Climate emergency conference 2026

Niamh is a chartered structural engineer and environmentalist with 10 years’ experience, her current role is Technical Associate in Sustainability at Curtins. Her structural background spans healthcare and education projects and complex refurbishment schemes, whilst her current role is as the technical lead for project and operational sustainability. Niamh’s focus areas include embodied carbon, circular economy, and driving sustainable business practices across the organisation. Niamh sits on the Institution of Structural Engineers Climate Emergency Task Group and also the Association of Consulting Engineers Climate Change Group.
 
 

As a Decarbonisation Lead Diego works towards creating zero carbon buildings to address the climate emergency. Diego has led the creation of WSP’s Structures decarbonisation roadmap and continues to deliver on its commitment to half the emission of their designs and advice by 2030.

Diego’s current focus is on digital innovation, harvesting the power of AI to create tools and processes that help engineers, designers, and clients to create better buildings.

As a structural engineer his experience varies from tall building design to complex basements, from office refurbishments to cultural venues. He was the lead engineer for the design and delivery of 22 Bishopsgate, London.

Jo is an Arup Fellow and Global Sustainable Development Leader, with a career spanning engineering, design, humanitarianism and urbanism. She is dedicated to ensuring urban development and infrastructure safeguards communities and supports inclusive growth. Jo has led Arup’s International Development business, co-founded The Resilience Shift, and directed post-tsunami shelter for UNHCR in Sri Lanka. Her work has shaped global frameworks for resilience, including the City Resilience Framework and for the International Federation of Red Cross. Jo’s leadership and impact have been recognised with honors such as Dame Commander of the British Empire (DBE), Institution of Structural Engineers Gold Medal, and Royal Designer for Industry.
 

With a technical background spanning building physics, data analytics and whole life carbon strategy, Ross is a multidisciplinary sustainability champion who leads design teams through all stages of design and construction. He is currently seconded to Landsec where he leads the definition and implementation of the environmental sustainability strategy for Landsec’s development pipeline, including workplace and residential-led mixed use regeneration as well as major refurbishments and portfolio works.
 

Gary has long championed reform of the built environment industry as the CEO and Founder of Elliott Wood structural engineers. As a purpose-led organisation, the practice is committed to Engineering a Better Society and bringing about societal and environmental reform. Gary uses his inquisitive approach to question, test and realise ambitious schemes.  Relishing the challenge of complex buildings and structures, he draws on three decades of experience in engineering award-winning structures both in the UK and overseas to ensure that projects deliver maximum value to clients and with minimal impact on the planet.

Penny Gowler is a UK-based structural engineer specialising in the sensitive repair, adaptation, and reuse of existing and historic buildings. Her work places strong emphasis on sustainability, including extending the life of existing structures, reducing unnecessary demolition, and developing low-intervention repair strategies that minimise embodied carbon. With a strong background in whole-life carbon, circular economy and industry-wide sustainability initiatives, Penny brings a practical perspective on how conservation-minded engineering can support lower-carbon outcomes across the built environment.

As an Associate Director in Decarbonisation, Emma leads projects from portfolio decarbonisation to detailed carbon analysis of as-built structures, as well as supporting WSP structures teams across the UK in advocating for more sustainable design. Emma is a Chartered Structural Engineer whose background includes complex refurbishments such as Claridge’s Hotel and Zodiac Court. Emma now leads pre‑redevelopment audits and structural options appraisals, using whole‑life carbon and buildability evidence to inform decision-making on retention, refurbishment and reuse of existing buildings and materials.
 

Ahmed is the Service Lead – Coastal Engineering at WSP Middle East, with over 13 years of experience in coastal and marine engineering. An accredited professional engineer and published author, he specializes in coastal infrastructure, waterfront developments, and climate-resilient design. Ahmed has delivered major projects across the Middle East, Africa, Europe, and Asia, supporting governments, developers, and contractors in creating sustainable coastal solutions.

 
 

Stanley Liu is a Hong Kong–based civil engineer with over 24 years of experience in marine engineering and coastal resilience. He specializes in integrated coastal protection and flood management, leading projects that assess coastal hazards under rising sea levels and intensifying storms, and developing shoreline management guidelines that inform future coastal planning and design in Hong Kong. His work enhances the sustainability, climate resilience and adaptability of Hong Kong’s shoreline while safeguarding coastal communities for the long term.

Cameron’s interests lie at the intersection of contemporary computational design methods and a first-principles understanding of structural systems.

With a strong emphasis on research and innovation, including numerous award-winning papers and projects, Cameron brings a distinctive perspective to complex structural design challenges.

Experienced in the design of long-span roofs, gridshells, high-rise structures, and other bespoke projects, Cameron applies advanced analytical and computational approaches to deliver ambitious yet buildable structural solutions. 
 
 

Antonio studied architecture in Valencia and obtained his masters degree  “Housing Laboratory of the 21st century” in Barcelona. He started his professional career as a collaborator at Bach Architects in Barcelona. Antonio combines the professional practice with his activity as a writer and academic, has been a guest lecturer at universities in Spain such as Zaragoza and Barcelona and now a design tutor at the Architectural Association in London.
 
