Joanna van Heyningen formed van Heyningen and Haward Architects in1982. She has always sought to contribute to the wider built environment, including judging the Stirling Prize, and serving on the RIBA Awards Group. She is a Design Review panellist for Design Council, for which she co-chaired the Oxford Design Review Panel and several others. She now co-chairs the ODRP for Design South East, and the Hounslow Design Review Panel. She is Governor Chair of the Building Committee of the Purcell School of Music. She was awarded an OBE for services to Architecture and the Built Environment in 2016.