About
James Tooze is a Principal Lecturer in the School of Architecture, Technology and Engineering at the University of Brighton. He is affiliated with several research excellence groups, including Community21, Centre for Arts and Wellbeing, Experimental Design Practices, and Radical Methodologies (RaM). His work is deeply interdisciplinary, focusing on sustainable and socially equitable design practices.
His research interests center on regenerative design, material circularity, and distributed manufacturing. He investigates how localized material and labor systems, learning networks, and supply chains can disrupt centralized production models to foster more sustainable and socially just economies. His projects often involve open knowledge sharing among stakeholders to enable ecological and community-driven development.
The recent publications reflect a dual focus: one stream on design and engineering education, particularly student engagement, learning analytics, and inclusive pedagogy for dyslexic students; and another on ecological citizenship and sustainable construction, especially the use of regional timber in social housing. These works span disciplines including design, environmental science, education, and civil engineering.
James Tooze is currently involved in externally funded projects from EPSRC and AHRC, including the Ecological Citizens Network and Future Observatory, which explore design-led approaches to linking communities with local resources for regenerative production.
- EPSRC: Ecological Citizens: The Wild House – making homes and habitats for people and nature (2024–2025)
- AHRC: Sussex S.E.E. chairs – Social value through nature-net-gain (2025)
- Public Sector: Woodland Capacity in East Sussex (WoodCapES) (2022–2024)
He collaborates extensively with Neil Gant and others on initiatives bridging design, ecology, and social policy. His work contributes to both academic discourse and practical applications in sustainable housing and education.
Research fields
