The potential of new possibilities

Having recently relocated from the UK to New Zealand, Alex Black-Roberts, Senior Structural Engineer – Building Structures, shares his thoughts on how digital tools will enable new buildings to be created from reused materials and his new role within the building structures team in Auckland.

You’ve recently moved from London to Auckland. What inspired you to go to New Zealand and what projects will you be working on?

I was keen to work abroad so when the opportunity came up to join the Auckland team, I took it. I’ve been with WSP for eight years and have been fortunate to work on some iconic projects in London, as well as Africa and the Middle East. I’ll be working on a range of public sector?projects in New Zealand, including prisons, a theatre and a ferry terminal.?

One of the technical challenges I’m most looking forward to is the opportunity to develop my understanding of seismic design, including new design and analysis methods. I’ve designed for seismic zones before but New Zealand is one of the most seismically active countries in the world so it will be a much bigger part of my role here.

How is the evolution of seismic design impacting the built environment in New Zealand?

The sector’s understanding of how earthquakes impact buildings has developed over time. That means buildings designed 40+ years ago need analyzing and strengthening to make sure they’re robust enough to withstand seismic forces and meet changing regulations. The construction techniques used in previous decades weren’t as seismically resilient as they are now, so even a small amount of movement could cause a disproportionate amount of damage.

Strengthening existing buildings is more technically complex than building from scratch. We often don’t have the information we need to understand how buildings were originally designed and constructed and have to fill in those gaps with surveys, investigations and our experience as engineers.

In London, my understanding of seismic design was more academic. Now it’s part of my lived experience. Just recently I was on the phone to a colleague in another part of New Zealand experiencing an earthquake. He said he could feel the building swaying. That really brings home the importance of seismic design.

What excites you about the future of the built environment?

Reusing existing materials supported by digital tools. It’s still a developing field, but it has the potential to be one of the best innovations in the industry. Having kits of parts from old buildings we can reuse to construct new ones will help create a circular economy for the sector?and cut embodied carbon emissions. It will also add loads of character and meaning to the built environment. Imagine being able to look at a new building and know it’s been created from the buildings where past generations lived.

What inspired you to become a structural engineer and how did you get started?

As a child, I loved finding out how things are put together, by taking them apart and reassembling them. I also liked the idea of being able to point to something tangible and say, that’s what I do for a job. I studied civil engineering at University of Bristol sponsored by WSP through the QUEST scholarship scheme run by the Institution of Civil Engineers. As part of that, I completed a work placement each summer, working with a different WSP team each time. It helped me decide which branch of engineering to go into and after finishing university, I applied for a graduate role with the structural engineering?team in London.

What advice would you give aspiring engineers?

During my time in London, I developed a network of industry experts I could talk to including my mentors, Diego Padilla-Philipps and Nello Petrioli who taught me so much, and Ross Harvey and Andrew Pratt who developed my passion for parametric design. That makes you feel capable as an engineer and confident to tell clients, don’t worry, we’ll sort it.

Diego and Nello also helped foster a great culture of collaboration where you can debate, challenge and bounce ideas around. That way of working is really important to me and I’m looking forward to doing the same with my new team in New Zealand.

What do you think makes a place and where’s your favorite place?

To me, a place is somewhere you want to stop and spend time, not just pass through. I love places that bring people together and enable us to connect – like street food markets and coffee shops. Moving from London to Auckland has helped me reflect on what makes each city great. I’ve not been in New Zealand for long though, so for now, I’d have to say my favorite place is sitting outside a nice pub by the River Thames in London on a warm summer’s evening. You can’t beat the atmosphere and the buzz.

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