USEFUL SIMPLE - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Civil Engineer
- Chartered Civil Engineer
Amy is a Chartered Civil Engineer with over 10 years' experience in both technical engineering design and construction management.
Her focus is sustainable drainage, flood risk management and civil infrastructure coordination from strategic master planning to concept and detailed design for smaller developments.
Starting her career with a leading UK contractor, she has built-up wide-ranging expertise founded on an understanding of constructability. She has recently helped to lead projects including the coordination of the Bridgewater Masterplan and flood defence strategy, design of the complex flood defence scheme at Albert Island and the development of The Belfry Hotel & Resort.
She enjoys working on projects to maximise benefit to the environment and communities and has held voluntary positions with Raleigh International in India and Engineers Without Borders in the UK. With a passion for sustainable development, she also holds a PgCert in Environmental Water Management from Cranfield University.
Job Titles:
- Sustainability Consultant
Anna is a sustainability consultant with two years' experience in the built environment sector. Previously working at the UK Green Building Council coordinating their Advancing Net Zero and Social Value programmes, Anna developed a strong understanding of sustainability concepts in the built environment and worked closely with industry stakeholders in the pursuit of sustainable goals. Her achievements included the co-development of reports including the Framework for Defining Social Value, the dissemination of the industry leading Net Zero Carbon Buildings Framework Definition as well as the authorship of a thought piece addressing the just transition to net zero carbon.
Anna has a first-class degree in Geography (BSc) from Bristol University; she is passionate about the climate and ecological crises and social inequality and chose to centre her studies around climate science and policy. Wanting to be part of the solution, Anna brings her enthusiasm into projects with an overarching aim to support positive outcomes for people and the planet. To support her existing experience, Anna is also working towards becoming a Chartered Environmentalist.
Job Titles:
- Associate
- Member of the Useful Studio Team
Barbara is a long-standing member of the Useful Studio Team and leads design development and production across our projects.
Prior to joining Useful Studio Barbara spent three years at Rafael Vinoly Architects, working on 20 Fenchurch Street (aka walkie-talkie), and three years at Hamiltons Architects where she was involved with a luxury villa development in Mallorca, a mixed-use masterplan in Birmingham and a residential tower in Old Street.
Barbara graduated from the University of Buenos Aires with a first-class honours degree and registered as an architect in Argentina in 2000.
Carolyn is a socio-economic consultant at Useful Projects with an academic background and professional experience in sustainable economic development.
After completing an undergraduate degree in International Development, Carolyn gained experience as an Economic Development Associate with the Canadian consulting firm Research on Investment where she analysed data on the economic and social value creation of potential projects to help guide the decisions of public sector clients across North America and Europe.
Before joining the Useful Projects team in August 2021, Carolyn completed an MSc in Political Economy at the London School of Economics. There, she was engaged as a Researcher at the LSE's Policy Lab, and gained essential research and data analysis skills.
In her time at Useful Projects, Carolyn led the socio-economic needs analysis for East West Rail and was instrumental in the development of their Social Value Strategy. She has also conducted local needs analysis projects for South Western Railway and several major masterplans, to inform strategy development.
As Head of Sustainability for the Studio, the wider Trust and our sister brand, Expedition Engineering, Carrie has experience working in architecture, environmental design, and building performance research.
A Chartered Environmentalist, and sustainability and building performance specialist, Carrie's passion for architecture and the environment combine to create her key technical, analytical, and communication skills. With this, she is able to work with clients to implement business strategy, project management, design, and innovation to achieve the most sustainable results.
With sustainability at the core of her work, Carrie has developed and managed consultancy and research projects that advised on energy consumption, waste, materials, and behaviour change for major developments across the globe.
Carrie is a keen learner and holds a PhD, MRes, MSc, and Part 1 & 2 architecture qualification (MArch & BSc). She is also on the NLA Expert Panel on Tall Buildings, the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea Quality Review Panel, the Architects Declare Steering Group, and UST Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Group.
Catherine founded Useful Studio in 2013 and directs the practice while also serving on the Executive Board, as Deputy Chair, for the Useful Simple Trust. She is actively involved in Social Enterprise UK and B Corp UK, serving as Co-Chair of the B Corp Built Environment Group.
Catherine is a highly experienced designer in architecture, urbanism and in public realm including footbridges. Her lean design approach and social purpose is fuelled by a passion for efficiency and positive impact which results in a natural timeless elegance in her work. The early years of her career focussed on planning and urban design working with WRT in California on significant environmental projects including strategic masterplans for Mission Bay and Balboa Park in San Diego as well as a townscape scheme for Santa Cruz. During a decade at Foster + Partners, as Associate Partner, Catherine's key projects included Albion Riverside affordable housing with the Peabody Trust, the Millennium Bridge and the Thomas Deacon Academy.
