Darren Baker

Darren Baker is a Partner and Senior Consultant at Melin Consultants and has been with the company since joining in 2008. During that time, he has helped develop the commercial consultancy side of the business while building strong relationships with clients across a wide range of sectors.

Darren oversees the day-to-day running of the commercial consultancy team, helping to manage workloads, support colleagues and keep projects moving. Although he has a leadership role within the business, he still spends much of his time carrying out technical assessments and working directly with clients. He enjoys the variety that brings, whether it’s helping to solve a complex design issue, supporting colleagues on challenging projects or seeing a building perform as intended once it’s complete.

His main area of interest is building physics and understanding how buildings perform in the real world. He enjoys looking beyond simple compliance to help clients create buildings that are energy efficient, practical to build and comfortable to use. His work includes SBEM assessments, dynamic thermal modelling, operational energy assessments, life cycle assessments, daylight calculations, condensation risk analysis, thermal bridging, U-value calculations as well as residential, commercial and Passivhaus air tightness testing. Having experience across these different disciplines allows him to look at projects as a whole rather than focusing on just one aspect of building performance.

Earlier in his career, Darren qualified as a Passivhaus Designer, giving him a solid understanding of low-energy building design. Although the accreditation has since lapsed, many of the principles still influence the way he approaches projects today.

What Darren enjoys most is working with architects, developers and contractors to find practical solutions to technical challenges. He believes that good advice should be straightforward, honest and tailored to each project, helping clients understand the requirements without overcomplicating the process.

Outside of work, Darren enjoys spending time with his family and getting stuck into DIY projects. He also enjoys exploring the UK in his motorhome and is actively involved in grassroots football, coaching young players and supporting his local club. For Darren, seeing a project or a team develop over time is one of the most rewarding parts of both his professional and personal life.