Bath was keen to hang on to Walker, and he was persuaded to shift to the building engineering course. It's evident from his enthusiasm that he had found his forte. "The first two years were common across the engineering disciplines, so I could take my time deciding what I wanted to do. It was very much hands on learning. This is the best way, because you learn by your mistakes – very quickly.
"I was particularly drawn to building environmental engineering as we had a couple of excellent lecturers. They were practising engineers, so they were working in the field and had first hand knowledge of how building environmental engineering really worked."
Walker adds that the value of the course was that it enabled students to work with other parts of the building design team. "It gave me empathy for other disciplines. I realised that it was about producing integrated design, not a single dimensional approach. And I wasn't afraid of architects!"
Straight out of University, Walker was thrown in at the deep end with his first job for Hoare Lea, working as the lead air conditioning engineer on the Poole Centre for the Arts in Dorset. "There were very few people with the required skills, so although I was very young, I had lots of responsibility. That was my first job for Hoare Lea, and I am still here thirty years later. I'm not sure if you learn more that way or not, but I have absolutely no regrets about staying."
It is clear that Walker values creativity and enthusiasm as vital characteristics for an engineer, and a consultancy. This is reflected throughout the firm, from its recruitment policies, to how Hoare Lea deals with clients.
"Customer focused is probably an overused phrase these days. But I think you have to go beyond satisfying clients. You have to excite them with what you do. We want to work with demanding clients. They are the best kind because they challenge you to work better."
Hoare Lea offers CIBSE and IEE accredited training schemes as well as a mentoring programme. But Walker isn't simply looking for the cream of the engineering schools. "As a profession, we are moving away from just being about sizing pipes and valves, towards greater involvement in informing design of buildings. We need a high quality of intellect in our staff to deal with this new role."
Hoare Lea was established in 1862 by engineer and inventor Henry Lea. The company is still a partnership: "We intend to stay that way so we can concentrate on serving our clients, not becoming accountants and having to deal with analysts and shareholders."
With ten offices and 450 staff nationwide, Hoare Lea isn't the biggest consultancy. Walker says that at the time of the interview the firm is just putting the finishing touches to its five year business plan. Growth will be organic, and he's determined that the consultancy will not go down the multi-disciplinary route: "It's not for us. We will continue to be m&e consultants. We have developed specialisms such as lighting, fire engineering, lifts, acoustics, virtual engineering and r&d. And we expect to expand on these in the future."
Walker is ambitious for the business. "We want to be the BMW of the consulting world. We want the best clients, and the high profile jobs which in turn attract the best staff.
"We aim to be truly world class, delivering quality, innovation and value. We want to lead the field."
Source
Building Sustainable Design
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