BEng (Hons) CEng MIStructE
DIRECTOR, ESG Impact Strategy, UK

“We need to decarbonise. Now is the time to make a real difference.”

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.

Kelly is the driving force behind Whitby Wood’s ongoing development of its Route to Zero plans, which are based on analysis of the carbon impacts associated with our projects and business practices. She also leads our participation in the the Optoppen Project, a Built by Nature-led consortium of UK and European partners in the development of an open-source interactive website that will enable city planners and asset owners to quickly understand the vertical extension potential of their buildings.

Notable current projects include Anthony Timberlands Center for Design and Materials Innovation at the University of Arkansas, USA, showcasing mass timber construction; and Human Nature’s Phoenix development of 750 low-carbon homes in Lewes, UK. She is working on the refurbishment and vertical extension of a number of commercial buildings in London.

Previous London projects include the expansion of the Old Gramophone Works in Kensal Rise, transformed from a three-storey factory to a six-storey commercial building using a glulam/CLT frame; Grade II listed building work in Bedford Street involving the commercial refurbishment/vertical extension of 1950s buildings; and 10-storey atrium glulam/CLT infills at East India Dock.

Kelly is a Member of the Board of Timber Development UK (TDUK). She promotes engineering, ESG and optoppen at industry events, speaks at conferences and symposia, judges technical, structural and architectural competitions, and contributes to university activities including tutoring at Central Saint Martins, University of the Arts London, and lecturing at the Universities of Arkansas, Liverpool and Newcastle.

In 2020, she was named in the Top 50 Women in Engineering: Sustainability list by the Women’s Engineering Society. In 2021, she joined New London Architecture’s Expert Panel on Work, investigating the future of the office and implications for workers. She is currently partnering with UK FIRES and University of Bath for a PhD focused on the zero carbon resource pool.

Anthony Timberlands Center, University of Arkansas, USA
competition-winning design for an applied timber research centre
Optoppen Project (optoppen.org), UK and Europe
web platform showing the densification potential of lightweight vertical extensions
Timber Beacon, Glasgow, Scotland, UK
demountable pavilion designed for COP26 (unrealised)
Zodiac, Croydon, London, UK
adaptation and refurbishment of striking 1960s complex
Low embodied carbon guidelines for Aldar properties, UAE
portfolio and typology review to help refine design briefs/use more low carbon materials