Founding Director & Royal Designer for Industry (RDI)
Neil Thomas is a highly influential British structural engineer and the founding director of Atelier One, a creative engineering studio established in 1989. Renowned for a holistic approach where “form follows function,” Thomas treats engineering as an integral part of architecture rather than a separate discipline. His portfolio is exceptionally diverse, ranging from landmark buildings like the Gardens by the Bay in Singapore to iconic staging for global events, including U2’s 360° World Tour (the “Claw”) and the London 2012 Olympics Opening Ceremony. A pioneer in material innovation, he has recently focused on carbon fiber and the structural potential of bamboo. Thomas is also a respected academic, having held visiting professorships at Yale, MIT, and the Royal College of Art, and he co-authored Liquid Threshold, a celebration of two decades of expserimental engineering.
