SSDA 2012: The Judges

Chairman of the Structural Steel Design Awards judges David Lazenby CBE had a distinguished career as a consulting engineer, and as Chairman of the lead European committee he led the huge pan European exercise to develop the Eurocodes. A new turn in the 1990s saw him directing British Standards (BSI). David Lazenby’s career began with Balfour Beatty, then moved to consultant Andrews Kent & Stone, where he stayed for 30 years, becoming managing partner and subsequently a director. In 1990–91 he was one of the youngest ever Presidents of the Institution of Structural Engineers. In parallel he had become involved in developing codes and standards, advancing from technical committees and sector boards to become a non-executive director of BSI Group.  In 1997 he was asked to become the Director of British Standards, one of three executive directors of the group responsible for over 5000 staff in 100+ countries. His experience both as a user of standards and as a committee and board member helped him to introduce a more businesslike approach and a new focus on market relevance, bringing global success to the organisation. Establishing British Standards as a world leader in its field, as well as making it profitable, has been almost unique among national standards bodies. He was awarded the CBE in 2000. Since 2003 he has operated his own consultancies, Eurocode Consultants, and DWL Consultants, in the fields of certification and company management.

Martin Manning is a Structural Engineer.  He is an Arup Fellow. He joined the firm directly from university and for over 40 years has worked in  Arup offices,  and on projects, around the world, most recently on buildings in the transport sector.  He is the Chairman of the SCI, a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering and a Member of The Institution of Structural Engineers.

Gerry Hayter has spent his career in transport, mainly in London. He joined London Underground as a civil engineering graduate in 1975, working on the design of railway bridges, lifts and stations. After 10 years he joined the Bridges Engineering Division of the Department of Transport where he developed new standards for the design, assessment of highway bridges and structures for 40 tonne lorries.  In 1994 he joined the London Network Management Division of the Highways Agency, responsible for the maintenance of highway structures in West London. A number of senior technical posts at the agency followed, culminating in his present position as Group Manager of the Knowledge Management & Pavements Group, with responsibility for the development of the Agency’s £28.6m knowledge programme.

Bill Taylor joined architect Michael Hopkins in 1982 straight from Sheffield University School of Architecture and became his partner in 1988. He worked on and was responsible for a large number of distinguished, award winning projects including The Mound Stand at Lord’s, Inland Revenue Headquarters and the University Jubilee Campus, both in Nottingham, City Art Gallery, Manchester and the Applied Research Facility at Northern Arizona University. After completing the National Tennis Centre at Roehampton, Bill left his role as Managing Director with the practice in Spring 2010 to concentrate on his own projects. A recipient of a number of Structural Steel Design Awards, he is a member of the RIBA Awards Group, is an Assessor for the RIBA Competitions programme and was a founding member of Tensinet, the pan European research organisation which researches lightweight structures and membrane architecture.

Joe Locke MBE retired in 2004 from his position at William Hare, where he was responsible for the engineering aspects of the company’s activities and also Executive Director of subsidiary Westbury Tubular Structures; having previously retired in 1998 as Chief Executive Officer of Watson Steel. Joe was an apprentice with Watson and sat his associate membership of the Institution of Structural Engineers at only 23. Joe worked at home and overseas on a considerable number of high prestige contracts, including Sellafield nuclear power station’s massive thermal oxide reprocessing plant and the terminal building of Kansai airport, Japan. He was awarded an MBE in 1990 for his contribution to the structural steelwork industry. In 2007 he recieved a Gold Medal of the Institution of Structural Engineers.

Christopher Nash is a Partner of Grimshaw Architects. He graduated in 1978 from Bristol University School of Architecture, and joined Grimshaw in 1982. As an architect he was responsible for many of the practice’s high profile buildings. These include – from his early years – the Financial Times Printing Works in London’s Docklands and the British Pavilion for the Seville Expo 92, The Western Morning News headquarters in Plymouth, the RAC Regional Headquarters in Bristol and many other projects. Having spent ten years as Managing Partner, Chris has recently returned to leading projects. Following the success of the Zurich Airport fifth expansion project, he is currently Partner in charge of a number of projects ranging from the Gatwick Airport South Terminal modernisation to the Cutty Sark Conservation Project.

Oliver Tyler joined Wilkinson Eyre Architects (WEA) in 1991 becoming a Director in 1999. He has spent over 25 years in architectural practice with extensive experience in leading and coordinating the design and construction of many high profile buildings and infrastructure projects. Oliver has led a number of prestigious projects at WEA including Stratford Market Depot and Stratford Regional Station in London for the Jubilee Line Extension; the Dyson Headquarters in Wiltshire, regional headquarters for Audi and the Arena and Convention Centre in Liverpool – the centerpiece for the city’s 2008 Capital of Culture celebrations. Oliver is lead on a number of major sport, infrastructure and commercial office schemes including as Project Director for the Crossrail Liverpool Street Station and the recently completed London Cable Car (Emirates Air Line).