The people behind LEAN structures

I set up LEAN structures in 2020, after twelve years working as a structural engineer in London and Myanmar — most recently setting out a 25-year masterplan for a 14-hectare hospital complex in Yangon, and its sister project in Sittwe: seismic assessments, strengthening and phased redevelopment across more than 60 buildings, some dating back to 1890.

Before that, I worked on Passivhaus, heritage and high-end residential projects in London, including lifting and underpinning Eaton Square, a six-storey Victorian terrace, for Eric Parry Architects, and 32a Lansdowne Drive, a partially submerged, Passivhaus-certified house that won the UK Passivhaus Awards’ Urban category in 2016. I became a Chartered Engineer with the Institution of Structural Engineers in 2020, the same year I started LEAN structures.

I still carry out hand calculations where appropriate, so software remains a tool for efficiency rather than a substitute for engineering understanding. Where a project genuinely requires it, I also use finite element and CFD modelling to investigate more complex behaviour. Alongside the analytical work, I have always valued practical experience: I’ve fitted out timber staircases and micro-lodges on site, and carpentry continues to sit naturally alongside my structural engineering work.

Each year I run a seismic design workshop for architecture students at Oxford Brookes University, where they build and test model towers.

Outside work: restoring and modifying classic vehicles, throwing pottery, 3D printing, running a 1.5ha vineyard, most of it in service of the same habit, being creative.