Kalliopi Florides, Director of Kitall, reflects on planning reform, skills, sustainability and digital transformation shaping the future of UK construction
To begin, could you share details of your career history and how you came to be in your current role?
I graduated with a master’s degree from Imperial College London in 2012 and began my career at Waterman Structures, working on complex, high value steel and concrete projects including Google’s UK Headquarters, Victoria Gate Arcades, and the Piccadilly Lights redevelopment. During this time, I developed a strong grounding in technically demanding commercial projects and became chartered with the Institution of Civil Engineers in 2019.
In 2021, I moved to Vancouver to join Fast + Epp as a Senior Project Manager, where I gained experience in mass timber, seismic design, and tall buildings on projects such as Walmart’s new headquarters and high-rise residential developments. I later joined Mercer Mass Timber in a senior leadership role spanning business development and preconstruction, contributing to strategic growth, organisational integration, and major contract negotiations.
After four years in Canada, I returned to the UK to take up a director role at Kitall. The practice specialises in structural engineering, temporary works, and building safety related services. What drew me to Kitall was its collaborative culture and its ambition to deliver innovative, sustainable solutions to complex structural challenges while continuing to grow as a business.
Looking ahead to 2026, what do you see as the biggest opportunities and challenges for the UK construction sector, particularly in the context of the autumn budget?
The autumn budget sets out significant ambition across regeneration, housing, skills, and private sector investment, but there is a growing sense across the industry that ambition continues to outpace delivery. Targets are repeatedly announced, yet the mechanisms required to achieve them remain largely unchanged.
Planning reform has been positioned as a priority for successive governments, but the system remains slow, overly discretionary, and inconsistent. Even schemes that are fully policy compliant can be delayed for years by prolonged determination periods, repeated consultation, and subjective decision making at local level. These delays add substantial cost, increase risk, and directly undermine viability, particularly for mid-scale and regional developments. As a result, projects stall, ambition is diluted, or investment is redirected elsewhere. There is widespread scepticism within the industry that the housing and regeneration targets set out in the budget are achievable under the current framework.
Meaningful reform requires more than rhetoric. It demands a clear shift away from discretionary planning toward faster, rules-based routes to consent. Expanding permitted development style rights, introducing clearer national standards, and enabling automatic approval for compliant schemes would materially improve certainty and delivery speed. Without this, planning will continue to be the primary bottleneck, regardless of funding levels or political messaging.
Beyond planning, delivery capacity remains a serious constraint. Many local authorities are under resourced and struggle to progress schemes efficiently, even where funding exists. At the same time, the skills shortage across both design and construction continues to place pressure on programme, cost, and quality. While investment in skills and training is welcome, these initiatives are long term and do little to address the immediate challenges facing live projects.
Overall, the budget signals intent, but intent alone will not deliver outcomes. Without decisive and overdue action to simplify planning, improve delivery capacity, and address near term skills pressures, many of the opportunities it identifies are unlikely to be realised in practice.
The skills gap remains a pressing concern. How can the industry attract and retain the next generation of engineering and construction talent?
Attracting the next generation requires a shift in how the industry presents itself. Young people want careers with purpose, clear progression, and a sense that their work matters. Construction and engineering need to be far more direct about the role they play in shaping communities, delivering housing, and addressing long-term societal challenges.
Retention is equally important. Better structured early careers, stronger mentoring, genuine investment in training, and clearer pathways from apprenticeship through to professional qualification all make a real difference. Improving site culture and working practices is also critical if people are to build long term careers in the industry.
One emerging factor is the impact of AI on the wider labour market. As automation begins to reduce the number of entry level office-based roles across many sectors, more young people will reassess what a secure and future proof career looks like. Construction offers skilled, practical work that is far less exposed to automation because it relies on physical delivery, judgement, and coordination. If the industry can communicate that clearly and support it with accessible training routes and visible progression, it can turn a long-standing skills challenge into a genuine opportunity.
Kitallis known for its work on complex, high value projects. What lessons from these large-scale developments can be applied to smaller, regional infrastructure schemes?
Complex projects quickly show that successful delivery depends as much on how teams collaborate as on technical design. On large programmes, early and structured collaboration is essential because the scale and risk leave little room for inefficiency, and that lesson translates directly to smaller regional schemes.
A key takeaway is the value of engaging all stakeholders early around a shared set of objectives and a consistent information base. When teams are aligned from the outset, decisions are clearer, risks are identified earlier, and design change is managed more effectively, reducing rework and delay.
