Jonathan Berry
Jonathan Berry
What can I do to make people’s lives better? I believe in accountability in what I do, for my work, my clients, my colleagues and the environment — be kind and the rest will follow.
What can I do to make people’s lives better? I believe in accountability in what I do, for my work, my clients, my colleagues and the environment — be kind and the rest will follow.
“I want to build a better world for people, communities and the environment. At Tyler Grange, we hold the same values now as over a decade ago, guiding us and binding us together. Our core purpose is to get stuff done and ensure everything thrives — our people, our planet and our projects.
We strive constantly to bring fresh ideas to the table. This openness brings opportunities for our clients, the environment and the various communities impacted positively by our work.
We achieve successful environmental planning outcomes by obtaining reliable, robust and accurate data and knowing how best to present it.
Transparency is crucial. It builds trust and the foundations for fulfilling work and relationships. We recognise how our company culture gives us our best competitive advantage and our people are our greatest asset.
What can I do to make people’s lives better? I believe in accountability in what I do, for my work, my clients, my colleagues and the environment — be kind and the rest will follow.”
Jonathan is a co-founder and managing director of Tyler Grange, an environmental consultancy specialising in arboriculture, ecology, landscape planning and green infrastructure design. He believes in creating places for people without compromising the protection of nature.
He’s also a founder of The Kindness Forecast. This is a not-for-profit social experiment redefining how we think about generosity, turning simple acts of kindness into a movement to create tangible impact.
Q&A
Q&A
What’s your favourite place or building and why?
The Glanusk Estate in the Usk Valley, near Crickhowell. It has family connections and many childhood memories but I’ve also visited it annually for over 15 years for the Green Man Festival. The landscape has a scale that reminds you you’re a small and temporary component. Whether it’s the imposing backdrop of the Sugar Loaf peak or the veteran sweet chestnut trees punctuating the floodplain, the natural beauty is awe-inspiring. This is still a designed landscape where humankind has left its mark. But through the area's art, literature, music and folklore, there’s a palpable respect for its cultural history.
What’s your favourite place or building and why?
The Glanusk Estate in the Usk Valley, near Crickhowell. It has family connections and many childhood memories but I’ve also visited it annually for over 15 years for the Green Man Festival. The landscape has a scale that reminds you you’re a small and temporary component. Whether it’s the imposing backdrop of the Sugar Loaf peak or the veteran sweet chestnut trees punctuating the floodplain, the natural beauty is awe-inspiring. This is still a designed landscape where humankind has left its mark. But through the area's art, literature, music and folklore, there’s a palpable respect for its cultural history.
What’s your favourite place or building and why?
The Glanusk Estate in the Usk Valley, near Crickhowell. It has family connections and many childhood memories but I’ve also visited it annually for over 15 years for the Green Man Festival. The landscape has a scale that reminds you you’re a small and temporary component. Whether it’s the imposing backdrop of the Sugar Loaf peak or the veteran sweet chestnut trees punctuating the floodplain, the natural beauty is awe-inspiring. This is still a designed landscape where humankind has left its mark. But through the area's art, literature, music and folklore, there’s a palpable respect for its cultural history.
If you could change one thing in the built environment, what would it be?
We need to change the way that we design for people. Places and spaces have become ever more ordered, controlled, private and exclusive, making them increasingly inflexible, unrepresentative and unwelcoming. A quick look through the history books will show you how privilege and ownership have marked many of the best-known civic spaces globally. We need to embrace the intersectionality of our modern societies and create spaces for those who need them the most: those in our communities who don't have the freedom to enjoy their own private gardens or to select food produce from their own allotments. Next time you walk through a public space, ask yourself who is this for? If it's not for everyone, the designers have failed.
If you could change one thing in the built environment, what would it be?
We need to change the way that we design for people. Places and spaces have become ever more ordered, controlled, private and exclusive, making them increasingly inflexible, unrepresentative and unwelcoming. A quick look through the history books will show you how privilege and ownership have marked many of the best-known civic spaces globally. We need to embrace the intersectionality of our modern societies and create spaces for those who need them the most: those in our communities who don't have the freedom to enjoy their own private gardens or to select food produce from their own allotments. Next time you walk through a public space, ask yourself who is this for? If it's not for everyone, the designers have failed.
If you could change one thing in the built environment, what would it be?
