NEWSLETTER 05, SUMMER 2008

From the Course Director

Welcome to the IDBE Newsletter. May and June are prime recruiting months so please pass this on to anyone who may be interested in joining the course. But be reassured – I’m not planning to produce newsletters ever two months as a routine.

The March-April residential week had as its studio project the feasibility of using ski-lift or cable-car technology as a means of public transport to support waterfront regeneration in the Medway towns, Rochester and Chatham. It was run by Jeremy Purseglove and Ian Hesling-Gibson from Mott McDonald, and was a project they had undertaken commercially.

Visionary proposals for stations in the Medway towns

A number of interesting proposals emerged, although most teams identified a wide range of issues to do with capacity, maintenance and visual intrusion which appeared insoluble. No prior examples were found of their use in urban contexts, and the shared conclusion across the teams was that these systems are only feasible as tourist attractions. Commuters, shoppers and other local users would benefit from more prosaic options like river taxis and/or bridges.

The future of public transport in Chatham

The theme of the residential week was sustainability. We heard from a variety of specialists - academics, an agent for major developers, an architect and an engineer – their perspective on the sustainability agenda. David Adamson presented the findings of a series of nationwide workshops supported by Urban Buzz to report back to government on the views of various key stakeholders from the public and private sectors. Ian Cooper facilitated a discussion about priorities in relation to climate change. 

Where are they now?

Profile: M.T. “Vijay” Vijayendran, New York State Department of Transportation

M.T. “Vijay” Vijayendran (IDBE1, 1994-1996) grew up in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) but moved to London in 1972 at the age of 17. He studied civil engineering at the Polytechnic of Central London, graduating in 1977 and passing the final exams of the IStructE in 1979. Two years later he moved to Canada to work in the petrochemical industry, and two years after that to New York, where he worked on curtain walling for several prestigious projects. 

In 1989, a section of concrete from the Williamsburg Bridge came loose, fatally striking a motorist waiting at a traffic intersection below. The New York City government created a Bureau of Bridges to monitor infrastructure deterioration, and Vijay joined them, spending two years inspecting and repairing 14 major crossings within the City limits.

In 1992 he transferred to the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT), where he has been ever since. From 2000 he was project engineer in charge of the 600 state bridges in Long Island, and five years ago became Senior Transportation Maintenance Engineer, with a team of 70 employees maintaining all New York State highways and related structures in West Suffolk County.

Vijay had always maintained strong ties to the UK including as a US representative of the IStructE. In the IStructE journal in late 1993 he saw an advertisement for the IDBE course, faxed his details, flew to the UK in March 1994 to meet the course team, and joined the first IDBE cohort in September 1994.

For his IDBE thesis, Vijay planned to write about bridge joints, but was persuaded instead to study bridge aesthetics in design. He joined a committee within the NYSDOT created to review this same topic. During an early review meeting of proposals for the Roslyn Viaduct for Oyster Bay, Vijay argued the sheer size of the structure would cast deep shadows on the surrounding area. Although surprised by the criticism, committee members were eventually convinced and the bridge was redesigned to be physically lighter and more transparent.

Shortly after receiving his MSt, in 1998 Vijay took on the reconstruction of the two-mile long Robert Moses Causeway over the Great South Bay. He discovered that an earlier design inspection had underestimated the true extent of deterioration. Costs were forecast to triple from $36 million to $100 million, bringing a halt to the project. Vijay set about painstakingly researching the entire history, and documented his findings in layman’s terms, modelling his narrative on IDBE course work. His report persuaded the State Comptroller to finance the project, and auditors who interviewed Vijay considered his exemplary methods should be adopted by the Department throughout New York State. On 30 June 2000, the bridge was reopened, bringing Vijay numerous accolades, and promotion.

Robert Moses Causeway over Great South Bay

Amazingly, Vijay was also involved in the aftermath of 9/11. Because of his responsibilities for bridge safety, he had received training from the New York State’s Police Academy on handling emergency situations, such as those related to extreme weather conditions and vehicle accidents. At the time of 9/11, he was director of bridge maintenance, and had equipment and crews ready to respond to bridge emergencies. On the night of 9/11 he was asked to assist the emergency service personnel clearing the damaged zone around Ground Zero.

Profile: Mark Key, Copeland Borough Council

For Mark Key (IDBE12, 2005-2007), a fascination with buildings began as a child growing up on the west coast of Cumbria. His grandfather, a mason, took Mark with him on jobs he carried out for friends and family in his spare time.

