Rachel Simmonds studied architecture at Scott Sutherland School of Architecture, Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen and the Ecole d'Architecture de Clermont Ferrand, France. Her 20+ years in architectural practice saw her working at a senior level for award winning architects in Edinburgh, as well as establishing her own design practice Studio Bof. She undertook projects in housing, education, conservation, theatre and office design, along with architectural conservation, interior design, art commissioning and urban design. Her industry awards include the Saltire Award for Art and Crafts in Architecture and a Scottish Design Award for Public Realm and Landscape .
She started architectural tutoring in 1998 at Scott Sutherland School of Architecture. In 2008 she joined Edinburgh College of Art as a part time tutor in interior design, becoming a full time lecturer in 2016. She teaches both undergraduate and postgraduate courses at ECA, and has been involved in teaching internationally, as part of an international exchange programme. In 2014 she created the Fashion Interior Courses that now form part of the University of Edinburgh / Donghua Univeristy joint partnership. She is currently Senior Lecturer on the MA Interior, Architectural and Spatial Design programme.
Her research work has a focus on the links between Scottish and Nordic modernist architecture and design. She is interested in how architecture is exposed and disseminated through exhibition design, and especially the use of photography in relation to exhibitions. Her architectural and interior design experience has also influenced a variety of investigations around historic and future places of creative working, learning and display.