Phillip Tefft

Background

About Phillip Tefft

Phillip Tefft, has conceived, masterplanned and designed museums, exhibitions, and cultural destinations for over 30 years with Ralph Appelbaum Associate’s New York and London studios - as Director in London - and as Director of SDS / Strategy Design Studio, his own London based strategic planning practice. Mr Tefft established RAA's London studio in 1997 as an international multidisciplinary museum design and interpretation practice responding to evolving demands across the global cultural sector. Over the course of his professional career, his London studio has completed over 130 commissions in 24 countries - including the UAE Expo in Shanghai with Foster’s and Partners, the reinterpretation of the Crown Jewels at the Tower of London, and The Royal Albert Memorial Museum in Exeter, winning the coveted Arts Fund Prize. Phillip’s primary professional focus has been assisting museums as they undertake change based masterplanning initiatives. Significant completed projects include the interpretation masterplan for the National Museum of Scotland, the inventive interpretive experience development of "The Whale” in Andenes Norway, and a visionary Interpretive Masterplan for The London Museum’s relocation to West Smithfield Market. Under his leadership, RAA London's most notable commissions include the award-winning Museum of Literature Ireland in Dublin; “Shaped by the Sea” at the Australia National Maritime Museum in Sydney; the International Slavery Museum and Maritime Museum in Liverpool (in process);"Lift 109", the immensely popular chimney lift attraction at London's Battersea Power Station; and visionary Masterplans and Interpretation Studies for the Courtauld Institute of Art, The British Museum, and the British Library. These significant projects and other notable commissions search for powerfully emotive connections between heritage, identity, and inclusion and explore experiential approaches that enable the voices of diverse communities and visitors to take centre stage, bringing their deeply humanistic stories to life - with and for today's demanding museum audiences. Mr Tefft holds an MA from the Columbia University School of Architecture. He is a registered Architect in New York, a member of the Architectural Association in London, and the International Council of Museums. He has delivered lectures and led discussions on museum interpretation and design at Columbia University in New York, The Architectural Association in London, The London School of the Arts, Sissa Media Lab in Trieste, and the Hermitage Museum in St Petersburg.