Mark began his career as a bricklayer for a Cumbria-based building firm in 1983, and moved on to become a construction technician for two civil engineering firms.

With the regional economy in recession in the 1990s, he took a post in 1995 as clerk of works and project officer for Copeland Borough Council and became a building control officer in the Western Lake District area of Cumbria.

In April 2008 he was appointed Building Control Manager, with responsibilities for building standards on construction projects ranging from domestic extensions to large commercial projects at the Sellafield Nuclear Plant.

He is also project managing the procurement and installation of new software for the Council’s Building Control, Development Control and Legal Departments.

In 2001, Mark enrolled on a distance-learning BSc in building and conservation management with Nottingham Trent University at York College. His dissertation addressed the role of lime mortar in 21^st century construction, focusing on the relative merits of it in comparison with cement mortar. His account earned him first class honours and he was awarded the York Guild of Building’s 2005 silver medal.

Just as Mark was completing his BSc he read Ken Hannah’s article in the Chartered Institute of Building Journal ‘Construction Manager’ about the IDBE programme. He saw this as an opportunity to continue his research into contemporary masonry, and enrolled in September 2005 as part of cohort 12.

His thesis, Investing in Bricks and Mortar: Sustainable Options for Low/Medium-Rise Masonry Buildings explored what types of materials are most effective in terms of providing a protective and energy-efficient surface for building structures, while also being adaptive in terms of maintenance and renovation.

“Masonry needs to evolve,” Mark explains. “The old way of solid masonry and solid wall systems needs to be reconsidered to ensure future adaptability and accessibility for insulation, and so on. However, achieving an aesthetically pleasing masonry finish externally by placing the insulation on the internal face of external walls can result in the loss of thermal mass. Finding the best solution will be a major challenge for the masonry sector.”

The Folly, Duddon Hall

Award-winning restoration and extension of 'The Folly' at Duddon Hall in the Lake District, for which Copeland Borough Council is the building control authority.

NEWSLETTER 04, MARCH 2008

From the Course Director

Welcome to the IDBE Newsletter! This is a new initiative, although I rapidly discovered that three printed newsletters were produced in the 1990s. In the interests of accuracy, I’m calling this newsletter number four.

The IDBE course goes from strength to strength. The 2007 intake – IDBE 14 – was our largest ever at 23 students. They include eight from architecture, five from structural engineering, two from civil engineering, two from building services engineering, one from fire engineering, two from construction management, two from surveying and one from design management.

Their first residential week included making a physical model of an office and assessing daylight and sunlight in the environmental laboratory. We also attended the RIBA Research Symposium entitled ‘Reflections on practice’.

Testing the model using the heliodon

The December residential week was a joint one attended by cohorts 13 and 14, making 31 on the course. The studio project was for part of the National Institute for Research into Aquatic Habitats. This is intended to be a south Midlands equivalent of the Eden Project in old brick-pits south of Bedford, and resulted in some excellent studio proposals. Dr Michael Carroll managed the project.

NIRAH proposals by Team Winston

During the residential week in December we were treated to a visit from the Trustees of the Ove Arup Foundation and their Advisors. The Foundation originally funded the setting up of the course and later provided further support. The Trustees, chaired by Richard Haryott, now wished ‘to see the course in action’. They sat in on lectures and studio work, and quizzed the students. This meant, as was revealed later, asking them ‘what’s wrong with the course?’ Fortunately the replies were satisfactory. At a wrap-up meeting afterwards, the Trustees were full of ideas for improving both promotion of the course and its delivery, and this newsletter is one of the direct results.



Where are they now?

Profile: Vikram Lall, Lall Associates, New Delhi

Vikram Lall (IDBE 1998-2000) is principal of Lall & Associates in New Delhi, India, a firm created in 1987 from an engineering firm his father founded in 1969. Ten-strong, the firm has over 200 architecture and planning projects to its credit. Among the more widely known projects he has designed are the Impact Gardens at Amristar, the Buddha Smriti Park at Patna, the Hotel Maurya, Patna and the Akshardham Temple Complex in New Delhi, the latter of which is one of the largest developments of its kind in the world.

Vikram has gained a strong national reputation both as an architect and lecturer, and has received numerous awards for his work. He has been honoured by the President of India for his urban design for the area surrounding the statue of Lok Nayak Jaiprakash Narain at Patna and commended by the Governor of Bihar for his conjecture model of the ancient city of Patliputra, which is now one of the most popular features in the museum at that site.

