Date: 13th March 2019

AABCO pledges to support Curtins Care fundraising

Reinforced Concrete detailing firm, AABCO have admirably stepped forward and pledged to support our nominated Charity of the Year, Marie Curie through contributions from their drawing costs. 5% of each drawing fee will be donated directly to Marie Curie to help fund the charity’s care and support of people living with a terminal illness.

We are aiming to raise £15,000 for Marie Curie. An ambitious target that has been made more achievable thanks to the support and collaboration of AABCO, who came forward voluntarily to contribute to the cause.

AABCO are a company of global engineering experts for reinforced concrete. Since 1994, they have worked on some of the largest and most challenging projects, using state-of-the-art collaborative software to serve clients up to 10 times faster.

Rob Melling, Chief Executive at Curtins, said:

“Caring for families, individuals and communities is vitally important to us at Curtins. Every year we pledge to support a worthy charity and I’m delighted that AABCO are collaborating with us to help provide vital funding to Marie Curie.”

Marie Curie’s vision is for a better life for people and their families living with a terminal illness. Their Nurses care for people in their own home, when they need them most, day or night. They have nine hospices across the UK, providing round-the-clock, specialist care at the heart of communities. Last year, they provided support for more than 50,000 people across the UK.

Date: 13th March 2019

Curtins’ team help fill the gap in Transport Planning education

Our Principal Transport Planner, Irene O’Riordan shared her knowledge of Transport Planning with a class of bright, first year Civil Engineering students at Brighton University on Monday 4^th March.

Irene is a member of the Industry Advisory Board at Brighton University and was invited to provide a transport lecture to fill the gap in the Civil Engineering course’s curriculum. In addition to Irene, George Plant from our London Office also sits on the Advisory Board as a Structural Engineer (and Brighton University Alumni).

Irene’s lecture provided the students with an introduction to Transport Planning, why it is important, the stages of a project’s development that Transport Planners are involved in, and some real-life case studies and project examples. Students also learnt about the ways that transport is changing. Irene presented them with the concept of autonomous vehicles and how these innovations will ultimately impact design, land use, economies, safety and legislation.

It is likely that Irene will contribute to further lectures as the university aims to maintain an aspect of transport planning within the course. We hope that this continued contact will inspire students from Brighton to join our team in student placements or graduate positions.

Date: 12th March 2019

Curtins appointed on 450 new homes scheme

We have been appointed to deliver the civil infrastructure, structural and geotechnical engineering designs to construction on this 21-hectare greenfield site comprising 450 quality homes for L&Q Group near Leamington Spa.

L&Q are keen to make this their national flagship development. As such quality has been paramount throughout the design process. We have been brought on to ensure the delivered scheme is of the required standards – utilising complex 3D ground models to coordinate proposals and communicate our intent amongst the design team.

Tom Leake, Associate at Curtins commented, “This is an exciting project delivering high quality residential units in a complex and challenging, yet picturesque site. The project is giving us a great opportunity to continue our excellent working relationship with L&Q and expand our offering in the residential sector, and to further expand on our existing infrastructure teams.”

The project team also includes Boon Brown Architects. Work is expected to start on site in this summer.

More information here.

Date: 5th March 2019

STEM Ambassadors run workshops in Manchester primary school

Five of our STEM Ambassadors were at St Catherine’s RC Primary School last week running 3 engineering-inspired workshops for Year 4 students.

In teams of 5, we had classes of 30 building the tallest tower possible out of playing cards; building bridges out of materials such as cereal boxes, wooden dowels, pipe cleaners and tapes; and creating giant Jenga towers.

To complete the session, the Ambassadors held a mini competition with all of the teams. The students enjoyed the different activities, and Jenga was by far the loudest and most competitive!

We hope to repeat the workshops in the future with different year groups.

Date: 4th March 2019

Inspiring young women to fulfil their potential

As part of International Women’s Day, on 6th March we will be supporting a brilliant Inspiring Women’s Day Event at Auto Trader in Manchester with championship boxer, Stacey Copeland through her Pave the Way programme.

90 selected students from 8 schools across Manchester will hear from inspirational speakers working in a variety of male-dominated sectors. Six speakers will share their stories and valuable career advice with the students, and will include our Engineer Niamh McCloskey, Nathan Dyke, the Head of Diversity and Inclusion at Auto Trader, Dawn Coward from Ryder Architects, Lawyer, Michelle Garlick, Pamela Jones from Evans Excavation and Sue Patterson from Morgan Sindall.

The event will also get the students involved in a number of engaging hands-on activities and workshops designed to expose the young women to new careers, build confidence and introduce them to positive role models.

