Dr William Mclean
I am a Reader in Regenerative Structures & Materials at the School of Architecture and Cities at the University of Westminster. I write about architecture and technology, and I have co-authored six books with colleague Pete Silver including Structural Engineering for Architects: A Handbook, (Laurence King, 2014), Introduction to Architectural Technology, (Laurence King, 2021, 3rd edition), The Environmental Design Sourcebook, (RIBA Publishing, 2021) and Sustainable & Regenerative Materials for Architecture, (Laurence King, 2025). In 2008 I established the architectural imprint Bibliotheque McLean, publishing titles including Sabbioneta: Cryptic City by James Madge (2011), Quik Build: Adam Kalkin's ABC of Container Architecture (2008) and Building with Air (2014) the first English language book on the work of Italian architect and construction innovator Dante Bini published in 2014.
I was was a co-editor of Construction History: International Journal of the Construction History Society (2016-2021). Between 2005 and 2010 I wrote a column for Architectural Design (AD) entitled McLean's Nuggets, which appeared in over 30 issues of the magazine.
My doctoral thesis Technological Innovation in Architecture: The Role of the Aberrant Practitioner, analysed the unique contribution of the 'Innovative Entrepreneur' to architecture and construction. Research included the work of Dante Bini (construction automation), artist Graham Stevens (pneumatic / inflatable / environmental art), architects Adam Kalkin (prefabrication / building with shipping containers), Fritz Haller (systems building) and structural engineer Tim Macfarlane (structural glass). Current research outputs include interviews, published articles, papers and books.
My ongoing research continues to focus on the work of Dante Bini, low carbon construction materials and (more recently) the relationship between sound, acoustics and architecture.
Current Book Projects
I have recently been commissioned by publishers Routledge to author, Acoustics for Architects: An Introduction to Noise, Sound and Music.
Ongoing research for a future publication on the work of Scottish architectural practice Gratton and McLean, the architects of the Barrowland Ballroom in Glasgow (1960), Castlemilk West Church (1957) and works for the North of Scotland Hydro-Electric Board, Including Invergarry, Finlarig and Lussa power stations (1952-1962).
Cataloguing the work of artist Bruce McLean in preparation for a monograph of his work.
