam_associates/ - appointed 2011 and ongoing Registered Member of Architects Registration Board and Chartered Architect of Royal Institute of Architects since 1990 and ongoing.

Atoll Project Experience - January 2005 to Present:

Invited to Call for Evidence regional workshop on Farrell Review of Architecture & Built Environment in England. July 2013. See - http://www.farrellreview.co.uk Arts Strategist for Blackburn with Darwen Council working on the 88m BSF programme for 8 new schools. See: www.artistcall.net - appointed July 2010 and ongoing. Public Art Consultant appointed for Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen to develop campus wide public realm programme. See http://publicartandtheriverside.blogspot.co.uk/. appointed April 2012 and ongoing Public Art Coordinator for Isle of Man for the regeneration of Douglas, Peel, Ramsey, Laxey, Port St Mary and Port Erin. See: http://sevenmanxtowns.blogspot.com/ - December 2011 and ongoing. Advisor for Stoke on Trent for the public art business plan for their Staffordshire Saxon, linked to the Staffordshire Hoard See: http://staffordshiresaxon.blogspot.com/ - December 2011 and ongoing. Aerospace Monument consultant for BAE Systems and members of the NW Aerospace Alliance working on behalf of Lancashire County Council to develop a delivery plan for a 1.5m celebration of the Aerospace industry in the region - delivered July 2011. Multi-disciplinary team as part of Ian Simpson Architecture bid for the NW Construction Hub Engineering & Professional Services Framework with GVA Grimley, WSP and Planit. Joint Facilitator with Liverpool Biennial of the UK art and architecture study tour to Manchester, Leeds and Liverpool for The Netherlands Foundation for Visual Arts, Design and Architecture's wider European tour. See: http://www.whatsup-whatsdown.blogspot.com/. - delivered October 2010. Lead Consultant acting in collaboration with beam in delivering the Sustainable Art in Design in Public Realm strategy for Craven District Council - completed April 2010. Joint Facilitation with artist Noah Rose of Space Shapes Learning teachers study tour (5 days) to view exemplar school design in Copenhagen for MMU's Centre for Urban Education - delivered March 2010. Hiddenplace project awarded Lancashire County Council's CreativityWorks award in September 2009 under Best Use of Creative Space. Programme jointly curated with artist Noah Rose as an artist animation and development programme for Burnley BC completed June 2009. Collaboration with ARTS UK and landscape architects Space* landscape architects to deliver a public art strategy vision as part of the wider Townscape Study and Landscape Vision for the Wearmouth-Jarrow World Heritage Site for South Tyneside Council ongoing. Collaborating with lead artist Amenity Space and landscape architects Gillespies on the Lancaster Square Routes public realm masterplan - completed March 2010. Lead Consultant for Cheshire County Council on public art policy development strategy - produced in advance of the Cheshire LGR completed July 2009. Expert Group member for the Morecambe Bay & Duddon Regional Park, as organised by Mersey Basin Campaigns Regional Parks Xchange - completed September 2008. Sub Consultant to the Gillespies team, to deliver and project manage the 880k public art strategy as part of the 26m Bradford Mirror Pool project for Bradford MBC completed August 2010.

Joint Consultant with Taylor Young and arts consultant Cathy Newbery to deliver the cultural strategy for the Weaver Valley Regional Park for Cheshire CC completed October 2008. Commissioned by Preston City Council to deliver a draft public art and landmark gateway strategy and SPD ongoing. Appointed with Landscape Architects Gillespies and Arts UK in July 2007 to develop the public art strategy for Carlisle City Council completed 2009. Short-listed by Omagh District Council in June 2007 with landscape architects Camlin Lonsdale www.camlinlonsdale.com - and artist Jochen Gerz - www.gerz.fr - for Stage 2 of the Omagh Bomb Memorial Competition. Commissioned by US publication Public Art Review in June 2007 to write an article on public art in Northern Ireland to be published as a joint publication with Art & Architecture Journal www.publicartreview.org Appointed in May 2007 onto the Places Matter! inaugural Design Review Panel for the North West as organised by Renew NW. Commissioned by RIBA NW in 2007 to write an article for the inaugural edition of their new regional A magazine writing about Turning the Place Over - the Richard Wilson kinetic sculpture for Liverpool. Curator appointed by in 2007 by Sunniside Partnerships for their new public art programme for Sunniside creative quarter in Sunderland www.callforartists.org - ongoing Facilitator from November 2006, for Arts Council England West Midlands Explore pilot project that supports the delivery of public art projects in the West Midlands. A 3-year project, Explore brought the client base closer to artists, consultants and professionals; provided a forum to inject imagination into the development of artists work in the public realm; and activated expertise within the region by levering in more resources and create better opportunities for artists www.exploreinitiative.co.uk Commissioned in August 2006 by the UK Architecture Centre Network to prepare a series of six written evaluations for their end-of-year magazine publication Snapshot 2. Appointed in March 2006 as joint Creative Consultant with artist Noah Rose on the arts in the public realm strategy to work alongside architects BDP on the Burnley Masterplan. Prepared the project application and Delivery Plan in January 2006 for the 50 million Big Lottery - Living Landmarks bid for Blackpool Council. Project is to develop community arts engaged eco lighting strategy for the Illuminations. Consultant from 2005, working for Urban Regeneration Company Sunderland Arc alongside lead artist Dan Dubowitz, to set up a workable Delivery Plan for the city centres Cultural Masterplan with its anticipated 8 million public art investment plan for Sunderland over the next 12 years. Completed a Northern Way Scoping Study in October 2005, for the Prospect North architectural magazine to explore wider expansion into the North east and Yorkshire. Between October 2005 and September 2006, sat on the panel of Urban Vision, the North Staffordshire architectural Design Review Board - meeting regularly to design review and assess all major planning applications in the region. Commissioned by Art & Architecture Journal from September 2005 as a Northern Correspondent to write regularly on public art issues relating to the North of England. Commissioned in June 2005 by St Helens Borough Council, along with artist Michael Trainor as joint lead artist on the developing town centre public art strategy and focal point. Design Consultant in May 2005 for second phase of Panopticons project working for Mid Pennine Arts and alongside Structural Engineers Martin Stockley Associates and QS Colin Hayward. Consultant to RIBA NW and RENEW, the NWDAs new Regeneration Centre of Excellence in the Northwest, in February 2005 to prepare and curate the exhibition and events for the initial events and exhibitions programme launching in summer 2005. Curator for a 10-series lecture programme called Talking of Art, exploring public art and regeneration for Central Lancashire University and the Harris Museum in Preston began 2004 and ended 2005. Engaged as Consultant Director of the Centre for Creativity in the Built Environment at Beam in Wakefield. First commission won involves preparing Arts Council England pan-regional public art strategy for the Northern Way for three northern RDAs of England; as well as the regional public art scoping strategy for the East Midlands - From December 2004 to 2011. Wrote a monthly critique on public art in the RIBA NW Prospect North architectural magazine between June 2003 to October 2005.

