Team

I am an engineer who is passionate about performance in the built environment and how it affects people and communities from new cities to tall towers to complex heritage net zero retrofit. People, purpose and performance is my focus.

As a team, business and industry leader, with a quarter century of experience specialising in building services and systems, infrastructure, low carbon and net zero design, I am always looking to drive positive change, performance and real value in the teams and for the clients I collaborate with. What means the most to me is succeeding as a team, creating an environment where everyone can thrive, where personal and communal achievements can be met and most importantly we can have fun doing it! 

My passion is inline hockey and I love a bike ride with friends and colleagues. It’s a great way to meet and socialise with people. The goal or the work we deliver together, be it the puck in the net, a 300km cycle, the tallest Passivhaus Tower in Europe, to getting the kids to school is always a team effort, the outcome a team achievement!

Hi, I’m Isla a Chartered Structural Engineer with experience working across the UK, North America and the Middle East. My project experience ranges from smaller developments such as domestic residences to large high-rise commercial offices. I am responsible for the delivery of projects within Scotland.

I started my career with Thomasons in Guildford, before moving to Halcrow where I was based in Glasgow and Toronto working on local and global projects, producing designs for high profile projects including Canary Wharf, Clyde Gateway, The Emirates Arena and Oqyana real estate. In addition to my core structural engineering experience on building projects I have extensive project experience in large scale onshore and offshore projects having worked with both McDermott and Petrofac.

I have led many successful projects and teams to deliver both simple and complex design solutions overcoming challenges to meet and exceed client expectations. As an approved SER certifier of Design (Building Structures) I am well versed in undertaking design reviews. In addition to this I am a trained Principal Designer under CDM 2015.

Away from work I have a love of travelling which was sparked following a year’s backpacking around Australia and Thailand following University. Of particular interest to me at the moment is Italy. I am currently trying to learn the language with a view to retiring there someday, hopefully to a place with a view and an endless supply of vino!

I’m Katrina and I’m working with Civic on all aspects of their marketing and communications. I’ve worked in the communications industry for over 15 years for a variety of organisations including marketing agencies, premiership football clubs, fire & rescue services, to name but a few. I love really getting to know a company and helping them find the best ways to communicate with the people they need to. Outside of work, I have my hands full looking after my two kids but when I can I enjoy yoga and pilates and holidays to Cornwall. I also have a complete obsession with music that won’t let me let go of my 900 strong CD collection! One morning a week I also teach Community Baby Massage classes to support Mums and babies in my local area, over 300 have attended my classes since I started 6 years ago.

In 2012, I embarked on a distance learning degree in Archaeology and Ancient History at the University of Leicester, balancing my studies with my full-time role. My passion for history led me to volunteer at various research excavations, including Borough Hill fort, Bradgate Park, Pollena Trocchia, and as a visitor assistant at the Sir John Soane Museum. 

In 2017, I joined the University of Salford, gaining invaluable experience on a range of fieldwork and desk-based projects across England, before joining Civic Heritage in 2024. My expertise lies in archaeological desk-based assessments and heritage impact assessments. I particularly enjoy working on projects that enhance heritage assets or lead to an exciting archaeological discovery. Outside of work, I enjoy running and spending days out, exploring new places.

Hi, I’m Dan – Director of Sustainability and MEP at Civic.

Originally from Yorkshire, I’ve spent most of my adult life in Manchester, except three years studying at Imperial College London and a year in France.

I founded Watt in 2012 with visions to shape the future of sustainable, carbon-neutral buildings. We’ve built a team driven by unwavering passion for practical sustainability – combining smart engineering with low-impact design. Among our proudest achievements is delivering the UK’s first net zero carbon affordable homes.

In 2024, Watt joined Civic to scale our impact, expand our capabilities, and collaborate with visionary partners – while upholding the ethos, service, and integrity we’re known for.

I like to maintain a healthy life balance. Outside work you’ll find me with my wife, our two kids and dogs. I love socialising, going to gigs and travelling abroad, especially if there’s a padel court involved.

I’m Aisling, Chartered Civil Engineer and Regional Director at Civic, I’m proud to lead our Dublin office and help grow a practice that puts sustainability and people at the centre of design. I’ve spent over 12 years working in transport and urban infrastructure across Ireland, the UK and internationally - shaping projects from early concept through to delivery. 

Previously, I worked at Arup, where I led several infrastructure projects, and before that, I gained valuable experience working at AECOM in Dublin, New York City, and London. 

I’m passionate about shaping the places we live and work through collaborative, inclusive design and building a team culture that reflects those same values. At Civic, I’m excited to keep pushing for innovative, sustainable solutions that genuinely improve how people move through and experience the places they live whilst delivering work that has real impact in the built environment.

Outside of the studio I love cooking/baking and am currently learning to play tennis.

I am a chartered structural and civil engineer with 25 years’ experience as a designer, manager and director in the built environment and construction industry. I co-founded the Practice in 2011, and am particularly interested in the collaboration between engineering and architecture. I have a substantial portfolio of completed and critically-acclaimed projects across the UK which include new buildings, historic buildings landscapes, streets, strategic plans, sculpture & installations. Self-proclaimed passionate engineer, father of three, optimist. I enjoy music and most sports. My favourite place is the aptly-named Hope Street in Liverpool.  It has everything a great street should have – culture & education in the form of the Everyman Theatre, Philharmonic Hall, and LIPA; good bars and restaurants including the wonderful Philharmonic Pub; Hope Street Hotel; beautiful georgian townhouses on Hope Place and Falkner Street; and good quality public realm that is book-ended by two iconic cathedrals.

