Julia Barfield

Julia Barfield, , (born 1952) is a British architect and director of Marks Barfield Architects, established in 1989. Barfield created the London Eye together with husband and partner David Marks. Barfield has interest in vernacular architecture, geometry and in the way nature "designs and organizes itself so efficiently". She was influenced by Buckminster Fuller and his beliefs on how architects have a social and environmental responsibility. Barfield remains involved in a diverse array of projects within architecture, including the categories of culture, education, transportation, sports, leisure, and master planning.

Education

Barfield was drawn to architecture through the influence of a family friend who was an architect. She was interested in the arts and sciences, and believes that "architecture is a bridge" between them. She studied at the Architectural Association School of Architecture in London from 1972 to 1978. She spent a year abroad working in the barriadas of Lima, Peru, where she designed housing and a community centre.

Barfield has served as an awards assessor for RIBA and the Civic Trust and judges architectural competitions. The design submitted by Barfield and Marks, which they called the London Eye, failed to win the competition; in fact, none of the submissions were selected by the judges. The architects decided to erect the landmark anyway,

Barfield is the winner of "Architectural Practice of the Year" in 2001 and a "Queen's Award for Enterprise & Innovation" in 2003.