Founded by Usman Haque in 2007, Umbrellium is a design and build studio dedicated to transforming urban environments and getting communities meaningfully involved. Get in touch if you'd like to find out more about how we work.
We are a team of architects, designers, tactical urbanists & creative technologists with years of proven experience in designing and deploying award-winning urban technology and community engagement. We work with ambitious cities and organisations round the world to create everything from digital masterplans, spectacular interactive architecture and participatory platforms to dynamic streetscapes, collaboration experiments and urban technology infrastructure. Our mission in the coming years is to respond tactically to the climate crisis by reinforcing connections between human, natural and urban systems.
Some of our acclaimed work includes:
- Re:Wild Royal Docks - A ten-year vision and Digital Masterplan for urban wilding East London.
- Starling Crossing - Finalist in the World Smart Cities Awards 2018, spun out as Starling Technologies in 2020.
- Another Life – 2012 LUX Urban Lighting Award, 2013 Urban Design Group - Best Project for the Public Sector (led by Gillespies)
- Pachube.com – the world's largest open IoT data platform when it was acquired by LogMeIn Inc in 2011, now part of Google Cloud
- The Burble – Design of the Year Award (Interactive) in 2008
Core Team
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Usman Haque
With a specialty in networked urban environments, interactive architecture & community activation, Usman Haque has designed & built all sorts of things: spaces, structures, systems, platforms, companies. Usman is founder and Creative Director of Umbrellium, a Design Council Ambassador, and also heads up strategy and investment for Starling Technologies, a spin-out from Umbrellium dedicated to pedestrian safety.
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Ling Tan
Featured in the Top 100 Women in Wearable and Consumer Tech, Ling leads Umbrellium’s work on wearables and air quality. A frequent panellist on urban technology issues, she is an experienced designer, maker and software developer originally trained as an architect, and specialises in community participation and creating participatory platforms using custom digital tools and social wearables.
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Nicole Afonso Alves Calistri
Trained in Design Management & Cultures, Nicole is passionate about environmental sustainability and advocates for environment-centred design. She works with organisations to help shape conversations around the future of sustainability and social innovation.
Press
- The complementary strengths of AI and human intelligence — Computer Weekly, 2022
- How councils can harness the power of 'collective intelligence' — LocalGov Magazine, 2022
- Taking Action on Air Pollution — The MJ, 2021
- Louvre Abu Dhabi is now home to palm trees that sing when you hug them — National News, 2020
- Hear the 'Singing Trees' at Louvre Abu Dhabi — Dubai Gazette, 2020
- The Big Cities Dealing With Noise Pollution — Huffington Post, 2017
- Umbrellium develops interactive road crossing that only appears when needed — Dezeen, 2017
- A responsive, light-up pedestrian crossing that "puts people first" — Design Week, 2017
- The Future of Pedestrian Crossing — Architect Magazine, 2017
- Virtual cat is newest 'pupil' at Cambridge school — BBC News, 2016
- Cat in the Shell - Virtual Feline Avatar Controls a High-Tech Building — Vice, 2016
- In Cambridge, an augmented reality cat in the corridors of the junior high school — Makery, 2016
- Meet Cinder - the virtual cat which has taken Trumpington Community College by storm — Cambridgeshire Live, 2016
- VoiceOver has got people talking in a North East village - and lighting the place up as they do — Chronicle Live, 2016
- Make your business thrive with Internet of Things — Entrepreneur, 2016
- How can we make data more meaningful? — Guardian, 2014
- Another Life - a maior obra de arte interativa permanente da Europa — ArchDaily, 2014
- Technology Has Changed Art, And This Is What It Looks Like — The Verge, 2014
- The truth about smart cities - 'In the end, they will destroy democracy' — Guardian, 2014
- Immerse Yourself In Reactive Pools Of Light With This Interactive Installation — Vice Magazine, 2014
- The Barbican's spectacular Digital Revolution — Wired, 2014
- Touch it, you know you want to. The hands-on world of digital art. — CNN, 2014
- Umbrellium's Assemblance At Digital Revolution, London — Cool Hunting, 2014
