Redeveloping Brighton’s New England Quarter: a graduate structural engineer joins the design team

Brighton’s New England Quarter is undergoing significant redevelopment and regeneration. The scheme comprises a range of developments including a £20 million project to construct two buildings that will provide environmentally friendly homes along with community space, commercial units, roof allotments and on-site energy generation facilities.

My first major project

I'm working as part of the structural design team on a property project for a site within Brighton’s New England Quarter development scheme. It’s the first major project I’ve been involved in since graduating. The aim is to redevelop and regenerate the area, which is near Brighton’s main railway station, to provide a vibrant place for people to live and work. There are many sites within the scheme and we are working for our client on the detailed structural design of two buildings that will be situated on Blocks E and F.

Driven by sustainability

The two buildings will be eight and eleven stories high: sustainability is the biggest driver in their design. The project uses ‘One Planet Living’ principles as a framework, so the buildings are designed to reduce energy demands and their construction should make minimal impact on the environment. Renewable energy generation on site will be provided by a biomass boiler and roof-mounted wind turbines. Construction is just about to start and is scheduled to be completed in two years.

Perks of the job
'I'm pleased I chose to work in a structural design role. I go out on site for visits but I don’t have to do the early hours and, more often than not, I go on sunny days!'

I joined the team six months ago and have been working on the design details for the concrete structures. A major focus of the project is how we can maximise the proportion of recycled components within the concrete frame structure. It’s a delicate balance: we’re trying to minimise the amount of materials we use and limit the weight of the buildings so that we can reduce the size of the foundations, but at the same time the structure has to be strong enough. I liaise regularly with the architects and reinforcement detailers to review and refine my specifications and designs.

It’s exciting to be involved in something that is so forward looking. Sustainable construction is largely uncharted territory and that presents challenges of finding out what materials are available and how they can be used.

From problems to tangible results

I also work on a number of other smaller projects, which provides a nice variety. We work in small teams and I like this because I can easily learn from my manager and the experienced engineers around me. You really start to learn when you work on real problems. The solutions aren’t always neat and tidy and few things are straightforward. For example, the design for the Brighton project includes thin columns and the buildings are irregular shapes – these factors add more complexity when calculating stability and strength. Despite the challenges, the highlight is seeing the problems you have overcome on paper become tangible: a building rising up from the ground.

I’m pleased I chose to work in a structural design role – it’s a rewarding job. I have contact with a range of people and interesting problems to solve. I go out on site for visits but I don’t have to do the early hours and, more often than not, I go on sunny days!

Kate Jones is a graduate structural engineer at Scott Wilson Group plc. She graduated with an MEng in civil engineering from Loughborough University.