Tell us about you…

I’ve lived in Sheffield for over a decade, one of many post-university refugees to make the city their home.

I’m interested in music, art and cinema, and glad to have been involved with most of those things during my time in Sheffield. From selling tickets and salting popcorn at the Showroom, putting on noise/punk gigs and now as Studio Manager at Universal Everything, a studio specialising in design, film and interactive.

What does Sheffield mean to you?

The Danish have a word – hygge – which describes the communal warmth amongst good friends, usually involving good booze, nice food and lots of talking. It’s the social feeling of a fireplace in a snug or a candlelit room at Christmas time.

That’s pretty much what Sheffield is about. It’s not prettiest place in the world, and it’s got its fair share of problems, but everyone knows everyone, and everyone is open to being warm.

What’s your favourite Sheffield place?

It’s hard to choose one place, but I am a huge fan of the city’s Brutalist heritage. The most obvious is Park Hill, looming over every train visitor and dividing between the centre and East of the city, but the Arts Tower, the Castle Market, Moore St substation and the Moorfoot Building/sandcastle opposite it, are all architectural beauties. Before that, the Egg Box building (rest its soul) was one of the first things in Sheffield that stuck with me.

What would you do to improve the city?

I would like to see an end to the chronic short-termism of the city’s planning, particularly in terms of architecture. Since I’ve been here, I’ve seen the Egg Box torn down and Park Hill ‘renovated’, whilst innumerable, faceless and colour-clad buildings have shot up. The skyline is now dominated with empty apartment blocks and flat-pack towers that overshadow the beauty already there – even to the extent of Grade II-listed, Edwardian buildings being planned for demolition.