Kelly Harrison, Associate Director, Whitby Wood
Associate director Kelly Harrison is a skilled engineer and a leader in the industry’s move to sustainable construction. She is particularly experienced in the design of timber and hybrid structures, refurbishment and retro-fitting, extensions and basements, and working in heritage contexts.
Kelly’s ability to develop strong team and client relationships underpins 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. Before joining Whitby Wood in 2020, she expanded her timber design capabilities partly through taking a lead role in project-led timber research, following through with in-house knowledge sharing.
Notable recent projects in London 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. Other projects include a steel/CLT hybrid scheme with Foster and Partners in Bayswater, a new chemistry building at Charterhouse School, new-build and refurbishment works at Thames Wharf with Rogers Stirk Harbour and Partners, 10-storey atrium glulam/CLT infills at East India Dock, a CLT roof extension in Lower James Street, and StairStalk at Hide restaurant on Piccadilly.
Kelly is a Member of the Board of the Timber Research and Development Association (TRADA). She sits on the editorial advisory committee of the BCSA’s magazine, New Steel Construction, promotes engineering in schools and at industry events, and joined the judging team for the heritage category of the 2019 AJ Architecture Awards and the commercial category of the 2019 Structural Timber Awards. She also speaks at conferences and symposia, contributes to university activities, and is part of the line-up to lecture for the Timber Design Initiatives CPE programme, Edinburgh.
Kelly is a member of the Whitby Wood management team. In 2020, she was named in the Top 50 Women in Engineering: Sustainability list by the Women’s Engineering Society, and in 2021 she joined the NLA Expert Panel on Work.
