From assessment and remediation projects for Defence, to other large-scale remediation projects across New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory, his work continues to make a lasting impact on history and communities.

A core leader in ArchTam’s Defence Environment team, Peter also brings diverse experience from working across utilities and government organisations, where he became adept at navigating mature frameworks and robust systems. He is highly experienced in managing large teams and complex programmes of work.

Peter is a people person who, above all, thrives on getting the job done while always keeping the best interests of his clients and team top of mind.

What have been the most rewarding projects you’ve worked on in your career?

One that stands out was an assessment project that required stepping back in time. I was part researcher, part historian, diving into archives to piece together history about the site. As an author, I was hands on uncovering records, piecing them together and analysing risks. It was challenging, detailed work that demanded both problem solving and persistence.

I’ve also been fortunate to work on many large-scale assessment programs and remediation projects, which are technically challenging and often involve risky scenarios. One example is an asbestos remediation project. While these projects can be complex, they’re also incredibly rewarding because of the variety and very tangible public health outcomes for communities. I’ve had similar experiences in the utilities sector, where leading major programmes carried the same mix of complexity and community impact. Those roles broadened my perspective and strengthened my ability to adapt approaches across different industries.

What skills do you draw on most when leading Defence projects?

Communication is critical. Defence has processes to follow, layers of responsibility, and representatives from different backgrounds, so communication, both written and verbal, must be clear and precise.

Defence is also very mature in how it manages land, with established guidelines and policies that must be followed carefully. Having an experienced team around me is key, and for new team members, we always hold onboarding meetings to set expectations and align on processes from the start. That foundation sets everyone up for success.

How do you build strong client relationships on complex projects?

For me, it always comes back to being present and engaged. Regular face-to-face meetings are invaluable — you can pick up on the questions and nuances that don’t always come through virtually. On large projects or programmes, this consistent communication helps align scopes and stakeholders, keeping everyone moving towards the same purpose and goal.

I also take a hands-on role, reviewing reports and staying close to the detail. That involvement gives me confidence in the quality of what we deliver and reassures clients that their needs are front and centre. It’s about being part of the solution, not just overseeing it from a distance. This approach has been particularly important when leading large multidisciplinary teams, where fostering alignment and a “best for project” mindset ensures we deliver the right outcomes for clients and communities.

How does your work translate into positive environmental outcomes?

At its core, contaminated land management is about reducing risks to human health and the environment. The most obvious impact comes during the cleanup phase, when we assess and remediate contaminated land for beneficial reuse and it’s made safe for use again.

Outside of the Defence sector, one project I’m particularly proud of was a nature-positive remediation project that remediated sediments on a shoreline. We then hand planted that shoreline with mangrove seeds, resulting in the reestablishment of the native mangrove ecosystem. Seeing nature be restored and then flourish as a direct result of our work was a clear demonstration of the tangible benefits remediation can deliver, and very rewarding on a personal level.

What excites you most about working on Defence projects?

The variety. No two projects are the same, and each presents its own challenges.

On top of that, ArchTam’s Defence team has a strong, in-depth understanding of Defence’s portfolio. Working alongside such a capable team makes it possible for us to consistently deliver for our clients. It’s a team built on trust and deep technical understanding, and that’s something I genuinely enjoy being part of.

The post Combatting contaminated lands: Meet Peter Brogan appeared first on Blog.

Ben started his defence journey designing upgrades at HMAS Stirling, a naval base near Perth, and then moved on to RAAF Learmonth, where he designed building foundations and structures, before taking his experience globally.

Strengthening ties and global collaboration between ArchTam’s Australian and United Kingdom Defence teams, Ben was seconded to a major project in the UK, at Western Europe’s largest naval dockyard. After 12 months of learning from some of the best mentors in the world, Ben is back in Perth, bringing his international experience and highly specialised skills to major local projects.

Tell us about your career journey at ArchTam, what projects have you been involved with?

I was lucky to be part of the Metronet project in Perth, working on the Thornlie-Cockburn Link and Yanchep Rail Extension. I designed some large elements for the additional stations; retaining walls, columns, shell beams, steel superstructures and canopies.

I also contributed to one of the biggest megaprojects in the world, NEOM in Saudi Arabia, which ArchTam is involved with worldwide in many ways. I helped design the basement structure of The Line. It’s amazing to think that as a Mandurah, WA local, I was working on something of that global scale.

How did you get involved in Australian Defence work?

