In his keynote, “Platform-based Construction Ecosystems”, Marc Colella, Strategy and Growth Lead Asia and ANZ, and ArchTam Fellow, examined how emerging technologies and global best practices can help global cities like Hong Kong build faster, cleaner and more sustainably.

Like many global cities, Hong Kong faces a challenging paradox: demand for high-quality, affordable housing is increasing, yet traditional construction methods are struggling to meet timelines, cost expectations and sustainability requirements. Across the industry, skilled labor shortages, supply chain disruptions and rising carbon targets are adding further pressure.

Key drivers guiding housing innovation and system reform

The shift toward an industrialized, platform-based housing model is guided by a set of core objectives that align productivity, cost, sustainability and quality with long-term public needs.  These include:

• Speed and efficiency – Improving delivery productivity to meet urgent housing demand.
• Cost-effectiveness – Reducing overall costs through scalable, repeatable and pipeline-aligned solutions.
• Sustainability – Supporting net-zero goals through low-carbon, circular and resilient design approaches.
• Technology integration – Using a unified digital platform to enhance outcomes across the full value chain.
• Social outcomes – Elevating livability, adaptability and long-term maintenance performance.
• Governance and quality – Strengthening approval processes and quality control through offsite manufacturing.

Emerging trends and constraints in the housing ecosystem

The global housing sector is being reshaped by intensifying pressures, including persistent productivity declines, skilled labor shortages, rising material costs and widening supply–demand gaps, all of which are driving a need to transform construction practices. At the same time, decarbonization imperatives and rapid digital transformation are compelling the industry to rethink conventional delivery models. Despite this momentum, significant challenges continue that constrain adoption. There are still gaps in regulatory frameworks in many jurisdictions, creating uncertainty around approvals and long-term policy commitments, supply chain fragmentation, while concerns around durability and design flexibility influence public and private acceptance. Developers face difficulties achieving cost certainty without stable volume pipelines, and manufacturers must contend with the operational demands of automation, workforce reskilling and maintaining consistent quality control across extended supply chains. Collectively, these trends and challenges illustrate both the urgency of industrialized housing innovation and the systemic barriers that must be addressed to achieve scale.

Insights from global industrialization efforts

International case studies such as Katerra, a Silicon Valley-based construction technology startup aiming to become world’s largest builder highlight both the promise and the limits of construction of industrialization. Early large-scale disruptors showed that technological ambition must be matched by strong execution, local adaptability and disciplined scaling. Models built on distributed micro-factories, repeatable product platforms and experienced delivery partners consistently outperformed fully centralized approaches, demonstrating that industrialization succeeds when it evolves incrementally and integrates seamlessly with existing industry structures.

Examples from modular programs in the UK, such as Camp Hill, Birmingham’s flagship modular build-to-rent project, as well as the global automotive, aerospace and shipbuilding industries reinforce the same message. Standardized chassis systems, digital catalogues and factory-built assemblies have accelerated delivery and improved quality, yet challenges remain around logistics, supply chain resilience and project complexity. A prime example of this is Tesla’s Model 3 and Model Y personalization — which share 75 percent of components, use software-enabled features, and are built on flexible lines that adjust automatically for different models — cutting waste, labor and assembly time while doubling output.

Other advanced manufacturing sectors, especially in cruise ships cabins, show what is achievable when precision, modularity and platform thinking are embedded at scale — offering a clear blueprint for how construction can achieve similar gains through digitized design, coordinated production and integrated assembly.

Advances in prefabricated components and engineered materials play a central role in the shift toward industrialized housing delivery. Global delivery experience demonstrates that lightweight steel frames, composite sub-assemblies, precast elements, bathroom pods and 2D panelized systems can significantly enhance performance when designed for factory-led workflows. These components enable faster installation, lower embodied carbon, reduced site waste, improved safety and greater consistency in long-term maintenance. ArchTam’s former offsite construction ecosystem platform ‘Inno’ further illustrates how digital design, manufacturing intelligence and supply chain optimization can operate as an integrated system by connecting component standardization with production efficiency to support scalable, repeatable and high-quality housing delivery.

How digital ecosystems unlock scalable housing delivery

A unified digital backbone is essential to scaling platform-based construction, linking policy, design, manufacturing, logistics, assembly and operations into a single data-driven workflow.

Digital permitting, automated compliance and blockchain certification accelerate approvals and feed directly into AI-enabled BIM, generative design and digital twin modelling, producing fabrication-ready designs optimized for performance and manufacturability.

