About

My first degree was in Geography, which I read at the School of Oriental and African Studies in London and my early career was in Technical Training at the British Council. I then re-trained as a carpenter; this gradually developing into more general construction work, with a particular emphasis on refurbishment and conservation projects.

Building on this experience, I was subsequently given the opportunity to train in-post as a structural engineer, getting involved in a wide variety of projects. Besides structural appraisal, analysis and design, I have been involved a large amount of building surveying and reporting.

This skill set, together with a long-standing interest in building conservation, has resulted in some very interesting roles, including the inspection of a large number of listed buildings on behalf of the Peak District National Park and Derbyshire Historic Buildings Trust. Recently, I have been involved in a new English Heritage pilot scheme for surveying listed buildings.

Teaching

My teaching interests are around the following basic subject groups:

Building Conservation
Building Pathology
Fire Safety
Structural Engineering
Sustainable Construction

I am also particularly interested in a number of subject areas which, strictly speaking, fall between two disciplines (for example: fire safety in historic buildings). This is reflected in my teaching, where I am keen to emphasise the interrelationships between many of the topics we study, rather than putting them into separate ‘boxes’.

I believe that students learn best with the use of real examples and whenever possible I build such examples, as well as more complex case studies, into my teaching. I am lucky to have a large archive of case study material from my professional practice. I add to this periodically, either from new projects (that come via CPD activities or from my professional contacts), or as a result of my ongoing interest in buildings and habit of always carrying a camera. In a similar vein, I also have a number of useful contacts, particularly in the building conservation sector, through which I am able to arrange unique, behind-the-scenes, field trips to some nationally important buildings.

Publications

Other activities

Consultation: Structural Engineering practice; Peak District National Park; South Yorkshire Building Preservation Trust; Derbyshire Historic Buildings Trust.

Chartered Institute of Building, Engineering Council, Institution of Structural Engineers, Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.