The tools used on major projects, such as shared models, common data environments, and clear communication protocols, can be applied just as effectively at a smaller scale. Ultimately, what matters most is mindset. Collaboration is not about more meetings, but about shared purpose and accountability. When teams genuinely work this way, smaller schemes can achieve efficiency and quality that rival much larger developments.
Sustainability is now a baseline expectation rather than a bonus. Where do you see the greatest potential for meaningful carbon reduction across design, materials, and delivery?
The greatest opportunity for carbon reduction sits in the earliest stages of design, where structural form, material selection, and construction methodology are established. Decisions made at this point have far greater impact than later mitigation measures and often reduce carbon without adding cost or programme risk.
Structural efficiency is critical. Rationalising grids, avoiding over specification, and prioritising reuse of existing assets can significantly reduce embodied carbon. Material choice also plays a major role. Lower carbon concrete mixes, reduced cement content, recycled steel, and, where appropriate, structural systems such as mass timber can deliver substantial savings when considered early and supported by the right technical strategy.
Delivery also matters. Early engagement with suppliers, optimised temporary works, and increased off site fabrication reduce waste, site activity, and transport emissions. Meaningful carbon reduction comes from integrating design and delivery decisions, not treating sustainability as an add on at the end.
How is technology transforming structural engineering and temporary works, and which innovations are proving most valuable on live projects?
Digital modelling and simulation are transforming how structural and temporary works solutions are developed. They allow rapid iteration, giving teams much clearer insight into risk, buildability, and programme impact. For temporary works in particular, digital rehearsals of sequencing, lifts, and site constraints significantly reduce uncertainty during critical construction stages.
Automation is also adding value. Parametric tools accelerate repetitive calculations and enable engineers to test a wider range of options more efficiently. On live projects, sensors and digital monitoring provide real time performance data, improving safety and reducing unnecessary intervention.
Many firms talk about being digitally enabled, but few truly embed it into their workflows. How is Kitall approaching digital transformation in practice?
Kitall approaches digital transformation as a practical enabler rather than a separate initiative. Digital tools are embedded directly into project workflows to support coordination, decision making, and clear communication with clients and contractors.
We focus on consistent data structures, interoperability between disciplines, and giving teams access to live, reliable information. Technology is only adopted where it demonstrably improves outcomes. This ensures digital capability is genuinely embedded into how we work rather than sitting alongside it.
You’ve worked on global landmark projects such as the Google HQ and Walmart Campus. What common threads or lessons stand out across projects of this scale and ambition?
Projects of this scale are defined by clarity of ambition. In each case, the client had a strong long-term vision and was willing to invest early in design, testing, and innovation. That clarity sets the tone for the entire project and enables confident, well-informed decision making.
Another common thread is the integration of performance requirements beyond structural efficiency. Engineering must support adaptability, operational performance, and long-term resilience, which shifts the role of the engineer from problem solver to strategic advisor.
These projects also reinforce the importance of whole life thinking. Decisions are tested not just against cost and programme, but against longevity and flexibility. That perspective influences how you approach projects at every scale.
In an uncertain economic climate, how can consultancies and contractors maintain resilience and agility while still pushing for innovation?
Resilient organisations balance strong governance with flexibility. Clear processes, financial discipline, and transparent communication provide stability, while empowering teams to innovate enables agility.
Diversifying project portfolios also helps, as does maintaining strong relationships with clients and supply chain partners. Early collaboration and shared risk management create resilience while still allowing innovation to flourish.
The industry is under pressure to decarbonise and deliver faster. Do current regulatory frameworks and procurement models support that ambition, or hold it back?
The picture is mixed. Policy ambition is strong, but procurement often prioritises lowest cost over long-term value, creating tension for teams trying to deliver better environmental outcomes under tight budgets.
To move faster and cleaner, procurement and regulation need to reward early collaboration and whole life performance. Some public sector clients are leading this shift, but broader consistency would accelerate progress significantly.
Finally, what’s your personal outlook for 2026 and beyond?
I am optimistic about the direction of the construction and engineering sectors. The industry is becoming more integrated, more digitally mature, and more focused on sustainability and long-term value.
What excites me most is the shift toward purpose driven engineering. Whether improving resilience, reducing carbon, or supporting regional regeneration, the work increasingly aligns with wider societal goals. That makes the future of the profession both meaningful and energising.
Kalliopi Florides
Kalliopi Florides is Director of Kitall. Kitall is dedicated to shaping a better future through innovative and sustainable design. With years of experience and a team of passionate engineers, the company provides expert consulting services in civil and structural engineering, along with specialised expertise in temporary works.