Industry 4.0 factories then translate this intelligence into precision-built components through robotics, computer-vision quality control and automated production systems, supported by AI-driven logistics and real-time traceability. On-site, robotic assembly and IoT monitoring provide faster, safer installation with continuous performance visibility. Together, these integrated layers enable 20–30 percent cost reductions, 40–50 percent faster timelines and up to 80 percent less waste, while strengthening the potential for new export-oriented manufacturing.

The benefits extend across sustainability and people outcomes. Industrialized systems can halve embodied carbon, reduce lifecycle energy costs and deliver more consistent safety and quality. At the same time, new technology-focused roles are created, elevating workforce skills and fostering a more collaborative, data-led construction culture.

What comes next?

To accelerate this transition, there are several practical next steps:

• Digitize and standardize design guidelines into a unified kit-of-parts catalogue.
• Adopt a tiered production model, distributing fabrication across suppliers, sub-assemblers and co-located facilities.
• Modernize permitting and certification through automated, digital-first regulatory processes.
• Invest in local micro-factories to strengthen resilience and shorten lead times.
• Expand workforce development to equip practitioners with robotics, AI, Design for Manufacture and Assembly (DfMA) and digital management skills.

With coordinated action, cities such as Hong Kong can set a new global benchmark for how they deliver high-quality, sustainable housing at scale.

Contact Marc Colella to learn more.

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Jack Brunton is a chartered member of the Institution of Civil Engineers and the Institution of Structural Engineers, with over 16 years of experience within the industry. As Structural Sustainability Lead for ArchTam’s Buildings + Places Structures practice in the UK and Ireland, Jack is committed to embedding sustainability and resilience into our structural engineering service delivery.

Jack co-authored Eco.Zero Concept and Eco.Zero Measure, tools we use to reduce and monitor carbon in our designs. Eco.Zero Concept provides instant embodied carbon, design, material and cost data for varying building uses and structural frame typologies. Eco.Zero Measure assesses structural carbon in Revit models and has been mandated across the region, ensuring carbon monitoring and reporting across all projects with BIM models.

To drive cultural change across the practice, Jack has developed a comprehensive knowledge-sharing platform and launched systematic upskilling initiatives including monthly newsletters and standardized sustainability goals. His commitment to the field is underscored by his appointment to the IStructE Sustainability Panel.

Tell us about what inspired you to join the industry.

My path into structural engineering was shaped, in part, by family influence. My ancestor William Brunton was a Scottish engineer and inventor who became a member of the Institution of Civil Engineers in 1826, just a few years after its formation. He made significant contributions to steam navigation (Google “Stem Horse locomotive”!) and developed important innovations in metal manufacturing and mining machinery.

More directly, my uncle Michael Norton instilled in me the importance of the work done by engineers and their benefit to the community. Michael is a civil engineer who served as chair of the Institution of Civil Engineers water panel and received the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire recognition for his services to the water industry and international trade.

Engineering runs in the family, stretching back nearly two centuries, and seeing how engineers contribute meaningfully to society helped guide my career choice. Combined with my strong interest in maths and physics, a passion for painting during my school years, an aptitude for problem solving, and a love for beautiful buildings, these influences all guided me toward a career in structural engineering.

What is your favourite ArchTam project that you’ve worked on and why?

Queen Mary School of Business and Management stands out to me. This was my first opportunity to put the theory I’d learnt whilst developing Eco.Zero Concept into practice on a real project.

The project involves civil and structural engineering design for a new seven-storey campus building and high-tech teaching space in central London. I led ArchTam’s delivery of services on the project, and we previously developed the scheme to RIBA Stage 4 technical design in 2019. Unfortunately, the project was refused planning permission based on the loss of locally listed building. When we were reappointed in 2021, we saw this as an opportunity to significantly reduce the embodied carbon of the structure and use the previous design as a baseline against which reductions could be measured.

The pause in project activity coincided with the development of Eco.Zero, and we’d gained valuable insights from key industry publications such as IStructE’s How to Calculate Embodied Carbon and company net zero training. We set a baseline against the previous design, then used Eco.Zero Concept to undertake optioneering studies of different frame arrangements and typologies, systematically identifying opportunities to reduce material volumes and associated embodied carbon across the structural frame.

