Tim Finlay

Tim is a highly innovative structural engineer and stadium roof designer whose technical excellence has led to him being at the heart of many of Buro Happold’s most inspiring projects over the past 20 years.

He began his career on the back of being awarded Cambridge University’s Archibald Denny Prize for structural engineering and has applied high standards of excellence while delivering projects as diverse as the ArclorMittalOrbit Slide and Budapest National Athletics Stadium.

His intuitive understanding of structural systems and natural enthusiasm have led to him developing his focus on the sports sector and stadium roofs in particular. The innovative tensile roofs at The London Stadium, Education City Stadium in Qatar and The National Athletics Stadium in Budapest have all been shaped by Tim’s input and his development of cable net rapid prototyping tools which underpin Buro Happold’s cable net roof capabilities.

He has also had a significant hand in the development THFC, Everton FC and FC Cincinnatti’s new stadium as well as the development of The Etihad stadium for MCFC.

Outside of sports, Tim leads Buro Happold’s tensile and spatial structures community with an interest in all types of cable and membrane structural systems.

Tim’s enthusiasm for all things lightweight, structurally complex and fun, means that projects such as 90m high slides, tensile membrane walkways and retractable roofs often find a natural home on his desk.