Consulting engineer Battle McCarthy will open its first overseas office in New York this spring as part of a US expansion.
The London firm has recruited sustainability consultant Ben Shepherd to set up the branch. Shepherd previously worked at the Rocky Mountain Institute in Colorado, a not-for-profit environmental organisation.

Battle McCarthy aims to make headway in the recession-battered US market by capitalising on its expertise in sustainability. Shepherd said: "There's quite a market now for green building in the USA. We've seen that it's only the green projects that are still moving forward."

Battle McCarthy is already working on the Wrigley technology centre, a Chicago office building, and the masterplan of the 130 ha campus of the National Institute of Health in Washington DC.

Shepherd joined the firm in November, and is working in London. He said the firm planned to open further offices in the USA.