Emily McDonald is an Associate at Buro Happold, part of the team leading the London Structures Group - she has a particular interest in socially responsible and sustainable development and her most recent projects have seen her leading wide ranging multi-disciplinary teams reflecting her role as a construction professional. In addition to her group and project responsibilities, she leads the not-for-profit International Development initiatives within Buro Happold alongside her colleague Franck Robert. Emily has been a Trustee of the Happold Trust since 2007 and has continued to be an active and vocal member of the board despite this period also having seen her give birth to two children!
Emily graduated with a Masters in Engineering from Cambridge University in 1996. After a period of volunteer work in Tanzania with Health Projects Abroad, she joined the Special Structures group in the Bath office of Buro Happold. After two years in the design office it was time to get her feet dirty, so she spent a rewarding year on the site of the Millennium Dome learning to deal with the challenges of fast pace construction. From there she transferred to the joint architectural and engineering firm FTL Happold in New York City, USA where she led a team of engineers and designers. She then worked for the highly respected New York firm of structural engineers Robert Silman Associates, PC working on a range of projects from new build sustainable offices to refurbishments of historic townhouses. In 2003 she returned to her native England and joined the Structures team in the Buro Happold London office. Her recent projects are an eclectic mix, demonstrating the breadth of her interest in holistic construction. Examples include: Haberdasher's Aske's, Knights Academy, Lewisham; Chatham Place Redevelopment, Reading; National Film and Television School, Beaconsfield; Bermondsey Square Regeneration, London; The Cutty Sark Conservation Project, Greenwich.
Emily has been a Member of the Institution of Civil Engineers since 2000; a member of RedR (Canada) since 2003; and after being shortlisted for the NCE/ACE Young Consultant of the Year Award in 2007 she was asked to join the Association of Consultants and Engineers (ACE) Membership panel.