Meet the Team — Beyond Carbon

Joel is a highly experienced leader in environmental building design, specialising in natural daylight, Passivhaus and climate resilience. He has a PhD in natural daylight in buildings and has worked on a range of Passivhaus projects from large-scale housing to offices to CL3 laboratories. His focus is on highest quality and best value buildings that delight occupants, and he speaks regularly on better buildings and the challenges of climate change.

Chris Swinburn is a mechanical engineer with over 14 years’ experience in the construction industry. He has worked on numerous Passivhaus projects including student accommodation, small- and large-scale housing, and was the Passivhaus consultant for University of Oxford's first certified Passivhaus. He has a keen eye for detail, and an encyclopaedic knowledge of complex buildings and how to ensure they are low energy and low carbon.

Ciara graduated from Queen Mary’s, University of London with BA (hons) in English. She has applied her skills with language and communications to her high-level business operations and administration roles, with nearly 20 years’ experience spanning policy development, ISO9001, Investor’s in People, quality assurance, executive assistance and HR. Ciara brings a person-centred, values-led approach to business administration, introducing innovative ways of working, such as Slow Holidays.

Amber holds a Bachelor’s degree with qualified teacher status in Communication Technology and Computer Science, and has over 10 years’ experience in the education sector.
Throughout her career Amber has taught in IT, Media, Business and Computer Science departments, specialising in practical IT skills, and is now applying her wide range of skills to support Beyond Carbon’s operations and people.
Amber’s diverse hobbies include reading, baking, boxing, weight-lifting and embroidery, and she is also a fair-weather gardener.

Wendy is a qualified architect with a wealth of experience of whole life carbon assessment as well as Passivhaus and EnerPHit design.
She enjoys working collaboratively to create healthy and sustainable buildings that bring people joy. Analytical and thorough, she thrives on the challenges of a complex project, and loves communicating process and outcomes as clearly as possible -preferably with a carefully honed diagram or chart.
Wendy volunteers at a local nature reserve and enjoys holidays by train.

Lorenzo is an energy and sustainability engineer with over 9 years’ experience in the construction industry, and leads our London team.
He has extensive Passivhaus expertise, from project design to site delivery. Drawing on his background in construction and architectural engineering, he fosters dialogue between disciplines in design teams, and champions the use of cutting-edge digital tools to optimise sustainable, low-carbon design.
In his spare time Lorenzo enjoys DIY, photography and Crossfit, and is striving to make the perfect sourdough loaf.

With a background in architecture and environmental design, Emma has over 10 years’ industry experience across a broad range of building physics, passive design and sustainability engineering disciplines.
She takes a holistic approach to building design to construct comfortable, healthy places, with a particular focus on reducing moisture and overheating risks.
Emma enjoys DIY, gardening and learning British Sign Language, and is retrofitting her house as she strives to live a low carbon, zero-waste lifestyle.

Anton is a building physics engineer and a qualified Passivhaus Consultant specialising in optimising building detailing and performance with PHPP and thermal bridge analysis. He joined us after achieving his Master’s in Mechanical Engineering, and has worked on a variety of retrofit projects and Passivhaus multi-residential and commercial new builds, with a focus on delivering the highest possible quality spaces for people to exist in.

Shabnam holds a Bachelor’s degree in Architectural Engineering and a Master’s in Sustainable Architecture. Her passion for sustainable design is deeply rooted in her hometown of Yazd, known for its enduring and environmentally conscious architecture. With a strong connection to nature, Shabnam is an avid hiker and climber, bringing her love for the outdoors into her design philosophy. She is dedicated to creating architecture that harmonises with nature and promotes sustainability.

Luna is our Passivhaus Pup. She has 4 years’ experience as a therapy dog, helping many people inside and outside of Beyond Carbon feel happier with her presence.
Her skills include cuddles, paw-shakes and doing appealing ‘Disney-eyes’, and she makes friends with everyone she meets.
Her hobbies include river swimming, stick chewing and stealing leftover food.

Our Team