I joined the London studio as a senior engineer in September 2015 having first worked with Gareth as an undergraduate at Alan Baxter’s and remaining friends and intermittently colleagues and collaborators. I went on to spend five years with Whitbybird, working primarily on mid to large commercial buildings in London, and then on high rise commercial buildings in the Middle East with Thornton Tomasetti, London. Looking to reconnect with smaller, more human scale UK projects I decided to spend five years at Conisbee working on a range of projects from mid-rise residential concrete frames through to school refurbishments and new builds.

Having studied architecture alongside structural engineering, and with a long interest in art, I believe drawing is a means of communication as well as pleasure. I enjoy the sharing of ideas and concepts and was a visiting tutor at the Birmingham School of Architecture working with the students to understand and develop the engineering principals within their buildings and was involved in training the graduate engineers at Civic.

As well as being an engineer I’m also a full time mum and Civic’s positive approach and attitude to flexible working, and commitment to the welfare of their team, has meant that I have been able to progress my career with the firm on a part time basis. Women are already hugely under-represented in engineering, and forward thinking attitudes like these are essential to recruiting and maintaining a more balanced staff, which in turn impacts positively on the industry.

Outside of work I love to spend time with my two highly energetic small people, play the cello and practice salsa dancing. My object is my cello. It’s a beautiful instrument, currently dusty, out of tune and decorated with slightly sticky handprints from when it is hauled out to play occasional renditions of the Grand Old Duke of York.