The site presented significant challenges including London Underground Central Line tunnels, Regent’s Canal boundary and substantial level changes. Despite these constraints, we were able to achieve significant carbon reductions. We collaborated with the architect and facade engineer to identify appropriate column grids, changed vibration mitigation measures to remove twin basement slabs and retaining walls, optimised structural serviceability criteria and foundation arrangements, and wrote product stage carbon targets for concrete and rebar into the material specifications.

At the end of RIBA Stage 2, our revised assessment identified an embodied carbon intensity of 274 kilograms of carbon dioxide equivalent per square meter, representing a 32 percent reduction against the baseline, equivalent to about 1,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent saved overall. Whilst I handed over control of this project when I moved into my new role, we have continued to monitor and reduce carbon into the latter stages.

The project is currently on site and due for completion in 2027.

Tell us a story of how your work positively impacted the community.

Before moving into my role as Structural Sustainability Lead, I worked in our Healthcare & Science team. Delivering that sort of work is exceptionally gratifying as the benefit to communities is so immediately tangible.

One such project, the Radcliffe Primary Care Building for Oxford University, stands out as a good example of how adaptive reuse can deliver both environmental and community benefits.

Completed in 2016, the project involved the extension and retrofit of a Grade II listed building to provide accommodation for the Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences. We retained 80 percent of the original 1911 fabric and structure whilst adding a new basement, three-storey atrium and new mezzanine floors hung from the existing structure.

Whilst it is a stunning building, what makes this project particularly meaningful is understanding the work that happens inside.  The Nuffield Department is the UK’s largest academic centre for primary care, leading research that reimagines healthcare delivery in general practice and community settings. In the past five years alone, its work has shaped clinical guidelines across multiple areas. From identifying effective COVID-19 treatments in the community and improving NHS approaches to weight management, to enabling early detection of serious illness in children and refining diagnostic pathways for diabetes, heart failure and hypertension, the work has also advanced stroke prevention in atrial fibrillation and influenced national policy on smoking cessation.

By adapting and reusing this heritage building, we preserved an important piece of Oxford’s architectural history and minimised embodied carbon whilst creating a fit-for-purpose facility for researchers who are improving healthcare outcomes for millions of people. The project was shortlisted for the IStructE Awards 2016.

Share a piece of career advice.

Mark Twain said, “Find a job you enjoy doing, and you will never have to work a day in your life.” Whilst that might be a cliché, I believe that to get the most out of your career, it’s important to find something that invigorates you and to make the changes necessary to pursue it.

Don’t wait for the perfect role to be handed to you. If you see a gap or an opportunity to make a difference, pursue it. My transition into this position wasn’t via a predetermined path. I recognised a need within our practice, identified the requirement for a Structural Sustainability Lead role and wrote my own job description. I’m grateful that ArchTam supported my vision, created the role and gave me the responsibility to facilitate change in the practice. 

It still feels like work, but it’s work that I’m very glad to be doing.

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One of his notable achievements includes the drafting of a new NEC clause on the application of ECC Secondary Option X20. This clause emphasizes key performance indicators, focusing on timely clearance of site portions and early completion of tree survey reports for a site formation contract with Hong Kong’s Civil Engineering and Development Department (CEDD).

Francis has also led several award-winning projects recognized for their sustainable, innovative and collaborative practices under NEC frameworks.

How did you come about integrating NEC practices into your professional work and projects?

NEC contracts are renowned for fostering collaborative relationships and effective communication between all parties involved, ensuring projects are delivered on time and within budget. My journey as an Approved NEC Expert by the CEDD of the HKSAR Government began on June 9, 2015. After that, I have been actively involved in advocating for NEC adoption in ArchTam projects, as well as training resident site staff and head office staff on the practice. In July 2021, we published ArchTam’s NEC Administration Handbook — a key milestone on best practice and internal knowledge sharing. This was followed by a series of training sessions over the subsequent years to ensure that our practitioners are well-versed in NEC practices.

What has been the most rewarding experience in your career?

There’re plenty that I could cite, but a more recent one is our work on the Kwu Tung North and Fanling North New Development Area (NDA) Phase 1 project. We delivered two innovative solutions for this project — Hong Kong’s first bridge rotation over live railway tracks, which set a new benchmark for efficiency and safety by saving three months of construction time; and the world’s first use of ultra-high strength S960 steel in footbridge construction that not only achieved a remarkable reduction in the superstructure’s weight but also enhanced safety for the community.

