2025 Judges

Our independent judges bring industry expertise and apply fair, transparent scoring to recognise true excellence in structural timber.

The Structural Timber Awards are judged by a panel of independent industry leaders from across the built environment. Each entry is carefully reviewed and scored against a set of clear criteria, with judging conducted anonymously to ensure fairness, impartiality, and integrity throughout the process.

Andrew Orriss, Chief Operating Officer

Structural Timber Association

Andrew is responsible for the delivery and development of the STA’s quality and competency assurance programme, STA Assure. This innovative programme is at the heart of the Structural Timber industry driving and advancing quality standards.

Andrew has broad experience of zero carbon, offsite construction and sustainable building. Andrew has also been active involved in various “think tank” sessions with NHBC, BuildOffsite, Building Research Establishment, Zero Carbon Hub, CITB, Build UK, relating to use of innovative building materials and processes to improve the construction industry. Andrew has over 30 years’ experience in the construction industry.

Helen Hewitt, Chief Executive

Alex Goodfellow, CEO

Donaldson Timber Systems

Alex is the CEO of Donaldson Offsite, bringing with him 38 years of experience in House Building and Timber Frame Manufacturing.

Becoming CEO of Donaldson Offsite in January 2022, his role is to develop and grow the businesses that sit within the Donaldson Offsite (DO) division, as well as use his wider industry experience to support the use of timber in the growth of the Offsite market in the house building and construction industries.

Alex is the current Chair of Confederation of Timber Industries (CTI) since 2021 and previous Chair and current board member of Structural Timber Association (STA).

Craig Fyall, Technical Director

Tabitha Binding, Education Associate

Passivhaus Trust

Tabitha Binding is Education Associate at the Passivhaus Trust and Development Manager at Coaction Training CIC. Tabitha has a background in timber from forest to sawmill to structurally graded timber products. She has worked on factory production control, and successfully taken timber systems through the ETAG process, and delivered timber buildings on time and on budget.

She has worked onsite, in policy, and in education – from toolbox talks, to FE colleges and HE universities across architecture, architectural technology, engineering, project management and cost consulting. Her ambition is to raise both the quality of builds and the happiness of those who work in the industry, so that we deliver healthy, comfortable, low energy, long lasting homes – from timber.

Steve Wilkinson, Associate

James Gorst Architects

Steve Wilkinson is an Associate at James Gorst Architects where he works exclusively with timber frame construction. Steven delivered the New Temple Complex in Hampshire from concept to completion earning the ‘Winner of Winners’ STA Award in 2024. His fastidiously detailed and technically sophisticated approach was also acknowledged by the RIBA earning him Project Architect of the year.

Steve is committed to promoting the benefits of sustainable timber construction and has presented the practice’s progressive work with the material internationally. He is also involved with a number of timber development industry leaders in progressing the use of timber in the UK.

Valentina Galmozzi, Design Director

AKT II

Valentina, Design Director at AKT II, joined the firm in 2005 as a graduate and is now leading some of the firm’s most complex mixed-use and sustainable projects. Specialising in engineered timber and sustainable design, she has led key projects such as the landmark new engineered-timber hub for UCB Campus in Surrey and the glulam beam and CLT rooftop pavilion at Arding & Hobbs, showcasing timber’s structural and aesthetic potential.

She oversees the engineering for the University of Oxford’s Schwarzman Centre for Humanities, a multifunctional academic facility designed with ‘design for manufacture and assembly’ (DfMA) principles, where a striking timber-and-steel dome crowns the building, spanning 18 metres and flooding the assembly hall with natural light. With a strong passion for sustainability, Valentina now leads AKT II’s internal sustainability forum, writing the practice’s in-house charter and driving carbon innovation, research, and sustainable practices across the firm’s diverse project portfolio. As a judge for the Structural Timber Awards, she brings deep technical expertise and a passion for sustainable design.

Ed Suttie, Director

BRE Group

Ed leads a BRE team delivering projects to decarbonise the built environment, develop net zero pathways, circular economy strategies, deliver health and wellbeing benefits into buildings. Ed has worked with the wider forest products and construction industry for over 25 years on innovative products, asset management and service life. He was part of the team that delivered the timber procurement policy for the London 2012 Olympic Games and his work enabled local timber use in the multi-accolade winning Enterprise Centre at UEA. He contributes extensively to British and European Standards, convening work on the Performance Classification of wood in construction.

