Hala El Akl

Hala is a Director at PLP Architecture and Founding Director of PLP Labs. With over twelve years’ experience covering the full spectrum of typologies as an architect and urbanist at PLP, she helps drive the studio’s deep-rooted passion for innovation. Hala directs teams on commercial, life-science, residential, retail and mixed-use projects across the UK, Europe, the Middle East and Asia. At PLP Labs, she leads teams exploring new ideas for future cities, with a focus on environmental and social sustainability.

Hala chairs of the Urban Art Forum for ULI UK and sits on the Cambridge University Land Economy board.

In 2020, she was the first recipient of the ULI European Talent Award 2020.

She received her MSc in Urban Policy from LSE, a Masters in Territorial and Urban Strategies from the Institut d’Etudes Politiques de Paris (Sciences-Po), and both a Bachelor of Architecture (distinction) and a Bachelor of Social Sciences from the American University of Beirut, Lebanon.