I have worked as a structural engineer for 38 years. During this time, I have designed many award-winning schools, hospitals, laboratories and workplaces including AELTCC No. 1 Court, the Royal Albert Hall redevelopment and until recently, I led the 250-strong design team for the Restoration and Renewal of the Palace of Westminster. I have a real passion for multi-disciplinary design, based on the conviction that architects and engineers thinking together from the start of a project create better, more sustainable buildings. I made the transition to a non executive career in 2022 so I could contribute more broadly to the construction sector. I believe in championing engineering as a career for all and have mentored many people throughout my career. I am also a member of the Royal Academy of Engineers Diversity and Inclusion Forum.In 2010, I received an MBE for services to the construction industry and I was awarded Veuve Clicquot Business Woman of the Year in 2011. I am proud to have been the first woman to chair the Association for Consultancy and Engineering (ACE) in its 100 year history and am a past Vice-President of the Institution of Civil Engineers. I have previously been named the ACEs Engineering Ambassador of the Year and received two Lifetime Achievement Awards, one from Women in Construction and in 2020, one from the European Women in Construction and Engineering. I regularly judge awards for the Institution of Structural Engineers, British Construction Industry and Veuve Clicquot. Something that means something to you: Winning the award was such a surprise. It gave me a fantastic platform to promote the value and contribution of engineering to a wide audience and importantly provided me with a network of successful past winners. I meet regularly with them to share experiences, talk business and get inspiration. Having a Veuve Clicquot vine in Reims named after me was an added bonus!

I have a passion and a belief in the critical importance of place, working with the prevailing geography and showcasing the character of the existing landscape. I have developed a particular expertise in the planning, design and delivery of major public realm projects and urban infrastructure associated with the regeneration of villages, towns and city centres across the UK.

The skills I have developed to engineer these types of healthy, active and attractive urban neighbourhoods are broad – civil, transport, highways, flood risk, drainage, utilities, structures, ground remediation engineering – to name some. My fusion of these engineering skills, applying a holistic and creating a broad and more creative approach, is what I promote to the Practice’s definition and successful delivery of Civic Engineering, which is why I am recognised as an industry expert in my field. I am very fortunate to have a yearning for cities.

“If you want to build a ship, don’t drum up the people to gather wood, divide the work, and give orders. Instead, teach them to yearn for the vast and endless sea”
Antoine De Saint-Exupery, Author of The Little Prince

I am an engineer and urbanist directing Civic’s London studio where I lead on civil and structural engineering for projects ranging from the sustainable retrofit and extension of existing buildings to large-scale regeneration and public realm improvement schemes. I am a strong advocate of sustainable design and sit on the New London Architecture (NLA) Net Zero Expert panel where I collaborate with leaders across other built environment and real estate practices to focus on understanding the priorities for London to achieve Net Zero, and the role that the built environment must play in meeting this target. I enjoy teaching and am a visiting lecturer at the University of Creative Arts where I help architectural students get to grips with structural form. In an era of technology and advanced computational software, I am a strong advocate in not losing the art of freehand sketching to help explore and communicate engineering designs. Outside of the studio, I am an avid traveller and spent much of my early profession visiting various countries across the world taking in different forms of architecture and environments.  These days I enjoy taking the train or driving around Europe visiting places a bit closer to home with my family. To keep fit, I like to cycle.  I have completed the Cycle to Mipim (London to Cannes) twice, the latter having the responsibility of being a ride captain.  The trip is life changing.  The shared endeavours and lifelong friends made preparing and riding the 1,000 mile journey is second to none.  The money which we have helped raise for charities with Club Peloton is really humbling.  

I am the Director of Geoconsultancy, leading a team of geotechnical engineers, environmental scientists and engineering geologists. My background is in contaminated land assessment and remediation, with a particular focus on the planning regime.

I am an advocate of sustainable management and use of soils, and am part of the Soils in Construction Task Force – a cross-sector initiative that aims to raise awareness of the importance of soil in developing and supporting a sustainable built environment.

In my spare time I enjoy the outdoors, walking my cocker spaniel Chester and spending time in nature. I also play bass guitar in a band playing in local pubs, festivals and charity fundraising events.

I’m Leah, a chartered transport and street engineering specialist with a keen interest in the public realm and a passion for making healthy, prosperous and inclusive places. I joined Civic in 2016 from Fore Consulting and have previously worked at Buro Happold in Leeds and Alan Baxter & Associates in London. I have worked extensively in development planning and urban regeneration for both public and private sector clients, and have provided strategic advice on transport and infrastructure solutions to support future growth. I have taken a leading role in the preparation of transport assessments, travel plans and design codes helping secure planning permission for a wide range of projects; from office and residential developments to large mixed-use masterplans and urban areas. I lead Civic's transport input on projects across the practice and I also provide advice on sustainable urban drainage systems (SuDS) and civil engineering design. Through the Leeds Chamber of Commerce, I sit on the Climate Emergency and Quality Places and Spaces committees. I spoke about the benefits and delivery of SuDS at the 2019 International Healthy Streets Summit and have delivered training sessions on good quality street design to local authorities.  Outside work I like to bake sourdough bread, go on adventures with my husband and children, and ride my bicycle. I'm the proud owner of a gold cycle helmet: partly because it acknowledges my enthusiasm for cycling and sustainable transport in general; partly because it’s a glamourous way of protecting my head in a world of boring utilitarian cycle gear, thereby representing a fundamental principle of delivering high quality in terms of form and function; partly because it sparks conversation and leads to interesting interactions on my daily commute; and mostly because it makes me look and feel like a superhero… yes?