Work at Arts Council England, NW - October 2000 to December 2004:

Appointed in 2000 part-time Public Art & Architecture Officer for the NW region (Greater Manchester, Merseyside, Cheshire, Lancashire & Cumbria) and contributed to the commissioning of key iconic works and

strategic initiatives over that period and liaising with artists, community and all regional arts, local authority and government delivery agencies. Key project associations were with the Centre for Understanding the Built Environment (Cube) in Manchester, and the Irwell Sculpture Trail. Produced in 2003, the concept feasibility, name and logo for Panopticons, the six East-Lancashire contemporary follys produced through artist-architect collaboration. www.panopticons.uk.net Evaluations carried out between 2000 and 2004 on the architecture and public art elements to Arts Council England NWs Capital Lottery, Regional Arts Lottery Fund and Grants for the Arts programme. Created and helped establish a pilot mechanism for the North West Development Agencys Public Art Funding Plan in 2003 carried out in collaboration with RIBA NW and Arts Council England.

Awards and Exhibitions:

Technology Strategy Board Innovation Award received in May 2013. Atoll received a 5,000 Innovation Voucher (Round 2) award from Technology Strategy Board for R&D in design & sustainable technology. Bradford City Park Mirrorpool won the highly prestigious 2012 British Construction Industry Regeneration Award. It was also shortlisted by the Association of Town Centre Manager's (ATCM) Awards for 2012 under the category Animating Public Space. Hiddenplace collaborative project awarded the CreativityWorks business awards for 2009 www.creativityworks.info under Best use of Creative Space www.hiddenplace.org.uk Awarded Arts Council England Grants for the Arts award in 2007 for the research and writing of 4 articles on art in public realm for the international magazine Art and Architecture Journal www.artandarchitecturejournal.com.This also includes an International Edition in 2007, prepared in conjunction with the US publication Public Art Review - www.publicartreview.org and featuring an article on public art in Northern Ireland. Recipient of the 2004 RIBA Ricketts Award, to carry out research into architecture and the curriculum and to develop a pilot software version of Architrek - www.archi-trek.com - interactive architectural guides (a project created and solicited whilst working for ACE NW). Featured in the Prospect NW magazine www.prospectmagazine.com Power 100 list of NW most influential people in the development sector - under the title Opinion Formers both whilst working as Public Art & Architecture Officer for Arts Council England NW in the 2004 poll, and independently practicing as Atoll in 2005. Privately commissioned design for a Sustainable Tourist Resort on the Indian Lakshadweep islands was featured in the Manchester Society of Architects Design Awards at Albion Wharf, Manchester 1993. Organic design for a steel canopy to Afflecks Palace in the Northern Quarter in 1989 was fabricated by artists and was featured in Manchester City Councils Planning and Environmental Health Handbook 1998. Diploma scheme for Pomona Hippodrome a dockside Community Education Campus was featured in the New Voices in the City: Art & the Urban Environment exhibition at Manchester Town Hall, 1993. First Class Honours Degree scheme for an Environmental Study Retreat in Anglesey was featured in the Crown Paints Awards: National Travelling Exhibition of 1985.

Qualifications:
Full RIBA & Architects Registration Board (ARB) member Degree: BA (Hons) First Class (1980-1984) - Manchester Polytechnic School of Architecture Diploma: Dipl. Arch (1984-1986) - Manchester Polytechnic School of Architecture RIBA Part III: Chartered Architect since 1990 Continuing Professional Development: Ongoing as RIBA / ARB professional undertaking FRSA: Fellow of the RSA

Insurances: 2013/2014
Professional Indemnity: 1,000,000 Glenham Underwriting Ltd (Policy Number GMTM370042XB) Note: Shortly to be increased to 2m. Employers Liability: 10,000,000 - Fortis Ltd (Policy Number FT429658XB) Public Liability: 5,000,000 - Fortis Ltd (Policy Number FT429658XB) Products Liability: 5,000,000 - Fortis Ltd (Policy Number FT429658XB)