Her first degree in Environmental Design was at the University of Colorado, Boulder and she has a Masters of Architecture from the University of Pennsylvania, where she was granted scholarships for academic performance throughout, graduating top of the class. Her education also included a year in Copenhagen.
Charlotte is a qualified architect with a broad range of experience in many sectors including commercial, residential, education and transport. She is committed to projects that maximise social value and positive change.
Since joining Useful Studio Charlotte has been working on a zero-carbon retrofit of a Listed Building in Leeds and a public realm scheme and campus masterplan for Buckinghamshire New University to support their Nature Positive Pledge.
Previously Charlotte worked at Haverstock Associates on Grade I Listed Dover Town, and several SEND and SEN schools. She has worked at Squire+Partners on an office retrofit scheme, on several residential schemes at Eric Parry and significant transport projects at Weston Williamson, including Paddington Crossrail and HS2. She studied at the University of Nottingham and the Bartlett School of Architecture before completing her education at Westminster University.
Job Titles:
- Chartered Engineer
- Energy & Carbon Consultant
Daniel is a Chartered Engineer specialising in Energy and Low Carbon Consultancy. He is on the steering committee for the CIBSE Energy Performance Gorup and was a contributing author to the LETI Climate Emergency Design Guide. Daniel is also a BREEAM and SKA Assessor.
Job Titles:
- Principal Sustainability Consultant
Gabriela is an architectural and urban designer with a specialism in sustainability consultancy for the built environment. She has a Masters in Renewable Energy and Architecture and is a BREEAM AP, WELL AP and Fitwel Ambassador.
She has experience in building performance simulation for indoor environmental comfort and has produced energy and sustainability strategies for a variety of projects, from small schools to masterplans.
Gabriela is actively engaged with CIBSE Building Simulation Group committee and sits on the Somerset West and Taunton Quality Review Panel.
Joseph Paget is an architect with an enthusiasm for sustainable design, conservation and the inherent connection between the two fields. He sees opportunities for material re-use and building repair as a means to retain character, memory and minimise waste.
His work in practice draws on earlier experience in London, Bristol and New York. Before joining Useful Studio, Joseph worked at Project Orange as project architect on-site at The Moorings Sociable Club, a playful restoration of a 1970's community centre in Thamesmead.
Joseph learned to design with a sensitivity towards buildings and their context whilst working at Purcell on a new visitor centre to a Grade-I listed chapel and the refurbishment of the Grade-II* listed brutalist Clifton Cathedral. He developed his technical design skills and completed his professional studies in small design-led practices, working on the remodelling of a Brooklyn brownstone house and a range of works to buildings across London for private and professional clients.
Our core team includes architects, master planners, and engineers bringing together complementary skills and expertise. Between us we have extensive experience of delivering many types of buildings and structures of varying scale and complexity from concept to completion.
We are highly pragmatic and our Clients tell us it is our ability to give practical advice and get things done that helps us stand out.
If the project requires it we can draw upon our sister companies within the Useful Simple Trust to assemble a tailored project team of experienced practitioners with backgrounds in engineering, environmental design and sustainability, planning, research and communication design.
Lily holds a MEng in Structural Engineering and MArch in Architecture from the University of Sheffield, with an inherent desire to combine complex problem solving with creativity.
With a range of experience across the Residential, Leisure, and Education sectors, ranging from private homes to larger public buildings and mixed-use schemes, Lily is passionate about social and environmental justice, and is particularly interested in the role of the built environment in delivering this.
She believes that architecture should be accessible to all, both in terms of the occupation and use of physical space, as well as an increased diversity in education systems and in practice.
Neil's diverse experience includes the feasibility, design and delivery of a variety of challenging mixed-use, commercial, residential, educational and historic building projects. He has proven expertise in working with both modern and traditional materials for new and existing buildings; oftern through the addition of new storeys, extending floorplates and the construction of basements.
Since joining the Trust, Neil has been working on maximising the potential of several commercial and residential developments in prominent London locations. He has also contributed to a variety of pre-planning feasibility studies to assist with unlocking sites and the on-going development of proposals.
His keen interest and working experience of numerous construction forms and techniques allows him to develop economic, low-risk, structurally efficient and durable solutions which maximise the potential of the brief, provide added benefit to building users and help retain the asset value of the development over the long-term.