This project also received the Grand Award in the ‘Demonstrating carbon dioxide reduction initiatives towards net-zero category’ at NEC Martin Barnes Awards 2024, and we’re honored to have been part of this achievement.

You continuously engage with the community to promote NEC. How has this shaped your experience in incorporating NEC principles into your work?

Engaging with the NEC community has profoundly shaped my understanding of NEC and how I applied its principles. Through participation in conferences, webinars and workshops, I have exchanged ideas with industry thought leaders and stay at the forefront of NEC’s evolving best practices and innovations within its framework.

Some highlights from my earliest involvements:

• April 2019:  Panelist at Hong Kong Construction Industry Council in April 2019
• August 2021: Shared insights on the evolution of NEC in Hong Kong for Project Management Institute Singapore’s international webinar
• November 2024: Spoke on fostering collaboration (NEC’s core principle of NEC) at the NEC Asia Pacific Conference, where the focus was.

These experiences have broadened my perspective, and I translated my newly gained knowledge into my projects. For example, the Tung Chung New Town Extension – Reclamation and Advance Works project which won NEC Contract Innovation Award in 2020; the Fanling Bypass Eastern Section and the Kwu Tung North & Fanling North NDA projects which received commendations for their excellence in NEC implementation for transportation and sustainability.

These have been great achievements not only for ArchTam but also for Hong Kong’s engineering community. As NEC is an evolving practice, constant engagement and collaboration are crucial in advancing its application to enhance innovative and sustainable solutions in the construction industry.

Francis was named Runner-up for the Individual Excellence Award at the NEC Martin Barnes Awards 2025 among strong competition, in recognition of his continued leadership and innovation in NEC applications across Hong Kong.

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Imagine if we built a model in Lego or Meccano at home and then threw all the pieces in the recycling bin when we wanted to change our model. Wouldn’t that extra trip to the toy store be a bit wasteful and expensive.

We are all aware of the net zero challenge, in particular with the embodied carbon associated with structural frames. How structural engineers use their skill set and adapt is key to reaching net zero targets.

In the United Kingdom, our building regulations and legislation are becoming increasingly tighter from a carbon and environmental perspective and the targets for carbon emissions of buildings by 2030 are ambitious.

Across the design and construction sector, our consumption of raw materials is vast. In a future net zero world, it would be expected that purchasing high-carbon traditional building materials might come with a significant offset penalty. The question to ask is how are we considering the real value of these materials — especially in terms of their sell-on price and circularity?

The structure “is what it is”

Our default approach as engineers can all too often be tried and tested, and familiar to us.  Material selection can tend to be based on nothing more than speed of design, familiarity of construction typology and the commodity of a competitive tender process.

If we seek to improve the industry environmentally, there needs to be a new way of thinking. A collective change in approach to the project brief.

Unfortunately for too long the structural frame and its construction materials are seen as “cost” outputs of the design process with little control — “it is what it is” I’ve heard some clients say.

Building materials and construction forms are still being specified without being challenged on what happens next. We need to start routinely addressing what happens at the end of the building’s life, who owns the materials during the building use and understand its potential sell-on value.

The London Energy Transformation Initiative (LETI) published data that paints a bleak picture demonstrating how embodied carbon consumption has remained relatively stagnant in our building designs for decades.

Targets require embodied carbon emission targets to halve current business as usual methods across almost all end markets. So how do we get there?

Procuring engineers early

One way to achieve these targets is by reclaiming materials, rather than buying new. Challenging the fundamentals of how we design our new buildings and investing more in a circular economy. Spending time to research and determine what materials are potentially nearby or on site, testing out the old Lego pieces and generating architectural form around them to accommodate the pieces we have would be novel and could be how we get close to ambitious targets without offsetting.  

An adaptable building concept called Rightsizer proved that new ways of thinking can help us achieve LETI 2030 carbon targets in a tall residential building.

This project remains a concept idea, but it has proved that consideration of material sourcing and construction options at a very early stage can yield a step-change in building design. Engineers must be afforded an opportunity to work alongside an architect early — but it must happen at feasibility stage (Stages 0-1 in the RIBA Plan of Work 2020).

If we wait until RIBA Stage 2, then often the spaces, building heights and massing is already established and engineers can only try to fit structure into already congested bulk and mass. So by this stage, it is too late.

