Elle Thomas, one of CIBSE's '30 under 30', on the front cover of CIBSE Journal!

Elle Thomas is among the nine Ambassadors who have been recognised for redefining the industry through paying forward their experience and learning. Elle has been chosen for her commitment to inspire, mentor and lead, particularly in the field of low carbon design.

Since joining our practice in 2019, Elle has delivered a diverse range of projects, become chartered with CIBSE, co-chairs our Women and Minority Groups network, and lectures and tutors in environmental design for MSci Architecture students at the Bartlett, UCL. 

Her teaching approach, rooted in building physics principles, gives the architecture students a grounding in the importance of building services and passive design, equipping them for the design challenges they'll encounter in a changing world. Elle leads by example, listening and asking questions to fully understand the position of others before presenting considered solutions. 

Elle's vision of the future of building services engineering includes a shift towards a whole-building, holistic approach, and sustainability-first, with retrofit as the norm. She believes that closer collaboration with architects will achieve better outcomes for sustainability aspirations, with clients and design teams on board from the outset. She also believes that diversity will save the day, positively influencing strategy in favour of sustainable and inclusive design.