Finbar Charleson, Architect & Research Lead

dRMM

Finbar is an Architect and Research Lead at dRMM. In addition to the design of a wide range of building projects, Finbar is committed to advancing the studio’s innovation and research. Building on dRMM’s pioneering expertise in timber design, Finbar is leading the studio’s commitments to ‘Building From England’s Woodlands’ for the Forestry Commission. As an inaugural Wood Lab Research Fellow at the Architectural Association, Finbar worked at Hooke Park, Dorset to develop and define the campus’ innovative approach to homegrown timber.

Finbar’s own research has been recognised by the RIBA Presidents Medals, and commitments to education and campaigning include a primary school design curriculum for charity ‘Climate Change All Change’ and ongoing work as Lecturer in Environmental Design at the Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL.

Gary Ramsay, Editor

Ian Dacre, Partner

Louise Rogers, Impact Manager – MMX

Rosi Fieldson, Sustainability Manager

Lincoln University

Rosi developed an interest in biodiversity and responsible sourcing having worked for Ken Yeang in the late 90s in Kuala Lumpur and further developed these ideas and others working toward a Masters in Architecture and later a PhD whilst working as an Architect for Simons Design. More recently she has published articles with a range of academics and practitioners on whole life carbon and climate change resilience.

Rosi has extensive retail design and construction experience culminating in acting as sustainability manager for the Cheshire Oaks development for Marks and Spencer built by Simons in 2010-12. This ground breaking and iconic project has won many accolades for sustainability performance and has provided a rare case study for effective post occupancy evaluation; it actually uses less energy than as designed.

Currently Rosi manages the sustainability strategy and environmental certifications for Simons Group with a wide remit covering issues as diverse as Social Value, waste and energy management, cycling and knitting. She also undertakes BREEAM assessment for a selected number of projects each year.

Roland Reinardy, Partner

Hawkins Brown

Roland joined Hawkins\Brown initially with focus on Infrastructure and the delivery of Crossrail stations, and with a broader role to enhance the practice’s technical and project delivery capability. In this capacity he has contributed to projects across a range of sectors, notably Infrastructure, Higher Education, Civic and Residential.

Roland has experience in the technical design and delivery of complex projects, including an understanding of engineering, facades and materials. He has previously worked on a range of international stadia and sports projects and multi-discipline teams.

Steve Bertasso, Assistant Professor

NMITE

Joining NMITE from across the pond, Steve Bertasso brings a remarkable depth of experience from the industry to the classroom. With 25 years dedicated to the building industry, he has passionately focused on process improvement, strategy implementation, research, development, and training. His diverse work history spans project management, purchasing, quantity surveying, and managerial roles in all facets of the built environment, collaborating with both large and small companies across various markets and regions, always championing sustainable means and methods. Since 2009, his journey as an independent consultant has empowered clients to create and implement transformative business solutions.

He has innovated new estimating systems, developed cost-effective, sustainable building programs, successfully managed projects across multiple industries, and nurtured talent development. Steve’s remarkable journey has opened doors for him as a sought-after speaker at industry conferences dedicated to green building, LEAN process implementation, and innovative marketing strategies. With a Bachelor of Science in Engineering from Brigham Young University and a Master of Business Administration in Sustainability from Lipscomb University, earned in 2010, he exemplifies the fusion of technical expertise and visionary thinking. His role as an Assistant Professor of Construction Management at Middle Tennessee State University and an Adjunct Professor at Utah Valley University reflects his commitment to shaping future leaders. At NMITE, Steve inspires others by leading short courses in timber and built environments while also teaching in degree programs.

Alberto Jena , Managing Director

Trevor Richards, Operations Manager

Cogent Consulting

Trevor began his working life in the offsite manufacturing sector in 1993 and has worked in and around the sector ever since. Having worked for a large mature multi-site organisation and been in on the first day of a start-up, he has experienced the range of challenges facing manufacturers in delivering successful projects. Trevor has worked with the STA for a number of years now helping put into practice the STA’s Assure certification scheme and continues to do so.