Industry involvement.
Southwest Women in Construction.
It’s been a busy year for the Southwest Women in Construction group. Here’s a few events they’ve been involved in recently.
Leah Jarvis and Andria Roe were hosts at the SWWIC site visit to Barne Barton – a residential regeneration project we have been working on with Clifton Emery Design and Lovell Homes. Clifton Emery led an informative briefing and tour sharing insights on the 10-year journey, a look into the extensive community consultation and how local feedback shaped the design.
Rachel Paginton and Hannah Hurley attended a site visit and guided tour of the Newton Abbot Market Hall development, exploring the history and transformation of the Grade II listed building into a vibrant new community hub.
Last month was the Annual Women with Influence lunch at Shilstone Manor. There was an inspiring talk from Dr Karen J Dickens, learning about her remarkable career and reflections on leadership and authenticity in a male-dominated industry. They enjoyed some very welcome sunshine and company, raising over £500 for RSPCA Litte Valley Animal Shelter and Jeremiah’s Journey.
The CIBSE Bronze Medal.
Ruth Kelly Waskett won the CIBSE Bronze medal at the President's awards for her continued contribution to the industry.
Congratulations Callum.
Callum Chamberlain was runner up at the CIBSE Apprentice of the Year up in London.
Callum was recognised for the passion he has shown every day since joining Hoare Lea. He is fantastic engineer and an awesome collaborator for Southwest Next Gen group where he has brought early careers people from Construction Industry together.
BCO success.
One Station Hill won at the National BCO Awards. The 275,00 sq ft Grade A office in the centre of Reading was awarded Commercial Workplace winner.
It is part of an £850m masterplan to revitalise the area and the judges recognised it as “a building designed to meet the evolving needs of the modern work force and attract top talent. This brave landmark project demonstrates the crucial role that a well-designed workplace can play as a catalyst for re-generation.”
We were pleased to provide MEP, fire, acoustics and sustainability, security, vertical transportation, façade access and air quality services on the project.
Josie Young has also been shortlisted as one of British Council for Offices NextGen Rising stars in the Southwest. Since joining Hoare Lea Josie has consistently shown diligence and enthusiasm, becoming a Principal Consultant and Discipline Lead and has developed an expertise in energy services.
The Oxford Climate Awards.
The Life & Mind Building won the Green Building and Design Award. The award celebrates a pioneering approach to low-carbon, nature-connected architecture. The Life & Mind Building took the win due to it being a bright, collaborative space designed for discovery and equipped for the future.
The build brings together the departments of biology and experimental psychology and is connected to a circular energy sharing network, meaning its predicted energy use is 40% below net zero carbon targets for labs.
Well done to all those who have worked on this project over the years.
IHEEM Conference and Awards Dinner.
David Iroegbunam and Nick Nicholson attended the IHEEM Conference and Awards dinner in Manchester. The awards recognised the hard work people put in to making the industry what it is today.
Home to the Pilgrims.
Archie Adcock attended a site visit hosted by the Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB) and Ward Williams at Foulston Park - the future home of the Plymouth Argyle Academy, Plymouth Argyle Women’s team, Plymouth Albion, and the Argyle Community Trust.
The visit included a project overview and tours of the new academy building, community pitches, and preparatory works for the 3G pitch — which was impressively laid in just a few days.
CIBSE YEN – Belgium.
In September, Joshua Humpage, David Iroegbunam and Tejas Pragnesh joined the CIBSE West Midlands Young Engineers Network (YEN) on a two-day visit to Daikin UK’s manufacturing facilities in Ostend and Bruges, Belgium. The group gained an exclusive, behind the scenes look at Daikin’s production processes, from inverter compressor assembly lines to the latest R32-based heat pump modules; as well as an insight into upcoming CO2 VRF modules.
Magdalena award.
A big congratulations to Magdalena Wudecka from our Birmingham office who was honoured recently as the CIBSE West Midlands region Engineer of the Year. Magda was nominated for her consistently high level of delivery for clients as well as her presence and support for the next gen of MEP engineers. We're very proud to have her in our team.
IHEEM West Midlands event.
