Next Gen of Atelier Ten – Mechanical

by Mila Robins, Environmental Designer
Read time: 9 minutes

In the first article of this series, we were joined by Dea, Agathe, and Shatanik from the environmental team at Atelier Ten in London. Read it here for a general introduction to the company and the environmental discipline, and their experience and views on Atelier Ten.

This piece will ease us into the engineering world; we are joined by two representatives, Gabby and Eva, from our mechanical team.

As you will hear shortly from Gabby and Eva, when you think of mechanical engineering you likely think first of gears, cars, machines, and probably not the built environment. However, in the previous edition of this series we discussed temperature, air, water, and HVAC (heating, ventilation, air conditioning) systems which keep our buildings comfortable and safe to inhabit. The design and implementation of these systems is the responsibility of the mechanical, or building services, engineers.

Our environmental team works together with our mechanical engineers to design complex, innovative, and active systems for buildings in London and beyond.
 
 
 
 

Gabby has always considered herself a STEM person. She was always drawn to physics, civil engineering, and product design even before university where she studied mechanical engineering (in the same course and class as Eva, introduced shortly!). Gabby came across Atelier Ten by chance. She had heard about building services via an exhibition at the V&A. While still in school she was browsing for work experience opportunities and found a connection to Ben Rose, one of our public health associates. It just so happened this work experience was in an industry she had a little knowledge of, and since that first work experience, Gabby came back for an internship and two placements before starting as a graduate last year.

Eva studied mechanical engineering with Gabby and grew up in an architecturally minded family. In this way she was adjacent to the building services industry. Throughout school she also always enjoyed STEM subjects. When it came time to apply to university, she was still unsure what to study but took a last-minute decision to apply for mechanical. Eva and Gabby were in the same class, so she heard quite a lot about Gabby’s positive experiences at Atelier Ten and applied for a role after graduating nearly four years ago.

So, both of you found your way to Atelier Ten. For myself at least, I didn’t know too much about building services beforehand. What about you two?

Eva:
Same for me. Despite my parents being architects and studying mechanical engineering, I honestly don’t know if I would’ve made my way into the industry so quickly without Gabby. I have always been conscious of the environment and sustainability, but I had never been exposed to a single class on building services, or how my degree could apply to buildings specifically. Our course was so much geared to the automotive industry and a lot of emphasis placed on F1 and similar career paths.

Gabby:
Yeah, our degrees were focused, and I am excited when I hear universities are starting to broaden their horizons a bit and introduce some new topics to traditional engineering degrees. For us, the most applicable modules were on heat transfer. I remember once doing a project related to pipe sizing which has some overlap to building services. I guess if you think of the title of Atelier Ten’s book, Invisible Architecture, this is really the reason. The stuff we do is meant to be invisible, so people don’t spend as much time thinking about how and why their building works if you’re not in the industry. We weren’t taught to think ‘wow this building is such a feat of engineering’ the same way that we are for cars, computers, and other pieces of technology.

Yeah, we are all on the same page about that. Next question – what is Atelier Ten to you? This could be our culture, our outputs, anything, but what’s the defining characteristic?

Gabby:
For me the culture. The vibes you get here are familial. I feel safe and comfortable, whereas I have heard from former colleagues that it’s a lot more corporate at other places. We keep it fun, even though people are working hard and doing their best. I think we maintain this by getting graduates and all seniority levels involved with initiatives. Even though people naturally leave companies, we have a core here that is really invested and has been around for ages. This is apparent, and the continuity anchors us.

Eva:
I think stuff like our EDIB group [Equity Diversity Inclusion and Belonging] helps a lot. It integrates our culture, and we have policies, events, and recruitment like Gabby was saying that all support this. We have built traditions and reoccurring events, even if it’s just softball, culture day, those kinds of things that keep people together. I also feel it’s important that as a woman in this industry I have never felt an imbalance, or lack of representation at Atelier Ten. Even though there are situations where I am the only woman in the room, there are so many strong leaders and excellent female role models, as well as male colleagues that are conscious and supportive. For me that’s key and the culture is honestly one of the main reasons I have stayed.

How has Atelier Ten shaped you (in the earlier part of your career)?

