Ryder Architecture’s former Research Director will lead on Cundall’s sustainability and innovation for the North East region.
Global, multidisciplinary engineering consultancy, Cundall, has announced the appointment of Dr Olli Jones as Head of Sustainability for the North East. Olli joins Cundall’s head office in Newcastle upon Tyne after five years as a Research Director at Ryder Architecture.
With a PhD in human experience and environmental psychology, Olli’s interests lie in the intersection between people, society, nature and the built environment. His expertise is in delivering strategies and policies focussed on decarbonising and transforming our cities with a focus on resilience, adaptation, and regeneration. All of this is driven through innovative sustainable materials, technologies, and policy.
Olli is driven by a healthy planet, healthy people philosophy – an enduring belief that regenerative practices will create healthier people, societies, environments, and economies. He was named among the construction sector’s top 500 green construction influencers globally in 2019 and recognised as one of the UK’s top 100 sustainable design visionaries in 2021 by the UK Design Council.
Olli continues to lecture at universities where he shares his expertise with their architecture, engineering and environment departments. His passion for sustainability in the built environment has led him to co-host Futurebuild’s FutureX podcast, which focuses on building a global community of innovators and thought leaders to bring new green technologies, materials, and processes to market.
Dr Olli Jones’ appointment in the North-East marks a pivotal step for Cundall, given the practice’s recent commitment to Zero Carbon Design 2030, an ambitious pledge that means that by the end of this decade, Cundall will only work on projects that are delivering net zero carbon.
Commenting on his new role, Olli said: “I am excited to be joining Cundall. When I heard about Zero Carbon Design 2030, I had to be part of it. It’s the biggest commitment to a greener, cleaner, healthier future that I have seen from any business in the sector. We have one shot to fix this, the rate of change and disruption in our sector grows exponentially by the day. The challenges we face are systemic and, therefore, require systemic transformation, new ways of thinking and real innovation. It is an unbelievably exciting time to be working in the built environment. It’s even more exciting to be working alongside some of the brightest minds in the industry leading the transformation.”
Simon Wyatt, Sustainability Partner at Cundall, commented:
“Olli joins Cundall with a wealth of expertise in sustainability research and innovation. While his appointment is pivotal to the North-East, it is also indicative of global growth for our entire sustainability team. I have no doubt that the knowledge he brings with him and the passion he has to his expertise will serve as an inspiration to his colleagues around the globe. We are delighted to welcome him into our head office and to Cundall’s global sustainability team.”
Cundall’s global sustainability team has grown from 79 people to over 150 in the last two years.