Introducing engineers as early as RIBA stage 1 could also lead to form-driven design adopting modern methods of construction with time to develop initial designs of key elements that would reduce waste, consider design redundancy and potentially reduce costs.

Building in redundancy for future adaptability potential perhaps defeats the object of reducing carbon in a time where we still use highly intensive carbon materials. Nobody yet can predetermine how soon it will be when low carbon materials form the majority of an engineer’s design for a building, but it’s likely technology will improve by the time a building needs to be strengthened for any future adaptability.

Building efficiently and reducing waste

Our buildings should be carbon-costed from day one. Engineers must consider end-of-life as the next most important aspect of good building design, targeting “dismantlability” and circular design principles.

We shouldn’t confuse re-use with recycling either. We know that reinforcing steel and structural steel gets recycled after the point of demolition — but as a process, this is an energy intensive activity as result of the transportation, and the shredding, melting, and refining processes.

Connection details should be with an engineer, not a contractor to ensure dismantlability is integral to the building frame design. Contractors have often reiterated that there is a misconception of economy in standardisation.

Adding steel-to-steel connection design to a consultant’s scope and designing them on a case-by-case basis using AI algorithms or dynamo scripts within our digital platforms can save significant waste generated through standardisation. The days where cost savings could be had by fabricating standardising connections are of the past.

Ethical sourcing of materials

In the food industry, we label the source of the product and its core ingredients. Is it not the time to do that for our materials?

Should we approach local manufacturing facilities and specify locally sourced material in our specifications where we can, and legislate around ethical sourcing in the UK to make it transparent?

Structural teams need to ensure early engagement with batching plants, steel fabricators and timber producers as we typically do with other specialist design items such as piling, secondary steelwork and waterproofing.

The benefits of encouraging off-site manufacture and modern methods of construction (MMC) over traditional methods are obvious, but let’s not stop at precast columns and cores. The majority of the embodied carbon of a building sits in the horizontal elements: slabs and foundations.

Moving forward starts at grass roots level and from the designers themselves. Target deadlines mean we can’t wait for legislation and each project has its own complexities so a standard brief will not always be the most appropriate route.

Initially designers could benefit from more time to consider novel approaches to construction, allow informed comparisons of the options, materials and quantities being consumed. This is where the industry must try harder to not rush into the construction phase.

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Melbourne really does have it all — including, as we saw last month, earthquakes.

The COVID-19 pandemic may continue to dominate headlines, but natural events like last month’s 5.9 magnitude quake that shook the city have been no less frequent, and no less devastating, over the past year.

Additionally, we’ve seen wildfires decimate communities in California and Spain’s Andalusia region. We’ve watched summer flooding destroy parts of Germany, Austria and Belgium, and submerge subway systems in New York and in the Chinese city of Zhengzhou. And in Haiti, mammoth quakes have once again caused widespread devastation.

Collectively, these events reinforce the growing need to think of resilience in much broader terms; they are both a timely wake-up call to ensure our existing and new buildings have appropriate levels of resilience, and an opportunity to demonstrate the commercial benefits of doing so.

The principles of resilience encourage an integrated consideration of climate scenarios, sustainability and design excellence, and provide insights into how to manage through emergency situations in a way that can enhance economic, environmental and social outcomes.

Resilient design requires a different approach based around four questions:

1. What critical flows is this asset dependent on? (e.g., water, power, information, workforce)
2. What hazards endanger those flows and assets? (e.g., natural, cyber or manmade)
3. What plans and countermeasures are in place to reduce the risks and mitigate the impacts of those hazards?
4. What steps can be taken to increase the asset’s ability to recover faster and be more resilient?

In Australia, we’ve recently applied the above four questions to the operations and design strategies of a commercial tower and university campus.

Our review identified a range of exposure findings related to water security, critical infrastructure failure, direct attack (physical or cyber), geological hazards, economic crisis and regional conflict. The stresses were identified and the range of interdependent assets and services during a shock event relating to digital, energy, social, transport and water infrastructure were considered as we mitigated risks through our design approach and operational responses.  

For landlords or developers, resilient buildings attract sales and tenants, enhance property values and dramatically improve an asset’s ability to be adapted or modified to accommodate changing needs.

The COVID-19 pandemic is a prominent case-in-point: we now have a heightened awareness of the importance of biosecurity in buildings and have accelerated the integration of resilient design approaches. Health facilities are now being designed to better respond to isolation and social distancing requirements, while encouraging greater use of natural ventilation and outdoor spaces.