Defence has always been close to my heart because of my family. Due to my father’s work at ASC, I even toured Collins-class submarines. So, when the chance came to work on a project at HMAS Stirling, I jumped at it. We worked on a range of upgrades across the base, and I gained experience in defence operations and infrastructure.

Defence bases are like mini cities. They have all the services, facilities and master planning needs you’d expect, so you gain a wide range of skills and experience. I also worked at RAAF Learmonth, on the north-west coast of WA, designing foundations and structures for new buildings. This gave me deeper insight into the unique engineering challenges of remote and Defence infrastructure.

How did this lead to working in the UK?

ArchTam was working on a submarine construction yard in South Australia, and there was an opportunity to strengthen ties with our UK team through a 12-month secondment in Plymouth. The role involved design engineering on a nuclear safety-rated structure, which was a whole new level of complexity, designing for seismic loads, meeting strict compliance standards, and understanding the intricacies of this specific infrastructure.

It’s a defence project of enormous scale and multiple components that must come together as a solution to meet a new capability. I learnt so much technically and professionally. Working under the UK Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) as the safety design authority, opened my eyes to new design approaches and guidelines, very different from what I was used to in Australia. The relationships I built with our UK colleagues will be invaluable as Australia ramps up its local programs. I’m excited to bring those skills back and help grow our local capabilities.

However, I’ll forever miss the history of the old structures that surrounded me in the Dockyards in the UK, which date back to the late 1600s, and have been operational for hundreds of years.

How will you apply your global defence experience to local projects?

I’m moving back to WA and will be working on projects that leverage my new highly specialised skills, applying everything I’ve learned over the past year, supporting future opportunities. I’ll be working with my colleagues to interpret and harmonise cross-regional nuclear submarine safety regulations.

The UK has been designing nuclear safety-related structures for decades, but this is an emerging area in Australia. I’ve learnt practical skills from those who have decades of experience in making sure these structures are safe for the community, effective and capable.

The post From Fleet Base West in WA to Western Europe’s largest naval dockyard: Ben Graham’s global defence engineering journey appeared first on Blog.

In this blog, we speak to Chris Law, Regional Director and Central Government Lead within our Social Infrastructure market sector in the UK and Ireland.

He unpacks what meaningful, outcomes-led partnerships will be required in the decade ahead, as well as the trends and challenges shaping central government delivery.

Chris joined ArchTam over a decade ago and became Regional Director and Central Government Lead for Social Infrastructure in 2024. He previously led our Security and Resilience subsector within our National Security market sector, delivering projects for clients including the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, Defence Infrastructure Organisation and the Ministry of Justice.

Since 2018, Chris has provided strategic leadership as Account Director for the Crown Commercial Service (CCS) Framework, overseeing high-quality, consistent delivery across our nationwide commitments. He also chairs the CCS Construction Professional Services (CPS) Social Value Focus Group, a role he has held since 2023.

Through this work, Chris supports CCS’s ambition to integrate procurement across UK government departments, driving more coordinated and efficient delivery while maximising social value for communities. Chris has taken on a range of roles within ArchTam and the wider industry in the past decade — each one building on his drive to lead, collaborate and push for better outcomes.

From your perspective, how has the relationship between central government and its delivery partners such as ArchTam in the UK & Ireland changed or evolved over the years?

We’ve seen a real shift to more collaborative and outcomes-focused partnerships.

Government clients increasingly want their delivery partners to be aligned not just to project scope, but to long-term policy goals. The discussion is evolving, focusing on the longer term: building capacity, prioritising ‘place-based’ decision making, developing wider relationships with small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and aligning to the government’s long-term policy goals — whether that’s net zero, regional devolution or digital transformation.

Transparency is key. Frameworks like CCS have rightly pushed and developed guidance for early market engagement, the recent UK Industrial Strategy seeks to treat data as a shared, transparent asset, and the new Treasury Green Book is mandating that business cases for major infrastructure projects and programmes are published publicly.

I think these ongoing shifts are going to change the relationship between us and our government clients. I see a future where we have deeper, trust-based partnerships, with suppliers aware of data and pipelines much earlier and government deploying our advice and outputs more frequently.

You’ve worked with a range of government departments. What trends are you seeing in how the public estate is being shaped to support future needs?

The public estate is being reimagined with adaptability, sustainability and social value at its core. Place-based decision making is now at the heart of the recent Treasury Green Book updates, as well as a move away from simple benefit-cost ratios, which have been relied on too heavily in the past to appraise complex investments in the public estate.

