Meet our speakers
At the Future of Design London 2024 conference, we will be hosting a lineup of distinguished speakers who are thought leaders in their respective fields. With their profound insights and groundbreaking contributions, these speakers will share their expertise, discussing the changes that are driving the evolution of design and shaping the future of our built environment.
Speakers:
Prof. Harbinder Birdi, Birdi & Partners
Talk: Engineering as a Creative Act
Harbinder and Architect and founder of Birdi & Partners – a creative consultancy providing advice on design and procurement to government bodies and the private sector . He led the design and delivery for Tottenham Court Road station on The Elizabeth Line and the central section of Thames Tideway Tunnel. He is a fellow of the RIBA, ICE, RSA and as a Professor of Architecture at the University of Cambridge, lectures on inter-disciplinary design at universities in the UK and internationally.
Alessandro Margnelli, AKT II
Talk: Binding Macro and Micro
Alessandro is a technical director with a passion for the vibration of buildings under wind and seismic actions. He holds a PhD in Performance-Based Design for Earthquake Structures, focusing on the effects of seismic actions on structures. Alessandro has been a visiting professor of design at UCL for the past five years and continues to lecture there. He is also part of the Research Centre for Civil Engineering Structures at City University. At AKT II, Alessandro leads the Parametric Applied Research (Part) and Bioclimatic teams. He has led several outstanding projects, including the Vessel in New York, Kistefos Bridge in Norway, and the Google headquarters in King’s Cross, London
Kelly Harrison, Whitby Wood
Talk: Thinking Differently (New perspectives and getting away from business as usual)
Kelly’s skills in fostering strong team and client relationships underpin her 15 years’ experience in successfully developing detailed design for projects in the residential, commercial, education and cultural sectors — from large-scale housing projects and industrial building conversions to special structures such as staircases and private residences. Before joining Whitby Wood in 2020, she expanded her timber design capabilities by taking a key role in project-led timber research, following through with in-house knowledge sharing.
Aween Abubaker, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill
Talk: Bridging the Gaps: From Human Insight to Digital Innovation
Aween is a dynamic professional, poised to break norms and make a lasting impact. With a personality conducive to collaboration, inciting enthusiasm, and team-building, she brings a unique perspective to engineering derived from diverse experiences in four different countries. Aween has over 5 years of experience and expertise in the AEC industry, specializing in computational design thinking and processes, developing interoperability work?ows between structural design, analysis, and documentation programs.
Mike Brooks, Buro Happold
Talk: Breathing New Life Into Battersea Power Station
Mike work focuses on commercial projects in central London with a particular focus on sustainable building design and redevelopment of existing assets. Mike’s particular specialisms include steelwork structures, and he was a key figure in Buro Happold’s commitment to Steel Zero, ensuring steel design & specification within Buro Happold aids in accelerating the steel industry towards net zero carbon emissions.
Panellists:
Joanna Yarrow, Human Nature
Joanna oversees Human Nature’s approach to delivering positive ecological and social impact and the articulation of its deep sustainability approach to align with the needs of investors, project stakeholders and policymakers. She is a key storyteller and spokesperson, designer and communicator of future customers’ lifestyles and a trustee of the Human Nature charitable Foundation. Joanna was Founding Partner of creative sustainability advisory M&C Saatchi LIFE and previously Global Head of Sustainable & Healthy Living for IKEA, focusing on making sustainable and healthy living affordable, attractive and accessible for as many people as possible.
James Norman, University of Bristol
James is an award-winning engineer and teacher. He has worked on many landmark buildings including the extension to the Tate Modern and John Henry Brookes building. He has worked with several materials including timber, straw and earth as well as steel and concrete. He has been involved in a number of reuse projects. In 2015 James became a full time academic and has published The Regenerative Structural Engineer, Conceptual Design of Buildings, Structural Timber Elements and Designing Timber Structures. He takes an innovate and practice-based approach to teaching and was awarded a National Teaching Fellowship in 2020. The combination of his teaching, research and practice is changing approaches to sustainable building design across industry.
Luke Fisher, Spencer Bridge Engineering
Luke is the Bridges Director for Spencer Bridge Engineering Limited, responsible for leading the design and construction teams on complex bridge refurbishment projects across the UK. He specialises in metallic structures and has been involved in a number of refurbishment schemes on long span and/or historical structures, such as Humber, Erskine, Kessock, Union Chain and Menai Bridges.
Laura Batty, HTS
Laura Batty is a chartered structural engineer at Heyne Tillett Steel and leads HTS+, the dedicated in-house research and innovation team, which undertakes research, testing and development of new structural techniques and technologies with a focus on sustainability. She is committed to strengthening knowledge to address the critical issues in our industry and bring about positive change within the built environment.
Workshop host:
Nick Cole, Robert Bird Group
Workshop title: Topology Optimisation – Challenging Our Intuition
As ‘Engineering and Technology’ Lead for Europe and the USA, Nick drives innovation and industry leading initiatives into the RBG group. His expansive portfolio spans diverse sectors, including sports, entertainment, residential, and refurbishment projects. Nick’s notable projects include the design of several high-profile stadium and complex, long span Over Station Development projects. Nick has a passion for applying cutting edge digital technology to projects, with a focus on optimising structures for sustainability, cost and buildability.
Special thanks to our sponsors…