Owners of other asset types can leverage lessons learned in the context of the pandemic, as well as others relating to seismic safety (where in California venues like the LA Clippers’ Intuit Dome and the Inland Empire Emergency Operations Centre are designed to meet, and even exceed, respective code requirements). The result? More resilient assets that can remain operational and minimize risk to occupants in the event of future disease outbreaks or natural events.

From the pandemic to last month’s earthquake in Melbourne, recent events have only reinforced the importance of building with resilience in mind. It’s an approach that requires planning, multidisciplinary expertise, integrated design, and a long-term view that, if embraced, will ensure our global cities, including ‘Marvellous Melbourne’, continue to grow and thrive, regardless of what might shake them.

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Ed Ang is an associate director in strategic engineering based in Sydney. He is a chartered professional engineer in both Australia and the UK, specializing in mechanical and fire safety. Over the last 15 years, Ed has worked on many major buildings and infrastructure projects as a multidiscipline design manager, project manager or as a specialist in fire and risk. Ed works closely with ArchTam’s key clients to develop integrated solutions to complex project challenges. Through his involvement in Sydney Metro Northwest, Ed was recognized as Sydney’s Young Professional Engineer of the Year 2019.

What inspired you to join the industry? I was drawn to the opportunity to get involved in different projects from a range of sectors. Over 15 years, I have been fortunate to work on stadiums, train stations, road, rail and utility tunnels, substations, naval bases, airports, industry buildings and historic buildings. This has helped me to develop a diverse skillset and use my experience across a variety of sectors to help solve our clients’ unique challenges.

What is your favorite ArchTam project that you’ve worked on and why? My favorite project to date has been Sydney Metro Northwest. We were faced with a world-first challenge of integrating a fully automated driverless train into an existing heavy rail corridor, alongside conventional trains. There was no precedent around the world at this scale.

It meant that we had to develop a brand new certification framework that allowed this to be certified and accepted by our client, Transport for New South Wales (TfNSW), while we also utilized digital tools like laser survey as part of our work.

This was only made possible by fostering a collaborative culture to support engagement not just with TfNSW, but with the many stakeholders on the project including operators, constructors, safety agencies, emergency services, local councils and disability councils.

Our integrated approach across many technical disciplines helped us to provide a more holistic and efficient outcome which contributed to the Sydney Metro Northwest project opening on time. This project was memorable for me in many ways, and it led to recognition from Engineers Australia as the Sydney Young Professional Engineer of the Year in 2019.

Tell us a story of how your work positively impacted the community. What inspires me most is that the projects I have worked on directly benefit the people in our communities – by improving their journey to work, improving quality of life, or by supporting access to energy and increased comfort in the home. Knowing that I have contributed to improving people’s lives is hugely fulfilling, and one of the main reasons I became an engineer in the first place.

The experience I have gained has helped me to contribute voluntary time to assist governments and industry bodies in shaping better legislation and providing inputs into a state’s strategic goals for safety and infrastructure.

What career advice would you like to share? One of the things I always try to remember is that “If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants”. I believe it’s important to remember that often what we achieve today is due to the effort and contributions of those who came before us. While strong leadership is vital, collaboration is fundamental to success. This is a constant reminder for me to appreciate the support and guidance I receive throughout my career, and to be a support for others whenever I can.

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In his more than 10 years of industry experience, John has mainly focused on electrical engineering projects delivered for Canadian federal government agencies. This work has included numerous extensive electrical renovations to national defense hangars, a cyber security center, and various Canadian Armed Forces bases. John has provided a wide range of services including condition assessments, feasibility studies, concept design, schematic design, design development, preparation of tender and construction documents, and construction administration.

What inspired you to join the industry? As a teenager and in my early twenties, I had the privilege of travelling to different parts of the world. In the various countries I visited, I witnessed a lack of proper electricity distribution systems and saw how this caused numerous problems and challenges in the everyday lives of those who lived and worked there. Through this experience, I realized how important it is to have adequate electrical systems that are fundamental to the quality of human lives. This inspired me to focus my studies on creating safe electrical systems and ultimately led me to this industry.

Moreover, growing up I was always interested in interior design and creating unique spaces. As I began my career in the industry, I realized that the electrical systems that I was designing are a crucial part of creating fascinating and functional interior spaces in all sorts of unique buildings. This too has influenced my career choice and is also part of the reason why I chose to work in the electrical engineering consulting field.

