Alessandro Caruso

Alex is the son of an architect and was born in Sicily where he started his architectural career in the family business. In 2001 Alex relocated to the UK where he worked for 3 architectural practices before setting up Alessandro Caruso Architects (ACA) with his wife Amelia in 2014.

An almost fatal motorbike accident in 1994 meant that Alex spent 6 months confined to a hospital bed in Palermo. The hospital environment was functional for physical recovery but completely inadequate for mental health / wellbeing. Grateful for a full recovery, this experience led Alex on a mission to help other people. Therefore ACA’s mission is to design buildings to improve people’s lives, with a focus on mental health and wellbeing.

Alex leads the design team at ACA, which specialises in the design of health and social care buildings for the NHS, private care operators and charities. ACA is particularly proud to have designed the Allam Diabetes Centre at the front of Hull Royal Infirmary which has won several awards at national and international level. ACA has a strong belief that health and wellbeing is not limited to the health and social care sector and should be an integral part of any building design. Therefore, ACA also designs in wellbeing as added value for the education, commercial and residential sectors.

Not only can Alex can help Clients to design a building which is sustainable, focuses on health and wellbeing and meets their requirements, he also acts as Dementia Design Champion for several NHS Trusts and organisations. He is also a RIBA Client Adviser which means he can offer strategic advice and guidance to clients at an early stage to assist in maximising the value and quality of their projects.

In a nutshell Alex can help with:

• Advice and guidance to inform business cases for a new / refurbished building.

• Feasibility studies to provide the Client with various options

• A strong vision translated into 3D images / videos to bring the design to life

• Specialist advice and design for mental health, dementia, complex needs and learning disabilities.

• How to add value to a property generally

Apart from designing buildings, Alex’s other hobbies are spending time with his family, keeping fit, Yoga and meditation, theatre and cinema, travelling and learning about other cultures.