The Young Engineers Awards, two years on

Graduate of the Year 2013 William Holley


We're just over a month from the closing date of  the 2015 Young Engineers Awards, which recognise the best of the next generation of building services engineers. To mark the occasion, we spoke to William Holley, Graduate Engineer and winner of the 2013 CIBSE ASHRAE Graduate of the Year Award.

Hi William. So, give us a brief idea of your role at Buro Happold.
Graduate Building Services Engineer at BuroHappold based in the Bath Office.  I am currently working on projects in the Sports, Education and Residential Sector.

In 2013 you won the CIBSE ASHRAE Graduate of the Year Award, what did winning this accolade mean to you?
It was a fantastic honour as everyone on the short-list are extremely talented engineers. It has given me great confidence in progressing in the industry and to be an ambassador for building services

And what projects have you been working on during the last 12 months?
I have been working on a great variety of projects including the Olympic Stadium Transformation, Chippenham College Redevelopment, The Louvre Abu Dhabi and Carlyon Bay

 How has winning the award benefited you?
Winning Graduate of the Year has created a huge number of opportunities such as attending the ASHRAE Winter Conference 2013 in New York.

If you had the power to change one thing in the building services industry, what would it be?
For Building Services Engineers to have a more prominent input from the outset of the design process.  I believe this will help us work more effectively with architects and the client to create a more holistic design.

What do you see as the main challenge for the industry over the next 12 months?
Ensuring that technology and BIM doesn’t take over the role of the Building Services Engineer and that good engineering principles stay at the forefront of good design

What is your favourite building project, and why?
The Punta Della Dogana in Venice by Tadao Ando.  It is a beautiful restoration project and a fantastic gallery space

Who or what has inspired you most in the building services industry?
Attending and meeting all the talented engineers at the ASHRAE Winter Conference 2013 in New York was incredibly inspiring.  The enthusiasm and sheer number of building services engineers made me feel part of a global community.

What do you see as CIBSE’s role in the building services industry?
Providing support for Building Services students and professionals to ensure we stay at the forefront and push the boundaries of the industry

William Holley collects the Graduate of the Year 2013 award


What couldn’t you live without in your daily life?
My daily commute of walking along the river in Bath

What is your guilty pleasure?
Great British Bake Off

What did you want be when you were 10 years old?
From a young age, I wanted to become an architect.  This led me to study Architecture and Environmental Design at the University of Nottingham.    

What has been one of the highlights of your career?
Designing and building a nursery school in rural South Africa with the University of Nottingham which was a fantastic experience.

If you could choose any actor to play you in the film about your life, who would you choose and why?
Morgan Freeman because of the uncanny resemblance.

What is your most useless talent?
Juggling

To enter the Young Engineers Awards or find out more information, visit the site.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Face-to-face or remote training?

Image
With the return to the office and the ‘new normal’ of hybrid working, we have seen the reintroduction of face-to-face training. However remote courses, which enable people to be trained virtually have remained popular, with people expecting both types of training to be available. For corporate training there is no extra travelling required by employees, for either face-to-face or remote training. You can choose your own date and time, and the content can be delivered in either format. So, what are the differences between the two learning options? Preference. The main criterium for choosing face-to-face or remote training is based on people’s concentration level, preferred style of interaction, the learning environment and their digital knowledge, or simply, some people just prefer one learning format to another. Focus. People’s attention span varies. Some people concentrate better when they have someone speaking physically in front of them, whilst others find it easier to follow if t
Read more

Embodied Carbon Award: A step towards net zero carbon

Image
Now in its 15th year, the CIBSE Building Performance Awards is the only awards scheme to celebrate the measured performance of projects and products in use while celebrating the engineering consultancies and manufacturers that are contributing to a low carbon future. Michael Lonsdale Group won the Embodied Carbon Award for its pioneering work with suppliers to create a database of low embodied carbon products that enable it to recommend low carbon building services systems to its clients.  We heard from Michael Lonsdale Group about what this award means to them: Caption: Senior Environmental & Sustainability Manager, Joanna Constandis (right) and Engineering Services Director, Paul Cornwell (left) collecting the Embodied Carbon Award at BPA2022. Industries and businesses throughout the globe have begun to show ownership of their environmental agendas. The significance of the topic has been realised, identifying the need for progress towards Net Zero Carbon. So, when Dame Jo da Silv
Read more

CIBSE Role Models - Emeka Efe Osaji

Image
The CIBSE Role Model series is intended to shine a spotlight on members of our building services community from under-represented groups and backgrounds to inspire and promote diversity amongst future engineers.  As part of our Role Model series this month, we speak to Emeka Efe Osaji a Teaching Fellow in Architectural Technology at the University of Salford, and Treasurer of the CIBSE Energy Performance Group. My name is Emeka Efe Osaji. Personally, I am a son, brother, husband, dad, uncle, nephew, cousin, in-law, and friend. Professionally, I am a Teaching Fellow in Architectural Technology at the University of Salford. I am lucky to be a 2nd-generation Academic, Researcher and Consultant. The steps taken by my parents and others have helped provide me with the right support network and prerequisite direction and clarity. I have kindly received recognition for my humble contributions, including in areas, such as: (1) Energy Certification Compliance Knowledge Transfer; (2) Teaching Ex
Read more