People News

Focused on cleaner air and a better environment for all.

Kathryn Woolley is a Principal Air Quality Consultant in our London office.  

I joined Hoare Lea…

…as I wanted to work in an organisation that was focused on creating the best possible environment for the occupants of a building. Since joining I have found that people at Hoare Lea really care about how spaces make you feel when you step inside and mean it when they talk about ‘bringing buildings to life’, and ‘engineering human experiences’. As such, it seemed a natural choice for me to work here based on our shared motivation and drive.

My interest in the implications of poor air quality…

…comes from a very personal place. I have severely asthmatic younger siblings and from an early age I was aware of the impact poor air quality had on them.

The best thing about working in air quality…

…is the variety in work – every day is different! You might be undertaking an indoor air quality audit to try to improve people’s living and working environments in operation one day. Following this you could be tasked with predicting operational impacts of proposed developments during the design process to find ways to reduce the emissions into the surrounding environment at completion.

What really excites me about the industry…

…and what I do, is how the increased in media coverage on air quality has altered peoples’ perceptions. People are now far more likely to seek out the information and air quality data available to them, or even purchase air monitoring equipment for their own homes. The availability of technology means that we can now design truly intelligent buildings, which understand air quality levels, both inside and outside, and react to this in real-time to provide the best environment for its users.

When I am not hard at work…

…I love to travel and see new places and experience new cultures and food. I like to spend my evenings exploring London’s restaurants and bars. I recently got back from exploring Iceland’s rugged south coast and went to a popup event for the opening of the Nyetimber Secret Garden at the Rosewood London Hotel!