My first Publication Arup_BuildingDesign2020_v2 | Page 6

People
“When I joined Arup I was brand new, I didn’t know anybody –
but I could walk into a room in a joint venture and pick out who
the Arup people were, because the Arup people were saying ‘Let’s
try this,’ and the other people would be saying ‘No, no, we didn’t
do it that way on the last project, so why do it that way now?’ ”
—Jim Quiter, Principle, Fire Engineering
Building design starts with building
designers. Both day-to-day and over the
long term, people are where changes in
the industry will be felt first. Over the next
decade, changing skillsets, new approaches
to relationships and a shifting recruitment
landscape will all transform the traditional
roles of people in building design.
1.1 Skills
Building designers at all stages of their
careers are increasingly required to master
specialised skills.
A basic suite of technology-focused skills
are considered a fundamental component
of new building designers’ toolsets;
ensuring that these skills are effectively
disseminated to veteran staff as well can help
build organisational resiliency. Similarly,
specialism-related skills and certifications in
areas such as sustainability, product design
and advanced manufacturing techniques add
considerable value across teams.
Left: Penguin Pool, Arup New York, 2012
Integrating across disciplines and between
project phases is increasingly necessary to
ensure consistent project management from
inception to completion. Identifying and
leveraging opportunities for ongoing formal
and informal learning are critical for AEC
firms to retain well-rounded skill portfolios
across generations of staff into the
near future.
Specialisation & Fragmentation
Trends of skill specialisation and
fragmentation continue across the
engineering and building professions.
Programming and software development
are critical areas for skill growth across
the field, and can provide meaningful
advantages for prototyping, visualisation
and collaboration. Materials science, design
integration, and client interface skills are
all important components of the modern
building designer’s toolkit, as is fluency
with recent developments in fabrication and
construction technologies.
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