Seeds of Thought: A Lunchtime Talk with Mary Arnold-Foster, Alder Magazine

Join us for the next event in our Seeds of Thought Lunchtime Talk series - with Mary Arnold-Foster

About the Speaker

We are pleased to welcome Mary Arnold-Foster (RSA), who will discuss her architectural practice and her magazine, Alder. In her talk, Mary will explore how architecture, design and site specificity can enhance our connection to the places we inhabit. Central to her work is a careful attention to the relationship between built environments and the natural world. Through both architecture and publishing, she emphasises the importance of materiality, form, and colour in fostering ecological and cultural awareness.

Her recently published issue of Alder, Volume 03, embodies this approach by bringing together projects and essays that reflect a desire for more crafted, resourceful, and sustainable building methods. Like her architectural work, the magazine demonstrates a quiet attentiveness to landscape and community.

About Mary Arnold-Foster Architects

Mary Arnold-Forster Architects (MAFA) is a Highland architecture studio working across rural locations throughout Scotland and the UK. It was formed by Mary in 2016 to create quiet, humane, restrained and beautifully crafted places and spaces based on a rigorous study of site, context, landscape and brief to try to create a backdrop for people’s work, their art and lives. MAFA's work spans from the Lake District in the south to Orkney in the North.

Our design process is circular: it starts with a site visit and topographical survey, then many hand sketches on tracing paper which lead to physical and 3D digital models. We build physical models to really test the proposals in the context. We then assess what we have proposed and improve it, starting back with tracing sketches. Further site visits, client consultations and design team input drive further refinement of this iterative process. This design process leads to a balance between traditional forms and materials with crisp contemporary details.

MAFA were presented with the Royal Institute of Architects Scotland (RIAS) new house award for their Black Shed at Heaste on Skye and have been shortlisted for a further RIAS award for their pre-fabricated house, An Cala at Nedd in Assynt and a RIBA Northwest Award for their Brampton project. During Mary’s 16 years at Dualchas Architects on Skye, she was responsible for multiple award-winning projects.

About Seeds of Thought

Join us for a series of lunchtime talks with researchers, thinkers, artists, creatives, and like-minded individuals.

Over the coming twelve months, we invite you to a menu of fascinating ideas over lunch. In the first four talks, we’ll explore the rhythms of nature – from seasonal cycles to geological developments and the forces that shape life on our world and beyond. Together, we’ll consider how changes at various scales reflect the broader ecological crisis and explore ways to engage with these shifts, both practically and imaginatively.

We are delighted to be joined by David Farrier, Michelle Bastian, Claire Cousins, and Anne Magurran.

Coffee, tea, and water will be available, with sandwiches for pre-order at the Visitor Centre. Free for St Andrews Botanic Garden Friends Members, £3 for visitors

Also check out other Arts events in St Andrews.