Adam Hills

New Earth Architect

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I studied Architecture in Sheffield, England before continuing my education in Brighton, drawn by a belief that the built environment has the power to shape not only cities, but lives.

 

After graduating, I spent ten years working in London within the construction industry. During that time, I gained first-hand experience of how projects are financed, approved, and delivered. I saw the scale of coordination required to bring buildings into existence — and the immense influence that economic priorities have over what ultimately gets built.

 

Over time, I began to question the direction of the industry I was part of. Too often, housing felt treated as a commodity before it was considered a foundation for human stability. Sustainability was discussed, yet rarely embedded at the structural level. Developments were designed to meet demand, but not always to meet need.

 

Those experiences were not a single turning point, but a gradual realisation: if we design the environments we inhabit, then we also design the conditions under which people live.

 

After a decade in practice, I moved into freelance work, creating more space to think independently. It was during this period that the concept for New Earth began to take shape — not as a rejection of architecture, but as a refinement of its purpose.

 

New Earth is built on a simple premise: that shelter, energy, food, and water are not luxuries or investments, but fundamental human rights. Rather than attempting to redesign entire cities at once, the project begins with small, carefully considered sites — prototypes that explore how these essentials can be secured within a financially viable, replicable cohousing model.

 

The intention is practical. Start small. Prove the concept.

Refine the model. Then allow it to grow.

 

New Earth is not an abstract vision of the future. It is an attempt to realign the priorities of development with the basic conditions required for human dignity. Through thoughtful design, responsible construction, and collective participation, it aims to demonstrate that another approach is possible.