Across our portfolios, we’re seeing a decisive move away from siloed, single-use buildings to more multi-functional, data-enabled assets that can integrate with evolving community and departmental needs. Recent announcements on the Cabinet Office’s ‘Places for Growth’ programme, for example, continue to double down on the ambition to move the centre of gravity out of London, with at least 50 per cent of UK‑based Senior Civil Service roles located regionally by 2030.

We’re also continuing to see how hybrid working has totally reshaped central office strategies. Almost all UK government departments are taking the opportunity to rationalise their footprints whilst investing in regional hubs and smarter workspaces. There’s a renewed focus on decarbonising assets through retrofit and modern methods of construction, and on embedding ESG principles from day one. The public estate is no longer just a cost on the balance sheet — it’s evolving to become a platform for delivering policy, wellbeing, innovation and wider community benefits.

How do you balance the technical complexity of major programmes with the need to leave a lasting legacy for communities?

Balancing complexity with legacy starts by embedding purpose into the project brief from the outset. One example is our work on the Defence Estate Optimisation Portfolio. It’s a technically complex and high-profile portfolio, spanning multiple sites and heritage assets, with stringent security requirements.

Allianced with other industry suppliers, our team have worked closely with both the Ministry of Defence and local community stakeholders to ensure that the outcomes aren’t just about military readiness and site disposal, but also about supporting local economies and improving the public realm.

For example, on a number of projects under the programme, we brought our social value specialists to the team to ensure our commitments to community outcomes were purposeful, impactful and achievable. We also prioritised low-carbon construction techniques and advised the client on how these could be more thoughtfully integrated with specific site security requirements. Technical excellence is essential, but lasting impact comes from making projects truly place-based, in collaboration with local stakeholders.

That goes back to why we shouldn’t think in a siloed way around the public estate. If the Ministry of Justice is planning a new prison, the question isn’t just about the prison itself — it’s about what this public asset can deliver for the wider community, local supply chains and how it can support broader regeneration goals. We need to continue working with government to reimagine our public estate cohesively and help to identify opportunities for regional devolved authorities to deliver more by simply approaching the challenge in an integrated way.

What excites you most about the opportunity to support government in delivering its ambitions over the next decade?

I always say to people joining our Central Government sector: you have the chance to be at the heart of solving some of the UK and Ireland’s biggest challenges. Whether it’s climate resilience, regional inequality, housing pressures or digital transformation, the UK and Irish governments have set out ambitious goals, and the scale of delivery needed over the next decade is not only a huge challenge but also a significant opportunity.

There’s a growing appetite for innovation, and it’s great to see our teams deepening their understanding of how government seeks to optimise its functions — and how we can support that. It’s also about how we use our sector-specific skills to respond to key challenges: unlocking better community outcomes, embedding nature-based solutions, empowering investment decisions, and shaping our services to enable those changes.

It really excites me that we are part of the change. I think organisations like ours are in a privileged position to serve not only as a technical delivery expert, but as a long-term partner to government, helping turn policy into tangible, real-world outcomes.

I heard a great quote at the recent UKREiiF (UK Real Estate Investment and Infrastructure Forum) conference, “If you don’t shape the market, be prepared to be shaped by it.” And I think that’s really important, because if you’re not there setting the agenda with government and influencing through associations and institutions, then you’re on the other side waiting for policy to be developed and responding.

So, I see us moving, generationally, into a role where we sit much closer to our clients, integrating across government, and engaging earlier in the process. And it’s this ability to really effect change that drives me; it’s what gets me out of bed in the morning.

Image credit: Hufton + Crow

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Oliver orchestrates ArchTam’s efforts to mobilise behind Defence priorities, supports our Defence team to find, win and deliver impactful projects, and plays a key role in serving a diverse and complex client base. He supports every Defence branch across ArchTam’s full-service offering, from environmental and program management services to engineering consultancy. With more than 18 years of experience across the Defence, engineering and infrastructure sectors, Oliver brings a unique blend of operational discipline, strategic insight and delivery capability.

Looking back on your career and time at ArchTam, what pivotal moment or experience affirmed your purpose or your values? Something that made you stop and think, “okay, this is why I do this.”

There wasn’t one defining moment, rather, a series of meaningful connections that reaffirmed my purpose. Funnily, shortly after joining ArchTam, I updated my LinkedIn profile, and my former military colleagues encouraged me to reach out to the ArchTam UK Defence team. That led to conversations and before I knew it, I was in the heart of something special, supporting major global projects and collaborating across Australia, the UK, and the U.S. on AUKUS.

