About us
About Us
Balanced Structures is a structural engineering consultancy which was set up in 2021 to deliver high quality engineering design for residential and small scale commercial projects. Our London team Paul, Nick and Valentina are spread across London allowing us to combine our engineering expertise with local knowledge. Our overseas team support our London engineers allowing us to provide a high end high effort servivce at an afforable price.
Together as Balanced Structures we have successfully delivered over 250 residential and commercial projects
Paul Hutter
Paul set up Balanced Structures in 2021, having worked for 15 years for large consultancy companies in London and Sydney, including 10 years at AKT II where he was a Design Director. Paul is a chartered structural engineer with the IStructE and is an interviewer for the IStructE as part of the charted professional review.
He is hands-on in helping and developing integrated architectural and structural solutions on projects, based on innovative ideas and collaborative working. He is also passionate about ensuring all his projects balance his environmental aspirations with the client’s needs.
Paul has an overview on all of our projects ensuring they are technically correct and delivered on time. Some of his previous projects include 30 Grosvenor Square (the former American Embassy) South Bank Tower, HyLo (Finsbury Tower), Sainsbury Laboratory, Dubai Creek Footbridge and Lincoln St Marks.
Nick Cheek
Nick is an Associate Engineer with over 15 years of experience and manages our East London projects. Since Nick joined Balanced Structures in 2022, he has led our technical design forum and specialized in Historic and listed structures. This has included the refurbishment of a grade II listed town house in Kensington, feasibility studies on the German Church in Kensington, and the retrofit and extension of Folley Cottage, a flint cottage in the Dedham Vale area of natural beauty.
Prior to joining us he worked as an Associate Director at IESIS where, as part of the Islington Square development, he delivered the conversion of the Grade II listed Royal Mail sorting office into residential flats. Nick has also worked on a range of high-end domestic scale projects including the UK’s first PassivHaus basement, Chiswick Eco Lodge and the refurbishment of Eaton Square, which is within the Grosvenor Estate, with Eric Parry Architects. Nick is passionate about charity work and has completed several projects with Article 25, including The Bethel School in Burkina Faso.
Valentina Onori
Valentina is a chartered engineering with over 13 years of industry experience and manages our South London projects. Valentina joined Balanced Structures in 2023 having spent 10 years at AKT II. Whilst at AKT II Valentina worked closely with Paul, Krzysztof, and Marian and on award winning project such as South Bank Tower, Kensington Odeon and the Stirling price winning Kingston University Town House.
Valentina, brings her large scale construction experience, knowledge and professionalism to our team. Valentina is based in South London and will help us provide local knowledge and expertise to this area of London.
Krzysztof Zdanowicz
Krzysztof is an Associate Engineer with 13 years of industry experience and heads our Polish office.
Prior to joining Balanced Structures, Krzysztof worked at AKT II in London as a Parametric Designer and a Structural Engineer for eight years. Krzysztof led the design of Macintosh House, an extension of the King Edward VII private hospital, and worked on the rejuvenations of Finsbury Tower (HyLo) and 81 Newgate Street (BT center). In 2020 Krzysztof moved his family back home to Poland, and he works remotely for us from there
Marta Szyszkowska
Marta graduated from Gdansk University in 2021 and spent one year working for a local engineering firm before joining Balanced Structures at the start of 2023. Since joining Balanced Structures, Marta has worked on a wide range of commercial and domestic projects, including our Ranulf Road project. This whole house renovation included expanding the existing half basement and replacing the existing floors with a steel and concrete frame.
Marta has grown quickly into a key member of our team and is currently responsible for our CAD standards and our embodied carbon calculator. Marta has a keen interest in sustainability and plans to enrol in a part time engineering masters course which will focusing on sustainable and natural building materials.
Marian Chirianu
Marian joined us at the end of 2021, having previously been an Associate Engineer and Team Leader at AKT II, where he met Paul, Krzysztof and Valentina. Whilst at AKT II Marian led the design of the Stirling Price winning Town House, for Kingston University and the RIBA award winning The Ray, Farringdon.
Marian is passionate about sustainable design and leads the technical design of our bespoke timber projects. This includes the new entrance building for Alleyn’s School and the Riverside Lodge which is an exposed timber cascading extension.
Marian is a chartered Structural Engineer with the IstructE and worked in London for 8 years before returning to Bucharest, he works remotely for us from there.
Jan Domeracki
Jan joined our Polish office, having graduated from Gdnask University with master’s degree in civil engineering. Prior to joining Balanced Structures, in 2023, Jan gained site and design experience, working on medium scale insitu and precast concrete construction, with local firms in Poland.
Jan has worked on a range of domestic and commercial projects since joining Balanced Structures. His work includes the design of our twin semi-detached houses in Decoy Avenue. These high-end properties have a double height atrium and half basement.
Jan is already a key member of the Balanced Structures team and is responsible for managing our 3-D engineering software and its integration to BIM models. Jan is a keen amateur cyclist and brings his high intensity and high effort approach needed for his cycling to all his engineering projects.