Gabby:
Having the work experience while still in school connected me with people that were great mentors from a young age. My line manager at Atelier Ten was in constant contact with me over the years: helping me with my personal statement, general mentoring, my placements and internships that followed, and finally when it came time for my interview here as well. This has given me incredible support and comfort and increased confidence for my first job.

Eva:
I would say the amount of independence and responsibility you’re given quite early here. As we are a small company, you’re basically thrown into the deep end with projects quickly and this is such an immense opportunity to grow and take ownership. In a larger company you’d be more sheltered, attend fewer external meetings, and all that. Also, the variety of tasks keeps you a bit of a generalist in a good way, so you don’t do the same work every day.

Okay, so what is the most rewarding thing you do at work? What gets you excited to come in?

Gabby:
The free yoga every Tuesday! Haha. Jokes aside that is a great perk that I tell my friends about, and they’re always surprised. Apart from that I really enjoy visiting construction sites and getting out of the office. I have been going to KGX [Google’s new office in King’s Cross] frequently, with just me and Duncan Zealey [our Market Director]. I love walking around and seeing how everything works together, speaking with people and experiencing the other side of things as a representative of Atelier Ten.

Eva:
On the social side, I really enjoy contributing to the EDIB group. On the technical side I really enjoy coordination with external teams, especially structural engineers and architects. When you’re working together you really understand that buildings are just a huge puzzle and it’s so satisfying when you get things to fit together.

What is the most challenging or perhaps most misunderstood aspect of your work?

Gabby:
Sometimes Bluebeam mark-ups and schematics can take a lot of time, although it’s very satisfying at the end. Revit also takes time, but this one I enjoy more because just like being on site, the 3D visualisation is great and helps with your understanding. I think communication on any kind of team is always challenging. For example, one of my colleagues is on a project and there was bad coordination. Suddenly one day the there was an extra toilet in the plans that they needed to design in. It may not seem like a huge deal but designing all the mechanical services in and around a new toilet can be tricky depending on the constraints. I think what can help with this in general is just more knowledge sharing between the design team and disciplines on projects.

Eva:
For me similarly a lack of understanding from other members of the design team can be difficult. We don’t have infinite flexibility as mechanical engineers and it’s also different in practice than on paper. I think sometimes that’s hard to convey to the rest of the team. Like we were discussing earlier it’s a silent industry until you’re in it. At the end of the day, people pay for a nice-looking building not the pipes and ductwork. This will slowly change with education and exposure to the built environment.

Looking specifically at sustainability, where do you see the innovations going for mechanical work? What are you hoping to do more of?

Eva:
Well to get a bit more technical, for mechanical it’s things like the FGAS bans in refrigerants [refrigerants are used in heating and cooling systems and have been historically made with toxic chemicals. There are bans coming into effect that prevent the manufacture or sale of certain types]. There are also all the renewable energy sources and stuff like connectivity of neighbourhoods and heat networks. I guess for now I am most excited about the grid getting greener [the national electricity grid being composed of more solar, wind, and hydro power as opposed to fossil fuels] and steering clear of toxic chemicals. Those are the most concrete and tangible things we can do for now, beyond passive solutions.

Gabby:
There are papers and increasing case studies of finding a way to give a second life to disused equipment such as air handling units (AHUs). The theme of replacements and refurbishments is cool. I would love to get to do more of the crazy ground-breaking Gardens by the Bay type of projects. I did quite a cool study on reusing the heat from a giant LED screen that was being proposed on a project in the Middle East. It’s exciting to get to look at these types of innovations, but you must have a client that is open to it, has the money, and isn’t up against any restrictions in terms of regulation. I also think CLT [cross-laminated timber] is cool and have some experience with it on KGX.

End of article 02, next up: Electrical engineering

Thank you all for taking the time to read this second edition of the series, I hope it was a useful insight to mechanical engineering as it relates to building services more generally, but specifically more on the culture and inner workings from the perspective of juniors at Atelier Ten. If you have any questions at all – around the series, the work, the people, the company, don’t hesitate to reach out to us on LinkedIn.

Next will be article 03 featuring our electrical engineering team.