Tell us a little bit more about your career journey. You just touched on the British Army.

My career journey is marked by diverse and enriching experiences, beginning with a master’s degree in naval architecture at Southampton University. I then embarked on an unexpected adventure in Turkey, contributing to the construction of the Maltese Falcon, a groundbreaking modern square rigger. This project honed my technical expertise and fuelled my passion for innovation and collaboration.

A persistent calling to serve led me to enrol at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, the home of British Army Officer training. This equipped me with leadership skills and resilience.

My time in the military was both challenging and transformative, providing close support to operations and fostering a sense of purpose. Meeting my wife, Hannah, prompted a shift towards technical engineering roles, which eventually led me to Perth, Australia, where I worked on the Perth Children’s Hospital project. After fulfilling my military service obligations, I made the move to Melbourne, where I led major bids for and managed significant, innovative projects like the Victorian Heart Hospital and Marvel Stadium, which included advanced sport facility technology integrations.

Ultimately, one rainy Melbourne day, my wife and I decided to return to Perth, aligning with our original plan and embracing new opportunities. Joining ArchTam marked the beginning of a new chapter in client service, leading our talented Defence team. I apply my diverse experiences and leadership skills to impactful projects, contributing to the company’s global values.

Tell us a little bit more about yourself outside of work.

My personal life is deeply intertwined with family, fitness and community involvement. My wife and I are a strong team, balancing our careers and parenting our three energetic children, aged 7, 8 and 9. Our shared commitment to supporting each other enables us to manage our busy lives effectively.

I’m actively involved in my children’s activities. Volunteering and coaching for Nippers, it’s chaos, but it’s fun! They’re a bit like soldiers: keep them moving, don’t let them get bored. It’s incredibly rewarding. I also coach rugby during the winter. Staying fit through daily training is a priority, to maintain my physical and mental well-being. While I enjoy kite surfing and windsurfing in sunny, windy Perth, much of my focus right now is on family-oriented activities, reserving personal hobbies for when the kids are older.

How do you see your role evolving in the next few years in this changing and evolving industry?

I see my role focusing on empowering our talented teams and unlocking opportunities across ArchTam’s global network.

The Defence team has unique capabilities, unmatched worldwide, and my aim is to facilitate the sharing of these strengths with colleagues in regions such as the UK, the Pacific, and the U.S.

This transformation is not about individual success but about supporting collective excellence and ensuring we continue to set the benchmark in consultancy.

What kind of legacy do you hope to leave — in your team, in the work you deliver, or in the culture you help shape?

I aim to leave a legacy of creating a self-sufficient, empowered team. Drawing inspiration from military practices, where a second-in-command is always prepared to step up, I strive to ensure that my team operates autonomously, requiring minimal oversight. By fostering confidence and trust, my job is to enable team members to make informed decisions and deliver exceptional results.

I’m also committed to our involvement in the Veteran Employment Program, supporting veterans in their transition to civilian careers. By creating pathways for our veterans to thrive, I aim to shape a culture that values service, inclusivity and long-term impact.

The post Building a legacy in Defence: Meet Oliver Crowther appeared first on Blog.

In Richard’s 21-year-career as an environmental engineer, he’s managed programs and projects that include contaminated site investigation and remediation, hydrogeological assessments, and water resource management.

What have been the most rewarding projects you’ve worked on in your career?

Unsurprisingly, Defence projects come to mind. A couple of projects I worked on presented new types of environmental challenges that needed strong teamwork across discipline areas to solve. We also needed to be flexible to changing scope, context, and stakeholder needs, and evolve as we uncovered technical knowledge on these new challenges with no precedent. There were also immersive and extensive stints in the field.

In your role leading our contaminated land services teams for our Defence clients, what key skills and strategies do you often use?

While all project management fundamentals are important, change and people are especially important for contamination projects. I seek to understand the client and project drivers and the scope and then match the right team for what is required. Everyone has different strengths and ways of working, so understanding these and figuring out ways to align them with project needs supports delivery. You can plan and make decisions based on the information available to you, but nothing is certain, and planning for change and managing it effectively is critical for success.

How do you build and maintain strong relationships with clients when you’re working on complex projects like contaminated land remediation?

A good kick-off meeting and establishing regular and open communications (both verbal and written so everybody remembers what we spoke about previously). Building a good relationship makes it a lot easier to manage and tackle changes when they happen and means everyone can share in success. It’s also important to understand the unique requirements and systems of our clients so we can deliver. This doesn’t happen straight away but through learning from feedback and applying these to other tasks and projects.