Since 2019, Antonio runs in parallel his own practice , Moll Architects, which he founded after working for almost ten years at Foster + Partners and PLP Architecture, where he gained experience in the design and project management of high profile projects internationally.

While at Foster + Partners he was the architect in charge of the MEP coordination and internal cladding design of Kuwait International Airport and the architect in charge for the design of the restaurant space in the Apple Campus project in Cupertinio. At PLP he was Associate Partner in charge of the design and delivery of 22 Bishopsgate, the tallest commercial skyscraper in the City of London, and responsible for the planning submission for The Collective Stratford. 
 
Moll Architects has increasily won recognition through their published projects  and have won a place in the LHC-Southwark ADS Architects Framework in 2020, which was described in the Architects Journal as a “procurement process designed to attract the best architectural practices able to deliver innovative construction services to the public sector in London”. Currently Moll Architects are involved in the design and construction of several residential projects in London and the Metropolitan area. These include Orchard St in Dartford, a 14 unit built-to-rent net-zero carbon scheme, using natural materials such as rammed earth and CLT structure."
 
 
 

Conor Neild-Crabb is Head of Centre at the Centre for Construction Best Practice, where he leads research and industry engagement focused on improving outcomes across the built environment. Since entering the construction industry in 2012, Conor has worked across principal contracting and construction procurement, giving him a strong understanding of delivery, commercial risk and market trends. With a background spanning construction and procurement, alongside degrees in marketing and teaching and a master’s degree in Quantity Surveying and Commercial Management, Conor’s interests lie in sustainable procurement, lifecycle costing and embodied carbon. In his current role, he leads evidence-based approaches to improving value and long-term performance across the built environment.

As the leader of the Technical Design Group in SOM's London Office, Phil heads the design and delivery of a broad range of complex landmark projects in the UK and internationally. Over the last two decades he has championed design and construction innovations that address the challenges of sustainable urban living, having realized the delivery of more than 3,000 residential units in London alone, with key projects including Manhattan Loft Gardens and Greenwich Peninsula Upper Riverside.

Furthering SOM’s commitment to accelerate the transition to a net zero carbon built environment, Phil leads the firm’s research and innovation group in London. He regularly represents SOM at external forums in which he shares his expertise on topics such as composite timber structural solutions, modular off-site fabrication, and fire safety design.

Through his extensive outreach within the wider industry, Phil elevates ideas into transformative action. He is an elected member of the RIBA Practice and Policy Board Committee and also sits on the RIBA Housing Expert Advisory Group, which reviews policy and practice issues in the housing sector. He is the co-author of the London Energy Transformation Initiative (LETI) guide to decarbonizing through specification and procurement, and is the co-founder of SOM Design Lab, an undergraduate research and design studio at the School of Architecture, Building and Civil Engineering at Loughborough University. As a member of the UK Construction Productivity Task Force Group, he leads the initiative to elevate construction productivity through more informed, strategic, and data-guided building design. 
 
 

Maria is an architect with over 10 years of experience in the field of building structural design.
She has worked on and led projects encompassing both new construction and structural renovation. The projects she has participated in have primarily featured concrete and steel structures. She has also collaborated on projects with timber structures. These projects have mainly been residential, healthcare, administrative and educational buildings. While the projects she has been predominantly developed in Spain, including seismic zones, she has also participated in the development of international projects located in KSA, the UK, Panama, and is  currently a team leader of one of the structural engineering teams at Socotec Spain, based in Madrid.
 

 
 
 

Nathan has an academic background in environmental science and professional experience in low energy, carbon and environmental impact refurbishments and developments. Nathan is an expert in regenerative and net zero design strategies across building sectors and has championed the NHS Net Zero Building Standard for the first wave of pioneer net zero hospitals in the UK.

Shingi is an engineer who uses her work as an exploration tool to understand how people connect to nature through the built environment. The eclecticism of the projects she's undertaken in her career give her different perspectives on how structures are situated in a wider context. 
 
Her work centres on the unvarnished interrogation of design at all scales as a vehicle for creating tactful, appropriate structural proposals as shown on projects like the Anthony Timberlands Centre (USA), Fuefuki Public Place (Japan) and Yusuhara Community Library (Japan). With a special interest in timber structures, her current focus is on how culture impacts design and the organisational tools needed to effectively communicate proposals when working cross-culturally as distilled by her contribution at the Osaka World Expo 2025.

Kye is a passionate structural engineer leading BG&E’s High rise and complex buildings team. Since beginning his career in 2005, he has worked across the UK, Europe, Australia, and the Middle East. Kye specialises in high-rise buildings, low-carbon materials, construction engineering, and is a leading voice in Adaptive ReUse and ReUsable Steel. Kye will present on the unique challenges and opportunities that were presented on Quay Quarter Tower in Sydney.