We would like to thank photographer, Nigel Maitland who has photographed six of Manchester’s female role models for a photography exhibition as part of the event. The portraits include our Structural Engineer, Nushma Juwaheer and Geo-Environmental Engineer, Jess Bailey.

The schools taking part in the event are Parrs Wood, Levenshulme High, Deans Trust Ardwick, Harrop Fold, The Kingsway, Hazel Grove High and Ashton-on-Mersey.

You can follow us on social media for updates on the event. Twitter @CurtinsConsult, Instagram @wearecurtins and LinkedIn @Curtins.

#pavetheway #internationalwomensday #IWD2019 #balanceforbetter

Date: 27th February 2019

Curtins awarded Winner of the Best BIM Project of the Year 2019

Yesterday evening we were delighted to find out that we have been awarded Winner of the Best BIM Project of the Year at the BIM Awards 2019.

The award-winning project was a new 1,000 bed student space at the Mount Oswald site at Durham University, delivered with Interserve, PCE and Wilmore Iles Architects.

The project’s accommodation blocks were constructed using an offsite manufactured panelised precast concrete structure adopting the principles of ‘Just in time delivery’. Our early design inputs combined with our specialist offsite Digital Delivery toolkit and Digital Prototyping approach drove efficiencies in material quantities, component repetition and an integrated design manufacture-erecting workflow to the benefit of the project.

The award follows on from us successfully achieving BSI BIM Level 2 Kitemark Certification in 2018 and collecting the Doing It: Structural Engineer award at last year’s BIM ceremony.

The BIM Awards honour and recognise the world’s best BIM work and those who created it, by celebrating their exceptional and innovative use of BIM in the built environment.

In 2019 they were judged by some of the UK’s most illustrious BIM-minds of today’s modern digital built environment, including David Miller, Stefan Mordue, Sarah Rock, Rob Jackson, Emma Hooper and Mark Taylor.

We are immensely proud to have gained this award for Best BIM Project of the Year in recognition of our leading position in the field for digital delivery practices.

More about our approach to BIM here.  

Date: 21st February 2019

Curtins named as one of the UK’s best companies to work for

We’re delighted that for a fourth year in a row, we have been named as one of the best companies to work for in the UK in a leading workplace study published by the Sunday Times.

The Sunday Times Best Companies to Work For List is one of the most credible and high-profile compilations of its type in the UK, and to be included once again is excellent.

Released annually, the list remains the most respected and accurate engagement survey in the UK. It recognises the organisations who go above and beyond to boost employee engagement and create an exceptional, inspiring culture. The list is compiled using data gathered through employee surveys, the results of which are meticulously analysed to uncover how employees feel and, more importantly, why they feel that way.

CEO, Rob Melling comments, “I am so very proud that Curtins has been listed in the Sunday Times 100 Best Companies to Work for.

“Helping our staff to achieve the right work/life balance, whilst providing suitable training and development opportunities to help them fulfil their potential, is fundamental to how we come together as a successful business.

“We want them to know that they are part of a business that listens and responds to them, and aims to support not only their professional development, but their families and home life during their career with us. From structured training programmes such as Step Ahead, through company lodges which are free to all staff to use, to enhanced maternity and paternity benefits, we are shaping the future of Curtins through our dedication to people.

“Everyone in our team should be proud of achievement and their contributions to our vibrant and cohesive workplace.”

We celebrated this achievement just days after discovering that we had also been awarded Investors in People Platinum accreditation. The IIP Platinum accreditation is the highest accolade that can be achieved against the Investors in People Standard and is currently held by fewer than 1% of IIP accredited organisations.

We are immensely proud to be recognised, once again, for our commitment to staff engagement, welfare and development.

Date: 21st February 2019

Curtins’ team culture is recognised with Investors in People Platinum award

We are exceptionally proud to announce that this year we have been awarded Investors in People Platinum in recognition of an outstanding commitment to staff welfare and people management.

We first received Investors in People Accreditation in 2006, achieving the entry level of the National Standard. Since then, we have worked our way up from the standard accreditation through to Gold in 2015, demonstrating our advancing commitment to the professional development of our people.

The IIP Platinum accreditation is the highest accolade that can be achieved against the Investors in People Standard and is currently held by fewer than 1% of IIP accredited organisations.

IIP Assessor, John O’Sullivan commented, “In my 25 years as an Investors in People assessor, Curtins is right up there with the best organisations I have seen.  It is demonstrating a number of exemplar practices in the way it manages and develops its people.”