How does your work in contaminated land management contribute to positive environmental outcomes? Can you share some examples of projects where significant environmental improvements were achieved?

When you design a remediation project with sustainability principles, and these are met, there are clear social and environmental benefits. Land investigation and risk assessments can solve uncertainties about a site and surrounding environment so that it can be released for beneficial uses.

In what ways do you engage with local communities during environmental projects? How do you ensure that their concerns and needs are addressed throughout the project lifecycle?

It depends on the project. Where there is engagement with a local community, it’s important to actually listen to them, and understand what’s important to them and what information they need. From there, stakeholder engagement specialists, supported by technical people, can clearly communicate project objectives, findings and next steps in a way that meets the community’s needs,

Richard’s leadership has been instrumental in our 20+ years of delivering robust and consistent environmental services to the Australian Defence sector.

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Since joining ArchTam in 2017, Felicia has worked on numerous Defence projects. She provides ongoing leadership, support and project management on the Australian Defence Force’s Regional Contamination Investigation Program. Through this, she’s developed extensive site contamination knowledge of the Defence Estate in South Australia and within other regions. She’s used her knowledge of the program to design, implement and provide technical advice on multiple other land contamination and resource quality Defence programs and projects across Australia.

What have been the most rewarding projects you’ve worked on in your career?
I find projects with complex problems — that need diversely skilled teams to solve — most rewarding. Additionally, I derive great satisfaction from working on projects that foster genuine partnerships with clients. These projects force me to think outside the box, to find the right people that will find the best solutions. In these scenarios I need to leverage my skills and networks, and build trusting relationships. Some projects that come to mind are remediation projects where complex challenges like co-mingled contamination or hazardous wastes were presented. These projects required established partnerships with clients, specialist teams, and subcontractors to deliver safe solutions.

In your role leading our contaminated land services teams for our Defence clients, what key skills and strategies do you often use?
My experience leading projects within the Defence estate has equipped me with a deep and practical understanding of Defence policy, legislation and technical guidance. I leverage this knowledge to develop and implement strategies tailored to the unique needs of each project to tackle contaminated land and other environmental issues for the sector.

I often draw on strategic planning, regulatory navigation, stakeholder engagement and technical risk assessment to deliver for our Defence clients. I prioritise early and proactive collaboration to identify issues early, streamline approvals and maintain compliance. My approach ensures the delivery of practical and cost-effective solutions to support long-term estate sustainability.

How do you deliver exceptional value for our Defence clients?
I deliver exceptional value to our Defence clients by building and leading high-performing, multidisciplinary teams that combine deep local knowledge with specialised technical expertise. During my time at ArchTam, I’ve cultivated strong relationships with our people across Australia in our Environment business, our broader multidisciplinary teams, and our global network of technical experts who have specialised and niche technical knowledge. I also maintain close working relationships with trusted subcontractors who bring specialist capabilities to the table.

These relationships are essential for building teams with the right local and technical knowledge, best suited to the unique challenges of each project, to deliver excellent results for clients. I’ve used this team approach to deliver complex remediation pilot trials and remediation projects for Defence. Ultimately, I focus on understanding our clients’ priorities and bringing our best people to align solutions to their operational, environmental and strategic goals.

How do you build and maintain strong relationships with clients when you’re working on complex projects like contaminated land remediation?

Relationships are only built and maintained on trust. By treating a project as a partnership with our clients, we jointly own the task of finding and delivering the right solutions. We continuously engage and communicate with transparency through project delivery so our clients can trust we’re doing what we say we will. We bring clients along the delivery path, sharing progress and wins, and if issues arise, we tell our clients immediately so there are no surprises. This is crucial for complex and sensitive projects.

What long-term environmental benefits result from successful contaminated site remediation? How do you measure and communicate these to stakeholders and the community?

When a site is successfully remediated it is no longer a potential (or actual) contamination risk to the environment and the people around it. When we remediate a site, land is unlocked for community/economic/industrial benefit, rather than being wastefully restricted. We plan for remediation by assessing a number of factors and determining which remediation approach is best. The approach is based not only on returning the land for use but also on meeting sustainability targets such as low energy use and low waste generation. This means we return the land to its most beneficial community impact. Stakeholder and community engagement is so important in remediation to make sure our approach best meets the expectations of those impacted by the land being decontaminated.

Felicia’s leadership has been instrumental in our 20+ years of delivering robust and consistent environmental services to the Australian Defence sector.

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