Martha Godina is a Postdoctoral Research Associate in the Centre for Natural Material Innovation at the University of Cambridge. Her work at the centre is focused on the research project WOODCIRCLES funded by Horizon Europe, aimed to exploit the circular potential of wood construction. In particular, she is looking into the development of novel construction materials using recovered wood from the existing building stock – Urban Forest – across Europe.
Martha has an interdisciplinary background with a bachelor's degree in architecture, a master’s degree in lightweight roof structures and a PhD in structural engineering. Her PhD thesis entitled “Design methodology for bamboo structures – a study of bamboo reciprocal structures” was focused on the use of digital technologies for determining the physical, mechanical and geometric properties of bamboo culms for their input into the design and construction processes. She also has industry experience in architecture in Mexico and in structural engineering in the UK. Recently, she completed a research project as part of the Sustainability Scholarship 2021 funded by the Worshipful Company of Constructors – and with support from Elliott Wood, CIOB and UCEM – to investigate the strategies for salvaging and repurposing timber elements from existing buildings. She is interested in the sustainability and the circular economy in the built environment, material reuse and the use of natural materials in construction, the use of digital tools and parametric design for the AEC industry and the relationship between geometry and structural behaviour for the understanding and design of efficient structures.