Launched by IEMA in 2019, the awards showcase the achievements of organisations striving to tackle the global challenges of the climate and environmental emergency, celebrating the people and businesses that are transforming the world to sustainability.

Waterman is part of the IEMA Digital Steering Group and has been working alongside WSP, Mott MacDonald, Arcadis, Atkins, ERM, Arup, AECOM, Royal HaskoningDHV, Quod, Sweco, Jacobs, Capita and Barton Willmore, to explore how digital practices and emerging technologies can be incorporated into the development impact assessment process.

The judges commented that the Group is: “A great collaboration between 14 consultancies to deliver an improvement in best practice and consistency for sector.”

The Digital Steering Group’s first step was to release a Primer in March 2020. The Primer defines what Digital Impact Assessment (Digital IA) is, why it is needed, and outlines how digital tools and technology – such as unmanned aerial vehicles, geographic information systems, mobile mapping, virtual reality and remote sensing – could be utilised to provide data for impact assessments. This was an important step in setting out the challenges and opportunities associated with Digital IA, informing our industry and generating wider discussion. The Digital Steering Group then went on to prepare the sixth edition of the IEMA Impact Assessment Outlook Journal released in May 2020 which focussed on how Digital IA is implemented in practice.

You can view the full list of winners by clicking here.

Coventry University’s stunning scheme amalgamates several existing buildings within the Faculty of Arts and Humanities campus through a new build centralised hub. Combining extensive refurbishment and regeneration, the project also incorporates a new modern four-storey steel superstructure.

Home to a range of state-of-the-art technologies, studios and equipment, the development combines the full refurbishment of the Maurice Foss building, Graham Sutherland Tower and Workshops and the former Boiler House, with the co-ordination of a new four-storey steel superstructure located in the middle. The new facilities feature a hyper studio designed for cross-disciplinary projects and immersive studios with cutting-edge technologies, enhancing the faculty’s creative, teaching and learning spaces in a unique environment.
The campus remained partially operational throughout periods of the construction for which our team provided structural and civil engineering services to main contractor, McLaughlin & Harvey Ltd.

We provided structural engineering on the project from concept through to construction and still work with Hammerson on the scheme to this day, delivering everything from tenant fit out to extensions and repurposing various parts of the centre, with the collaboration now extending to Grand Central.

The shopping centre itself consists of two main buildings (East and West Mall) which are connected by an underground passage lined with shops. The main shopping concourse is sheltered by a glass roof known as the SkyPlane which covers 75,000 sq ft and was carefully designed to appear as if there is no visible means of support.

Further works included the refurbishment of the listed Rotunda building, restoration of St Martin’s Church, reconstruction of the Old Moor Street station for Chiltern Railways, and the construction of a new indoor market and multi-storey car parks.

Client: Hammerson
Architect: Benoy Architects

Our building services experts provided mechanical and electrical building services for this workspace, inspired by the design of a country barn to mirror the brand’s heritage, with product design and creativity at its heart.
Our team worked closely with the architects, Edge, to sensitively integrate the new ‘exposed’ services strategy with the existing and new structural elements. This approach meant the purposefully exposed services had to be perfectly aligned against the pitched roof, in synergy with the ‘barn’ aesthetic.

To reduce the visual impact of the new ventilation services as well as to cut embodied carbon through reduced material use, the atrium is used as a return air plenum. This provides a duct-free path back to the roof-mounted air handling plant where waste heat from the extract air is recovered via thermal wheels and re-used to pre-heat the fresh air supply. The reduction of operational energy was a driving factor in the design brief from the outset. In response, the development uses the latest air source heat pump, high-efficiency heating and cooling technology and high efficiency, intelligently controlled lighting throughout to further cut CO2 emissions.
The project won the Midlands and Central England Corporate Workplace Award at the 2022 BCO awards.

Client: Joules Group Plc
Architect: Edge