What is your favorite ArchTam project that you’ve worked on and why? The project that I really enjoyed working on the most is the Canadian Centre for Cyber Security in Ottawa, the capital city of Canada. The aim of the project was to create a new space with cutting edge infrastructure built to accommodate and perform the various tasks needed to ensure the cyber security of our nation.

As I worked on this project, I started appreciating the fact that I was actually making a positive contribution to the safety and security of my country. As a result, I began to experience a significant sense of personal and professional satisfaction from my work. I also really enjoyed creating high-tech infrastructure designs that are not common in today’s typical buildings. And although the project introduced many challenges and learning curbs for me to overcome during the design, I was able to use those obstacles to become more knowledgeable and experienced in the specialized systems I was working on. I’m glad and grateful that I had this opportunity to work on such an interesting and unique project.

Tell us a story of how your work positively impacted the community. Soon after I joined ArchTam, I worked on a project to build a central bus station that would serve as a transportation hub for a newly planned city center, connecting a new subway station to a new rapid bus lane system.

Our team was focused on building a new station that would be intuitive, convenient, accessible and enjoyable for the public to use. It would also provide seamless interconnection between the rapid bus system and the subway system. Now that it’s constructed, this station has benefited the community and its residents with an enhanced public transit system that is faster, more reliable and provides greater mobility for local transit users. By providing members of the community with better connections to their jobs, schools and recreational activities, this project elevated the quality of life for those who live and work there.

What career advice would you like to share? As you go through your chosen career path, there are many obstacles and factors that could be frustrating and discouraging. Try to have a few personal goals or objectives that you can apply to each of the projects you work on and do your best to find project elements that align with these goals and objectives. This will give you the drive to overcome hindrances and successfully finish a project that you can be proud of in the end. As you gain more of these positive and meaningful experiences, you will appreciate your career even more.

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Pierre Roberson is design lead in ArchTam’s Michigan office, whose socially driven design approach results in inspirational and ambitious architectural solutions that complement the urban context. Throughout his career, he has played a key role in the design and delivery of several groundbreaking & award-winning projects.

Design inspiration

I was a naturally talented artist as a kid, receiving a handful of accolades and recognitions for my work. I also excelled in science and mathematics. When I was introduced to architecture through one of my high school teachers, I thought that it might be a good career path for me – a very practical application of art, math and science.

A design that reflects the people of the city

I had the pleasure of designing a new YMCA for downtown Flint, Michigan. The YMCA of Greater Flint has been triumphant through the turbulent times that the city has faced. This organization is a reflection of the people of the city, who have exhibited an unmatched resilience and ability to endure, survive and grow. Working on this project has allowed me to witness this in action, and it is breathtaking. It’s one thing to be strong… It’s a whole other thing to be “Flint Strong”!

The current Downtown Flint YMCA is much more than what meets the eye—it has historic roots. Many NBA players (most notably 2020 NBA Champion Kyle Kuzma of the LA Lakers) spent time at the Downtown Flint Y as young athletes and, in turn, created an emotional connection to the space. By metaphorically peeling away the historic exterior, we are unveiling a new beginning for the building and deepening its existing social connection with the community.

The exterior of the new building will be visually and psychologically inviting to the community, fostering an environment of inclusivity. The verticality of the original architecture will be brought to life in a modern way, to support the building’s updated identity.

The building itself is intended to manifest what the YMCA does for the community. Its materials directly correlate to the history of the city and its people. A combination of natural and man-made textures will work together to represent the strength, resiliency and authenticity of Flint.

Creating design opportunities for the Black community

As I grow into my role as a leader in the design profession, I am finding that architecture is about much more than just blueprints and beautiful designs. At its heart, this profession is about social responsibility. It is our job to present ideas that facilitate the development of the right amenities and spaces for communities to thrive – physically, mentally and economically. For an architect, being “socially conscious” is more than just a tagline – it’s a responsibility. In many cases, we are the voice of the community and our design solutions and built works should manifest that. As a native Detroiter & blue-collar raised Black architect, I understand the voice of Black Americans and the issues faced by the Black community. I am dedicated to working in my community, providing appropriate architectural and design services to individuals and companies that might otherwise be overlooked by a world-class organization. I have developed a long-term business strategy that focuses on historically underserved communities. Through this strategy, I am providing access to the wealth of expertise at ArchTam for burgeoning businesses, community organizations and reanimated communities that are gearing up for revitalization.

