Buro Happold has made a key appointment in its Specialist Consulting group to strengthen further its expertise in security management. Mark Whitaker brings with him over 25 years of experience of the private security industry, counter-terrorism and the British army.
The appointment bolsters the group’s capabilities in helping clients ensure appropriate security precautions and crisis management measures are integrated into their projects.
Mark is an explosives engineer who has most recently been specialising in crisis and security management for an international, independent risk consultancy. His work for Buro Happold will see him analysing building design projects and assessing where security issues might arise and how to mitigate any risk. This can be done through modifying the design to enhance lighting schemes, by considering security when designing façades and atria or careful planning of counter measures such as CCTV, intruder detection systems and access control.
As well as providing advice like this, the team will also assess broader implications of security measures. For example, in contingency and emergency planning the design of rapid evacuation routes has implications on health and safety issues and accessibility for disabled people.
“It’s a complex area and we can enhance Buro Happold’s value by bringing clarity to these issues for clients. We understand the issues with regards to securing their environment and can provide well engineered, cost effective the solutions,” says Mark.
“Working with Buro Happold’s profound understanding of the built environment and their experience of delivering complex projects, we can bring a new insight to the needs of modern buildings and their surroundings,” says Mark.
The Specialist Consulting group offers a suite of services, including: fire engineering, people movement analysis, façade, lighting and disability design, environmental advice and advanced simulation software as well as a range of security capabilities. These are in addition to Buro Happold’s core disciplines of structural, civil and building services engineering and allow the practice to offer a broader and better service to clients.
Security, and the threat of terrorism in particular, has grown in importance for building designers in recent years, particularly with regard to government offices, business-critical locations, infrastructure projects and public facilities. Buro Happold has historically achieved great success in these sectors and is currently working on many public projects.
“Security is often seen as a bolt-on extra or retro-fitted long after the building was designed,” says Bo Ascot, head of the security team in Specialist Consulting. “Our security team now offer this guidance alongside our regular services for engineering design and Mark will make a valuable contribution.
“Engineers need to take a broad view of a great range of issues and to integrate all the disciplines that contribute to truly successful projects. This approach brings a vital extra capability to Buro Happold’s services,” adds Bo.
Buro Happold
Press office and practice information at www.burohappold.com
Contact:
Neil Wilks
Press officer
Tel: 01225 321764
Email: neil.wilks@burohappold.com
Notes for editors:
Buro Happold is a multi-disciplinary international practice of consulting engineers established in 1976. It offers civil and structural engineering, mechanical and electrical engineering, quantity surveying, building services and environmental engineering, health and safety management, infrastructure and traffic engineering, ground engineering, façade engineering, fire engineering, computational fluid dynamics analysis, disability design consultancy, project management, urban design and a range of specialist services.
