Neil Appleton is a design Director of Lyons renowned for his expertise in sustainable urban design, collaborative work and learning environments and major specialist research and laboratory facilities. Over 30 years’ experience in delivering highly complex, large scale public and private sector projects has made Neil a leader and expert in every stage of a project’s development. In particular, he possesses specialist skills in leading the design and briefing process with multiple stakeholders and organisations, and in presenting design concepts to all levels of client organisations. Within Lyons and across Australia Neil is recognised as a highly innovative architectural thinker. He brings leading edge skills and a human-centred design focus to the projects he leads, and in his role co-leading Lyons’ discursive approach to design; a creative coalescence of ideas – building cultural meaning in the visual world through design research about the City and an acknowledgment of country – that guide the development and design of Lyons’ award-winning projects. The projects Neil has led prove him to be an outstanding mentor, leader and collaborator. Beyond the drawing board or meeting room, Neil generously shares his decades of experience with future architects and his contemporaries. He has been a member of, and chaired, numerous Australian Institute of Architects’ awards juries and is a visiting lecturer and critic in design at RMIT University.