A long-haul architectural education
Karolina Harris began her career in British schools of architecture, completing the full route through to professional qualification. She first earned a bachelor’s degree (RIBA Part 1) at the University of East London, then completed RIBA Part 2 at Oxford Brookes University.
She went on to the University of Westminster, where she obtained a Master of Architecture followed by a postgraduate diploma in professional practice (RIBA Part 3). This final course placed strong emphasis on contract law, planning law and project management, skills that would shape the rest of her career.
Alongside her studies, she spent eighteen months working part-time as a client adviser at Louis Vuitton in London. There she gained first-hand insight into the world of luxury and the expectations of its clientele.
Conran & Partners, a school for high-end hospitality
In December 2014, Karolina Harris joined Conran & Partners, the practice founded by Sir Terence Conran. She spent three years there as a designer, working mainly on high-end hotel projects. Her contributions included the interior refurbishment of Andaz Amsterdam, a white-label project for IHG in Amsterdam and interiors for Mandarin Oriental.
The practice also entrusted her with high-end residential work, including the fit-out of The Founding at Canada Water for British Land and the Gabriel Square project. She gained a detailed understanding of design development, furniture, the various construction stages and regulatory compliance.
Gensler, learning the ropes of major projects
In November 2017, she joined Gensler in London as a Project Architect. She remained there for more than five years, working for developers and key accounts on large-scale office and hospitality projects: Bishopsgate, Station Hill, Fidelidade, an IHG hotel and the Club Space for British Land.
She was responsible for the design and delivery of Cat A and interior fit-outs, leading in-house teams and external consultants. She explains that during these years she learned to balance creative ambition with commercial constraints in running projects. She has worked on schemes ranging from more than £100 million, or around €115 million, to smaller-scale fit-outs.
Crossing over to the operator side at IHG
In May 2023, Karolina Harris switched sides and joined IHG Hotels & Resorts as Design Manager. Based in London, she joined the EMEAA Design & Engineering team as a development architect, tasked with supporting the growth of the group’s European portfolio.
On new builds and existing hotels alike, she ensured that projects met group standards, industry best practice and the positioning of each brand. She followed projects from signing through to opening, safeguarding design consistency and stakeholder alignment.
As a member of the sustainability team, she also contributed to the rollout of the Journey to Tomorrow programme, specifically its strand covering architecture, interior architecture and the built environment.
A profile rooted in sustainability
An ARB-registered architect and RIBA Chartered Member, Karolina Harris is also a BREEAM Accredited Professional and has completed the BCO NextGen programme. She cites strong expertise in the BREEAM, LEED, WELL and NABERS frameworks, and describes her approach as firmly sustainability-driven.
Dubai and Aman’s Europe
In June 2026, she joined Aman as Design Manager for Europe, leaving London for Dubai. She only made this new step public in early October, on LinkedIn, presenting it as a new chapter in her career.
Her arrival coincides with a period of organisational structuring at the group, marked notably by the appointment of Victor Clavell as Chief Operating Officer of Aman Group at the start of the summer.
Analysis – Karolina Harris’s career, bridging architecture practices and the technical teams of a global operator, matches the needs of a group whose pipeline is growing rapidly. In recent months Aman has announced Amanolu, its first resort in the Maldives, and Aman Seoul, its first address in South Korea. For a brand where architecture and interior design carry much of the perceived value, mastery of the design and delivery of European projects becomes a strategic lever.
At a glance by The Hospitality Tribune
Karolina Harris: from Conran & Partners to Aman
Design Manager, Europe at Aman since June 2026, based in Dubai
Design Manager at IHG Hotels & Resorts (2023-2026), EMEAA Design & Engineering
Project Architect at Gensler (2017-2023), Designer at Conran & Partners (2014-2017)
RIBA Chartered Architect, ARB registered, BREEAM Accredited Professional
