Chris Puttick

I'm a Senior Lecturer and Programme Lead for Architectural and Environmental Engineering at UWE Bristol, where I get to combine two things I'm passionate about: designing better buildings and inspiring the next generation of engineers and designers.

Before moving into teaching, I spent 17 years working as a building services consulting engineer, working with a range of multidisciplinary engineering practices and running my own consultancy.

During that time, I worked on just about every type of building you can imagine – from schools, universities and hospitals to theatres, sports facilities, laboratories, offices and homes. I've led and delivered projects through the entire design and construction process, from early conversations with clients and developing project briefs, through detailed design, construction and installation, to evaluating how buildings actually perform once people move in.

Alongside the technical design work, I've developed extensive experience in the commercial and management side of engineering consultancy, including business development, fee proposals, contracts, procurement strategies, specifications, tendering and project delivery.

One of the things I love about this industry is that no two projects are ever quite the same. Every building presents a different challenge, and finding creative solutions means bringing together engineering, architecture, technology and, most importantly, an understanding of the people who use our buildings.

And it's a particularly exciting time to be involved! The way we design buildings is changing rapidly. Climate change, new technologies, smarter buildings and our growing understanding of how the built environment affects our health, happiness and wellbeing are transforming the industry. There's an enormous opportunity to challenge traditional thinking and find new ways of doing things.

I'm particularly interested in how we bring architecture and engineering closer together, using better building performance data, innovative technologies and creative design thinking to develop buildings that are not only more sustainable and efficient, but genuinely better places for people.

That's what makes teaching so rewarding. I get to bring my industry experience into the classroom, work with colleagues and industry partners across disciplines, challenge students to think differently, and help them develop the confidence and creativity to shape the buildings and places of the future.

Publications

Publications loading...