Our Birmingham office hosted the IHEEM West Midlands group. The evening consisted of two talks from Hoare Lea, one from Magnus Leask and the second from Ryan Elliot. The talks were informative and interactive to those in attendance and started some interesting debates regarding where Healthcare is going and what the future holds.
Cornwall Construction Summit 2025.
We exhibited at the Cornwall Construction Summit 2025, the leading event for construction professionals across the region.
The event brought together builders, consultants, suppliers, and local leaders to connect, collaborate, and shape the future of construction in Cornwall. James Nunn, from our Exeter office and a member of the Cornwall Constructing Excellence Committee, played a key role in helping coordinate the event, managing the trade stands and ensuring a warm welcome for all visitors throughout the day.
IHEEM and SoPHE.
The Norther branch of the Society of Public Health Engineers (SoPHE) presented at the IHEEM Healthcare Exhibition & Conference. Amanda Stanley was part of the team on the stand and spoke to more than 85 people who wished to know more. Amanda also had the opportunity to to present at the IHEEM exhibition on ‘Water Scarcity and bacterial control in healthcare’ under both the banner of CIBSE SoPHE and Hoare Lea.
Amanda says:
“It will be interesting to see how Healthcare can move into the ‘Water Neutrality’ where chemicals in both the grey and black water systems, are currently not permitted, and unable to harvest directly. The only current solution to is to reach lower targets is by offsetting in the local community.”
Success at SoPHE for Harry and Juliana.
Harry and Juliana attended the Young Engineers Plumbing competition in June at Southbank Technical College. They were paired up with students and had a number of problems to solve and questions to answer.
At the annual SoPHE (Society of Public Health Engineers) dinner held at the Royal Lancaster Hotel on Thursday 6th November the awards were presented with Harry achieving 2nd place and highly commendable being awarded to Juliana.
Harry’s award is an opportunity to travel to Ghana with the Sponsor, Village by Village to assist the volunteers helping rural and remote African villages.
Tour de Toshiba.
A few of our Plymouth team were invited to the Toshiba Factory in Plymouth and given an overview and physical demonstration of their USX high-capacity heat pump, and VRF system tour. It was great opportunity for some further learning and hands-on experience.
The Midlands Construction Ladies Lunch Event.
Members of our Birmingham office take part in the annual Midlands Construction Ladies Lunch at Bank. The afternoon consisted of networking and meeting other women within the construction industry. There were also talks from the organisers and a guest speaker. This annual event recognises the brilliant work women do within our industry and the work being done to influence more women to enter it.
A special shortlist.
Michal Dengusiak and Jakub Ziolkowski have had a paper shortlisted for special issue in the Journal of Building Physics. The title is “Bridging BIM and BEM: Efficient Generation of Building Energy Models Using the Sustainable Analytical Model (SAM)”.
This is a fantastic recognition of the groundbreaking work they’ve undertaken, and a great opportunity to further develop and showcase our digital innovations.
Cath becomes Chair.
Cath Macpherson has been appointed as the new chair of the BCO’s Southwest committee. president of the BCO in July this year. Cath has been involved with BCO since 2017 when she became a judge for the body’s South awards. She’s said:
“I’m really pleased to be taking on the role of chair for the BCO’s Southwest committee. As chair, I want to bring more of an occupier’s perspective to the committee, which is why I’ve already invited a couple of new members from that side of the market.”
A busy time for Saleh.
Saleh Abiyati spoke at the Building Services Forum, presenting on the critical topic of "Overheating and Current Indoor Air Quality Issues within the Residential Sector."
The presentation highlighted evidence-based strategies—both passive and mechanical—to improve indoor air quality and mitigate overheating risks in new builds and retrofit projects.
He is also working with Gael Vilatarsana on a topic for the CIBSE Symposium 2026. Their abstract, titled "Inclusive and Low-Carbon Mechanical Retrofit in Healthcare," has successfully passed the first stage.
This project highlights the challenges and solutions involved in retrofitting mechanical systems within a live healthcare environment, focusing on energy performance, acoustic comfort, and inclusivity for diverse occupants.