Mike Macrae Obituary

Our friend Mike Macrae, who has died aged 71, had a personality and artistic gifts that made him stand out at the Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL, in 1956. At odds with its conservative beaux arts ethos, he then studied at the Architectural Association from 1958 to 1962.

Mike made his mark designing the layout for the Milton Keynes masterplan in the late 1960s. His talent for integrating form and strategic analysis had been evident while working on planning proposals for Beersheba in Israel (1964-67). He advised the Venezuelan government on urbanisation policies utilising oil revenues (1970-72); participated in city centre redevelopment proposals for Buffalo, New York state; and studied tourism impact in the West Indies. His 1972 report is still being used as a guide to land-use decisions in St Vincent.

He was born in Muswell Hill, north London, the son of a diamond merchant. His mother was the daughter of an architect. He was educated at Aldenham school, Herts, and was an RAF national service flying officer before starting his studies. 

In 1962, he married Josephine Molteno, but Jo died in 1972, and, to raise his family, Mike set up a commune in Cornwall with friends he had met in Israel. Working the land connected him to the embryonic environmental movement, and this fusion of ecological concerns with his planning experience shaped the rest of his life.

His partnership with Sandie, dating from 1978, stimulated him to re-engage with urban issues. First came Bath, where, in 1981, he set up three voluntary sector projects for the housing, training and counselling needs of the young and homeless. From 1987, in Bristol, Mike pioneered public sector housing initiatives and then set up his own practice. He gave talks, floated ideas and sat on the regional design panel.

In 2000 his design for a house in Cornwall won the Royal Institute of British Architects' Wessex design award. His next project was his own home, Bristol's first eco-house, which incorporated a space from which Sandie, an artist and curator, launched ROOM gallery. Then, in 2006, Mike and Sandie moved, setting up ROOM in east London.

Mike made the world a better place through his humanity, reason - and protests, which had begun against the 1956 Soviet invasion of Hungary. But for his illness, his latest move would have been as an Architects and Planners for Justice in Palestine (APJP) committee member. Mike dazzled and inspired with his optimism, and zest for living. 

He is survived by his wife, daughter and three sons.