Managing editor of the AJ, Will is an award-winning architecture journalist and campaigner who has played a pioneering role in promoting the reuse of existing buildings and materials.

In 2019, he spearheaded the AJ RetroFirst campaign. Shortlisted for Campaign of the Year at the 2021 British Journalism Award, this initiative was also instrumental in sparking a public inquiry into M&S Oxford Street and inspired new retrofit-first planning policies at local authorities such as Westminster City Council and the City of London Corporation.

More recently, Will co-founded voluntary group Don’t Waste Buildings. This cross-industry initiative, launched in 2024, spreads a message of economic, social, and environmental opportunity and now boasts over 2,300 members and chapters in four regions of England plus in Scotland, and Australia. Earlier in his career, Hurst’s investigation into London’s Garden Bridge won him a British Journalism Award, with the work also shortlisted for the Paul Foot Award. In addition to his full-time role at the AJ, Will has written for national titles such as the Guardian, Times, Telegraph, and Financial Times and lectured at the Danish Embassy in London, the Washington DC-based National Trust for Historic Preservation, and Cambridge University’s Institute for Sustainability Leadership. In March 2026 he was named a RIBA Honorary Fellow.