Engineering’s always been a passion. Having taken a year out before university, I worked for eight months at a small engineering company. I then spent four months living in a remote area of Kenya. Together, these experiences opened my eyes to the importance of engineering and how it can change lives. I then went on to study engineering at Cambridge University and, upon graduation, joined the Bath office in 2005.
Immediately, I noted just how much Buro Happold people care about what they do. I’m currently working on the structural design of Lansdowne Road Stadium, the new Irish national rugby stadium. It’s a huge, fascinating project, where I get to work directly with architects, client, contractors and engineers. As you’d expect, my role changes as the project evolves: one minute I’m coordinating with other team members; the next, working with contractors to produce detailed design information.
What keeps me here? Plenty. First and foremost I enjoy it. I’ve made some great friends and it’s a company where I can really get involved rather than disappearing into a big anonymous machine. Anyone can talk to the partners, and anyone can put forward their ideas. If you have a good idea, you can pitch it to the partners and if they think it’s valuable they’ll support it – I’m a trustee of Engineers Without Borders UK and because they like that I am allowed to spend some of my time on that. I’m given the freedom to arrange my time so I can do other things.
What’s more, everyday brings a new technical challenge. We do some very difficult structural engineering, often trying to solve apparently unsolvable problems. There’s so much to consider when it comes to producing a good building – you can’t just do the engineering in isolation, you have to consider architecture, building services, catering, fire, access and much more to create a building that looks great and works well.
So, what you can expect as a grad? Well, don’t expect the work to be easy. Expect to be dropped in the deep end but to be given the support you need. And expect to make some great friends and to work on some great projects.