We need to change the way that we design for people. Places and spaces have become ever more ordered, controlled, private and exclusive, making them increasingly inflexible, unrepresentative and unwelcoming. A quick look through the history books will show you how privilege and ownership have marked many of the best-known civic spaces globally. We need to embrace the intersectionality of our modern societies and create spaces for those who need them the most: those in our communities who don't have the freedom to enjoy their own private gardens or to select food produce from their own allotments. Next time you walk through a public space, ask yourself who is this for? If it's not for everyone, the designers have failed.
How well prepared do you feel for future changes in your industry?
People get so transfixed by solving their daily project problems, they neglect strategies to embrace change. Change is inevitable, and I’d encourage everyone to tackle it head-on, embracing the biggest challenges first. Recruitment, remuneration and climate change were all things we considered very early in Tyler Grange’s growth. We responded with B Corp certification, a four-day week and pay transparency. Currently, AI is transforming our industry, so we’ve brought in an external innovation coach to ensure we focus on being more human in these changing times.
How well prepared do you feel for future changes in your industry?
People get so transfixed by solving their daily project problems, they neglect strategies to embrace change. Change is inevitable, and I’d encourage everyone to tackle it head-on, embracing the biggest challenges first. Recruitment, remuneration and climate change were all things we considered very early in Tyler Grange’s growth. We responded with B Corp certification, a four-day week and pay transparency. Currently, AI is transforming our industry, so we’ve brought in an external innovation coach to ensure we focus on being more human in these changing times.
How well prepared do you feel for future changes in your industry?
People get so transfixed by solving their daily project problems, they neglect strategies to embrace change. Change is inevitable, and I’d encourage everyone to tackle it head-on, embracing the biggest challenges first. Recruitment, remuneration and climate change were all things we considered very early in Tyler Grange’s growth. We responded with B Corp certification, a four-day week and pay transparency. Currently, AI is transforming our industry, so we’ve brought in an external innovation coach to ensure we focus on being more human in these changing times.
What’s the most effective way of collaborating?
To truly collaborate means to share your best ideas with your biggest competitors because they’ve probably already thought of ways to improve them. Too often designers, thinkers, business owners and leaders try to protect what is theirs. To enhance collaboration, we must design together as a collective, creating the best solutions and the best ideas that we possibly can. This requires the freedom to fail, honest feedback and a united approach, where we learn, innovate and celebrate as one
What’s the most effective way of collaborating?
To truly collaborate means to share your best ideas with your biggest competitors because they’ve probably already thought of ways to improve them. Too often designers, thinkers, business owners and leaders try to protect what is theirs. To enhance collaboration, we must design together as a collective, creating the best solutions and the best ideas that we possibly can. This requires the freedom to fail, honest feedback and a united approach, where we learn, innovate and celebrate as one
What’s the most effective way of collaborating?
To truly collaborate means to share your best ideas with your biggest competitors because they’ve probably already thought of ways to improve them. Too often designers, thinkers, business owners and leaders try to protect what is theirs. To enhance collaboration, we must design together as a collective, creating the best solutions and the best ideas that we possibly can. This requires the freedom to fail, honest feedback and a united approach, where we learn, innovate and celebrate as one
Which is more important to you, transformation or preservation?
Preserving nature through transformative design is most important to me. Until we have a system that truly values nature and gives it a voice and a legal status in decision-making, we’ll always find ways to justify harming it for commercial viability. This is shortsighted and irresponsible. We must design with nature, protecting the natural systems that have existed for millennia, rather than the much more recent capitalist culture and human privilege so familiar to us now.
Which is more important to you, transformation or preservation?
Preserving nature through transformative design is most important to me. Until we have a system that truly values nature and gives it a voice and a legal status in decision-making, we’ll always find ways to justify harming it for commercial viability. This is shortsighted and irresponsible. We must design with nature, protecting the natural systems that have existed for millennia, rather than the much more recent capitalist culture and human privilege so familiar to us now.
Which is more important to you, transformation or preservation?
Preserving nature through transformative design is most important to me. Until we have a system that truly values nature and gives it a voice and a legal status in decision-making, we’ll always find ways to justify harming it for commercial viability. This is shortsighted and irresponsible. We must design with nature, protecting the natural systems that have existed for millennia, rather than the much more recent capitalist culture and human privilege so familiar to us now.
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Salford M3 7FB
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Patn Studio
x+why
Embankment East Tower Cathedral Approach
Salford M3 7FB
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Find us