The work of the practice was recently featured in the February 2007 issue of Architecture + Design, which highlighted two educational campuses that he is currently working on: Delhi Public School in Ludhiana and the Praxis Business School in Kolkatta.

Delhi Public School, Vadodara

Both were cited as positive examples of contemporary design and planning, and were described by the magazine as multifunctional and environmental.

Vikram has been an early adopter of Building Information Modelling (BIM) software, which allows both more effective engagement with design issues and the participation of clients and consultants at every stage of the design process. His use of Autodesk’s REVIT system prompted company officials to honour him for “leadership, excellence and innovation” in 2007.

One of the main themes of Vikram’s work is to engage in what he calls “holistic planning,” a concept he credits learning about during his time at Cambridge. As resources and skilled labour can be limited, exploring how to creatively use both money and local workforce effectively. He is also enthused by encouraging clients to consider and appreciate Indian design, so that his buildings are both distinct and contextual. “People here are plugged into economics and politics. Design comes low in the pecking order of things in India and is generally perceived as something for the rich. But design can be part of a project without significant additional cost and in some cases can contribute to efficiency and prove a good investment.”

The dynamic between Indian and international design is a theme that Vikram often explores in his work, both as an architect and an author. His thesis at Cambridge, entitled “Globalisation and the Built Environment: The Constant in the Change,” looked at this topic from cultural, political and economic aspects. 

In subsequent publications, Vikram has continued to outline some of the underlying issues in this debate. In the February 2007 issue of Architecture + Design, Vikram wrote that “Locating architecture within this discourse has been a central concern of my work; while attempting to address the issue of constraints of scarce resources and technology, as well as evading the seductions of globalisation, I have tried to seek what is appropriate to the developing society.”

Profile: Fiona Cobb, Price & Myers, London

Fiona Cobb (2003-2005) is an associate with Price & Myers in London. She was named Young Consultant of the Year 2007 by New Civil Engineer magazine and the Association of Consulting Engineers. Fiona was selected for the award from more than 40 applicants. The NCE/ACE judges’ citation said that “her belief in communicating the importance of the role of engineers in society is an example to all, as is the time she spends educating young people about why engineering is fun.”

In her 1,000-word essay for the NCE/ACE competition, Fiona wrote that her experience with the IDBE programme had enhanced her awareness of “how engineering input and the design process can affect the quality of the finished building.”

Fiona grew up in Dundee, where her father was an offshore engineer and inspired her interest in engineering. She graduated in Civil Engineering and European Studies at Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh. She joined the Edinburgh-based engineering consulting firm Harley Harrow Partnership before moving to the London office of Price & Myers in 1997.

Fiona has worked on more than 180 projects, including the renovation of several Grade I Listed buildings at Westminster School, the refurbishment of the Queen’s Galleries at Buckingham Palace and a modern flat within an old brick brewery in Venice, Italy. Her favourite areas of practice are “building conservation, environmental sustainability and modern architecture” and finds her work “incredibly satisfying”.

Before joining IDBE, Fiona wrote an engineering reference guide - The Structural Engineer’s Pocket Book - of which the first edition was published soon after she started the course. More than 12,000 copies have been sold! She is now working on the second edition.

Fiona’s IDBE thesis was entitled ‘How green is a BREEAM excellent rating?’ Her ambitions were to check measured energy use in buildings that had been highly rated at the design stage under the BREEAM assessment system. Ultimately, it proved impossible to obtain measured data, which in itself says a good deal about the assessment method. Nevertheless Fiona assembled a good deal of evidence about energy efficiency in buildings, and was able to question a number of assumptions within BREEAM and recommend a number of improvements to it.

In addition to her professional commitments, Fiona volunteers as a Science and Engineering Ambassador under the government-sponsored Science, Engineering, Technology and Mathematics Network (SETNET) which aims to encourage children to study maths, science and engineering.

In the news: Andrew Wylie and Mark Key

Andrew Wylie, IDBE 13, is project engineer for the £112m reconstruction of the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford. He was interviewed for an article about the project in New Civil Engineer, 22 November 2007, under the heading ‘To build or not to build’ (sic)

Mark Key, IDBE 12, was featured in the March 2008 issue of the CIoB journal Construction Manager in an article devoted to his time on the IDBE course.

Recruitment 2008

We are now recruiting for entry in September 2008 and have a large box of brochures to distribute. Please contact Becky if you would like some. The pdf version is downloadable on the website. The brochure contains general information and details of course dates and fees.