‘Sometimes the most powerful tool to understanding is a pen and paper,” declares graduate engineer Lawrence Lob-Levyt – encapsulating the open thinking of construction’s newest batch of professionals. While embracing the opportunities of new technology, they are keen not to lose sight of the human side of the industry – repeatedly stressing the importance of collaborative working, social capital, and the blurring of professional boundaries.

This year we launched our Building Your Future campaign to reflect on construction’s history in the 175 years since the magazine was founded – and more importantly, to look ahead at the next 25 years. We’ve been asking you all how you’d like to see the sector reshape itself, and now we want to know: what does the next generation think? 

The industry is evolving at an unprecedented pace. A decade from now, it is likely to look very different, with new technology and methods of working, old jobs being replaced by automation – and the long-term fallout from Brexit. Our new leaders in those testing times will surely be the young professionals joining the industry today. 

Building has brought together a group of 12 fairly recent graduates working across the built environment – project managers, site managers, engineers, architects, surveyors and consultants – to discuss their hopes, dreams and fears for the sector. Why did they join an industry with an image problem that puts off many young people? How do they hope to make their mark? And what do they most want to change? 

…