Born in London, Tristan Simmonds studied structural engineering at the University of Bath and found inspiration in the lightweight structures of Sir Ted Happold and the mathematical and computational techniques of Alistair Day and Chris Williams for the generation and optimisation of structural and aesthetic form (form-finding).

Tristan worked at international consulting engineers Arup for 13 years as a specialist in lightweight and complex geometrical structures where he worked on many international projects, on secondment in Honk Kong and Japan and was a founding member of the Arup Advanced Geometry Unit (AGU).

In 2002 Tristan was responsible for designing the sculpture Marsyas for artist Anish Kapoor at the Tate Modern and has since collaborated in design many large and complex sculptures for artists including Antony Gormley.

Tristan has given talks on his work and assisted in design workshops in Europe and the USA and also tutors at the Architectural Association.