Having finished my second year at the University of Bristol studying Civil Engineering, I was looking for a summer placement at a company whose values and motivations matched my own. These values include placing sustainability at the heart of all designs and working in a progressive, creative, and inclusive office environment. Now, looking back after completing the 6-week placement, I don’t think I could have found a better fit!
The majority of my placement centred around a large residential development in Tottenham. I followed this project from the initial kick off meeting to the RIBA Stage 3 deadline. I had a variety of roles during this time, which drew on my knowledge from university as well as exploring some concepts which were new to me. One of the highlights of this project for me was joining the Stage 3 design review. This experience emphasised the wealth of knowledge and passion that the team at Engenuiti possesses, and made me excited to see there is so much more for me to learn.
In addition to being part of the structural team for most of the placement, I also worked within the civils and structural modelling teams. During this time, I learned to use Civils 3D, Flow, and Revit software. All of these were new to me at the time, but by talking to the team, listening to their expert advice, and using the software on active projects, I was able to develop my skills and love for their benefits. These skills will be invaluable for future projects both in and out of university.
One of my favourite tasks was structural modelling using Revit; I built a full model of the structural elements of a houseboat using only the architect’s floorplan and the design criteria. I found this process to be incredibly rewarding, creative, and satisfying.
The company’s commitment to sustainability was emphasised through the work I did surrounding carbon. My tasks included researching industry standards to support future project development and conducting my own carbon calculations for a full-scale project. This gave me insight into how the company approaches reducing carbon and how sustainability plays a role when working with and for clients and architects.
In addition to all this, I was also fortunate enough to attend multiple site visits, including large-scale office and residential developments. Seeing the projects up close and chatting to the project managers about ongoing issues and design changes was very interesting.
Overall, I had an amazing experience during my summer placement, which was fully due to the innovative projects and incredible team that work here!
