TRISTRAM CARFRAE

Tristram Carfrae is a structural engineer, Principal Director and Arup Fellow.

He is responsible for the design of an impressive array of award winning buildings and is regarded internationally as a leading designer of sporting stadia and light weight long-span structures.

Tristram is behind the design of The Water Cube - Beijing’s National Aquatics Centre for the 2008 Olympics. He also boasts an impressive portfolio of facilities created for the 2000 Sydney Olympics, including the RAS Exhibition Halls, the Dunc Gray Velodrome, and the Olympic Tennis Centre.

Tristram has collaborated with many of the world’s leading architects, including Renzo Piano, Richard Rogers and Philip Cox, on projects where the structural form is itself an aesthetic statement.

He has also helped design six structures that have won Special Awards from the Institute of Structural Engineers (IStructE) – the world’s premier structural accolade. No other structural engineer has achieved this.

Tristram believes that good buildings should consume less materials, energy, time and money while at the same time providing greater amenity. He has a reputation for challenging the established way of doing things, to explore better solutions, moulding both materials and people to his vision.

This unique approach has produced some of the world’s most exciting structures including the City of Manchester Stadium, Singapore Expo, Aurora Place in Sydney, Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre and San Nicola Stadium in Bari, Italy.

Tristram is a member of the global Arup Group Board, and chair of the Global Buildings Board. He is one of nine Arup Fellows (out of a global staff of 7,000). This accolade honours those who have significantly contributed to the firm’s reputation for excellence in innovation and design and designates him as a leader with the role of ensuring this continues.

In 2006 Tristram was appointed as a Royal Designer for Industry (RDI) by The Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufacturing & Commerce (RSA) in recognition of his achievements in engineering design.

He was also awarded the Milne Medal by the British Group of International Association for Bridge and Structural Engineering (IABSE), which recognises his work as a designer and his continuing contribution to design excellence.

Tristram is named as one of Australia’s Top 100 most influential engineers. He was Australian Professional Engineer of the Year in 2001.