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Daniel DiMarco, associate principal, B+P, is a leader in the higher education and healthcare market sectors and is based in ArchTam’s Roanoke office in Virginia. He has more than 25 years of comprehensive design experience for leading higher education and healthcare facilities, including public, private and government clients. Projects also include higher education spaces related to translational medical research and schools of medicine.

Design inspiration

I chose the design profession because it offered the opportunity to use a variety of interests I have had from my earliest years to engage the world in a meaningful way. This includes creativity, math, science and history combined to find solutions to today’s challenges.

Passion for places of learning

Having spent many years in higher education spaces as a student between my undergraduate and graduate degrees, I have a deep appreciation for places of learning. Higher education spaces are evolving with approaches toward pedagogy being challenged by economic and technological pressures. As a designer, I have the ability to work with our clients to perceive solutions that fit their current needs as well as provide them with degrees of flexibility in design that will adapt to tomorrow’s approach toward learning.

Most rewarding project

While working at ArchTam here in Roanoke, Virginia, I have been fortunate to be the lead architect on the Riverside Center, now referred to as the Virginia Tech Carilion Health Sciences and Technology Campus (Campus and Facilities | Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC | Virginia Tech). ArchTam had just completed the master plan for this campus when I first joined in 2004. I was able to work with the client on developing the design for a 100,000-square-foot medical office building that also includes a range of higher education and research spaces, a 220,000-square-foot outpatient medical facility that is part of the emerging academic medical center and includes resident space and conference areas, the new 154,000-square-foot Virginia Tech Carilion (VTC) School of Medicine and Research Institute, a four-year medical school, and recently, the new VTC Fralin Biomedical Research Institute that includes higher education spaces, research areas and clinical services related to veterinary care and translational medical research.

This new campus has become an academic medical center and a nucleus of transformation. It started out as a brownfield site and became a robust center of higher education, translational medical research and clinical care. This campus is a regional hub for care and is becoming noticed on a global scale for the discoveries that are being accomplished in buildings we designed.

Positive impact of design

Design has the power to improve people’s lives in a variety of ways which, in turn, have positive effects on the environment. In higher education settings, the students can grow and mature in ways that not only affect their own lives, but have ripple effects on others through positive interaction and engagement.

A quote from Winston Churchill in 1943 — “We shape our buildings; thereafter they shape us” — not only relates to our process in the design of buildings, but how the actual built form has transformation effects on those that inhabit the spaces that are part of the project. This quote has resonated with me throughout my career.

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ArchTam partnered with a local transit agency, Valley Metro Rail, Inc. (VMR), to develop the internship program that dates from a startup endeavor in May 2017 and ran through the two years where ArchTam led the South Central LRT project’s design phase. Approximately 25 students participated in the program which took place in June and July and consisted of eight daylong sessions.

During the program’s weekly sessions, the students – mainly high school sophomores and juniors – had hands on experiences in planning and design. In one week, students were divided into teams and used Autocad software to design and build model bridges. They then competed to see which bridge could hold the most weight. In another session, the students had the opportunity to speak in-depth with ArchTam engineering interns who are from similar backgrounds and are now seniors in civil engineering colleges.

Prior to the program, the students had no exposure to engineering or planning and little concept of what these professions were about. The weekly sessions provided insight and made the possibility of careers in these fields seem within reach, a major achievement for students who came from schools in the South Phoenix area a greatly underserved area that has limited resources. The hands-on experience, exposure to the ArchTam interns and engineering and planning professionals working on the South Central project opened students’ eyes to new possibilities of careers in the planning and engineering professions. One student, a senior in 2018, is now attending engineering school at Arizona State University.

The students were also introduced to leaders from the City of Phoenix, VMR and several community partners who discussed careers in design, engineering, planning and public service. College application assistance, financial aid counseling, ongoing mentoring and a $1,000 stipend were also provided to the program participants. The internship culminated at a graduation celebration at South Mountain Community College.

Investing in the communities in which we work is an important part of the work that we do and I’m proud we were able to introduce these students to our professions. This was a team effort and I want to give a shout out to my teammate Janet Yeow, our lead design manager, who organized the activities.

The program had been approved to run for a third year, but unfortunately was cancelled in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. I look forward to participating in the South Central LRT program once it resumes and always welcome the opportunity to give back to the Phoenix community and future designers, engineers and planners.

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