Investors in People has been the international standard for people management since 1991, defining what it takes to lead, support and manage people effectively to achieve sustainable results. Underpinning the Standard is the Investors in People framework, reflecting the latest workplace trends, essential skills and effective structures required to outperform in any industry.

Our IIP Platinum report detailed that, “It was clearly evident that the organisation has an identity and ethos that shapes both its business strategy and its approach to managing people. The overriding theme to emerge from the assessment was a strong, collective desire to ‘preserve the DNA’ of the organisation. This was reflected in:

• an enduring philosophy of sharing knowledge and supporting staff to reach their full potential
• a strong focus on displaying integrity in all aspects of the business
• leaders creating the conditions whereby staff feel empowered, motivated and valued
• a continuing focus on delivering technical excellence and innovation
• a strong commitment to engaging with and supporting local communities
• a managed approach to ‘passing on the baton’ through leadership continuity and succession planning.”

Rob Melling, Chief Executive commented, “Curtins is absolutely delighted to have been awarded the prestigious Investors in People Platinum accreditation.

“Our commitment to the professional development of our staff has evolved over time to include apprenticeships, Curtins Academy, reverse mentoring and our new Step Ahead programme for senior members of staff. Wellbeing is also at the heart of how we operate – from staff having their birthdays off to being able to holiday in one of our four holiday lodges for free, we make sure our people come first.

“We are continually looking at ways to create sustainable success, inspire and empower our people and reward performance. The Platinum accreditation is testament to our dedication to these goals.”

Curtins was awarded IIP Platinum on 20 February 2019. For more information about Investors in People please visit www.investorsinpeople.com.

Date: 20th February 2019

Curtins pledges to help the smash the ‘class ceiling’

The first major grassroots study in Britain showed that many workers believe that where they come from holds them back and that their industry is dominated by class divide; and only one in eight children from low-income backgrounds are likely to progress to become a high-earner as an adult. These are alarming findings.

Our founder believed in creating opportunities for everyone, especially young people, and his belief still resonates with us today. That is why we’re delighted to have signed up to the Social Mobility Pledge. Through the work with our STEM Ambassadors and Teacher Placements, and our programme of work experience and apprenticeships, we are already endeavouring accelerate the rate of change.

The Pledge is a commitment for us to follow these three straightforward but powerful steps:

Partnership

We will build on our partnerships with schools and colleges to provide coaching through quality careers advice, enrichment experience and/or mentoring to people from disadvantaged backgrounds or circumstances.

Access

We will continue to provide structured work experience and apprenticeship opportunities to people from disadvantaged backgrounds or circumstances.

Recruitment

We will ensure our employee recruitment practices are open and remain a level playing field for people from disadvantaged backgrounds or circumstances.

We look forward to the working with the Social Mobility Pledge to create equal opportunity for all.

Date: 20th February 2019

Curtins moves to larger premises on Pembroke Lane in Dublin

Following several years of planning, in September 2016 we opened our first office outside of the UK, providing a local presence in the Irish capital, Dublin.

The office started out as a small team in a shared central Dublin building. Since then we have developed a portfolio of major projects across Ireland. With a growing workload, we have moved to our own office premises on Pembroke Lane to accommodate a larger team.

Chief Executive, Rob Melling commented, “The office in Dublin has allowed us to serve existing clients working in the Irish market and provide employment opportunities for Irish staff in other offices who expressed desire to move home.

“I’m pleased to now share the news of our office expansion. It’s an excellent development for all of us here at Curtins, which will facilitate the continued growth of our business in Ireland.”

From the new premises, we can offer our full complement of services including Civils & Structures, Transport Planning, Environmental, Infrastructure, Geotechnical, Conservation & Heritage and Principal Designer.

The new office location at 11 Pembroke Lane, Dublin 2, D02 CX82 is less than 5 minutes from the team’s previous spot on Fitzwilliam Square.

The office is led by Technical Director, Diarmuid Healy who returned to Ireland to open the first Dublin office, having spent 7 years with Curtins in London. Supported by the technical expertise of our 13 other UK offices, Healy and his team have delivered major schemes in Ireland including projects with Centre Parcs, University College Cork, a housing framework with Dublin City Council and a high profile 21,000-seater stadium in Navan.

Diarmuid Healy commented, “Since we opened in 2016, Curtins has successfully developed strong working-relationships with a number of leading architects, developers, local authorities and contractors. We’re pleased to have seen these lead to some really exciting projects for us, from large scale complex new-builds to small bespoke refurbishments.

“I’m looking forward to continuing to build close relationships with our clients and contributing to a diverse range projects from our new office on Pembroke Lane.”

Contact the Dublin office here.