Neil Stonell joined the London office of Grimshaw in 1997, relocating to Melbourne in 2002 to help establish the practice’s first Australian studio and deliver Grimshaw’s first Australian project, Southern Cross Station, the recipient of the prestigious Lubetkin Prize. He is currently Grimshaw’s Melbourne Managing Partner where he is jointly responsible for the practice’s Australian operations.
With extensive experience across a variety of building sectors and typologies including rail, aviation, workplace, university buildings, retail and master planning, Neil has been instrumental to the delivery of complex projects throughout the region and globally for Grimshaw.
Recent projects include commercial buildings at 699 Bourke Street, 664 Collins Street and 477 Collins Street (Olderfleet); the Mernda Rail Extension; Melbourne Metro Reference Design; Auckland’s City Rail Link, the Neville Bonner Bridge in Brisbane and Papua New Guinea’s Kutubu Convention Centre.
Other projects of note include The Doherty Institute for the University of Melbourne, Seafarers Bridge, Highpoint Shopping Centre, a number of suburban stations including Nunawading, Mitcham and Gardiner in Melbourne, Melbourne Airport T2 Transformation Project, and in the UK, Paddington Station Redevelopment and the Rolls Royce HQ and Manufacturing Plant.
Neil has specific skills in project leadership which encompass both the design and delivery of award-winning architecture and the effective management of large design teams and stakeholder groups.
He strives to design and deliver places that are vibrant and cohesive; architecture that is responsible and timeless while supporting the ambitions of his clients, the practice and the communities that inhabit them.
Neil studied in Portsmouth (UK) and Cincinnati (USA) and has worked for architecture practices across the US, the UK and Australia. He is a registered architect in the UK, Australia and New Zealand and a Male Champion of Change (Architecture).
Champions of Change Architects
Neil Stonell is a Member of the Champions of Change Architecture Group established in 2015 in partnership with the Australian Institute of Architects. The group is committed to working together to proactively address the issue of gender equality, and women’s representation in leadership in Australian architecture practices, and across the profession.