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’.
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| Testing the model using the heliodon |
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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.
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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.
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