The ideas man

"An international perspective means you are not just constrained to your own pond for ideas and ways of doing things." The engineering cultures within different countries have offered different lessons. "One has to ask the question 'why are some countries better at producing information efficiently and others lead on energy and innovation?' It is more than just fee levels and degrees of regulation. I think it is to do with leadership. We are well placed in the UK to benefit from these lessons."

Working overseas has also highlighted the tendency for engineers to gravitate to a mindset of 'we have decided this is the best solution and it is the only one that works'. "In fact a whole variety of solutions with the correct application and development can work. In a sense that makes one less dogmatic and more reliant upon analysis," he adds.

Beaven spent 10 years with Ove Arup & Partners before joining Arup Associates where he is now a practice principal. The company's model for working is unusual. Engineers, architects, and on occasion cost consultants, sit together and work as one team – no one discipline goes off looking for its own work. "It's a way of working where you have an equal voice and a shared responsibility for a total product," says Beaven, though he's aware that it isn't a model that suits everyone. "Some can't see the benefit in the collaboration of engineers and architects because they don't see the flow of information between the different disciplines. We interface in a more informal arrangement."

While balancing workloads can be difficult at times one of the main advantages is the long-term collaboration between engineers and architects, which provides the opportunity to evolve and refine ideas. "Every project should benefit from this process. It may be that procurement is the thorny issue for the client, but all are catalysts for the intellectual process."

One project that sticks in mind is the City of Manchester Stadium, which is a favourite of Beaven's partly because of the way that intelligent design and execution were applied in what is essentially an industrial building type. It has created an elegant, uncluttered and calm stadium offering the full range of facilities for International sport.

Exploring with clients what they mean when providing a brief is essential. "Sometimes we receive an aspirational brief which isn't really what the client's trying to get at," says Beaven. Not that all clients initially want to challenge market perceptions. "For example, we mustn't write off developers by thinking they are uninterested in the sustainability agenda as fully as owner occupiers. It may be that we haven't helped identify the full value in these issues" he adds. "To me the clever thing is to get a commercial building operating efficiently, as well as designing excellence into bespoke buildings."

Looking forward
Like many, Beaven sees building services engineers continuing at the forefront of the low energy agenda but increasingly engaged in the sustainability debate. This means going beyond energy issues, to encompass people, money, materials and the environment. He takes the stance that responsible design shouldn't be uncomfortable for building occupants, but should engage with them. "The idea that to act responsibly you must suffer is wrong. It isn't reasonable to demand that people are uncomfortable, because then a whole idea can be rejected."

Despite Arup Associates embedding sustainability in the design process for all its projects Beaven doesn't see it as its brand. "Sustainability continues to be part of our work, but is not an end in itself."

Understanding the behaviour of building occupants and how they use buildings is vital and two projects Arup Associates has been back and visited in depth are BT Brentwood and Arup Campus. "It's a very valuable process, but not always an easy one. The feedback loop needs to become more informative."

Beaven says engineers must not forget that they have an opportunity to influence social change through their work. This means doing the best thing for your client, but also the people who experience the building.