Submitted by E.M. Harding-Rolls on Fri, 31/01/2025 - 10:55
Speaker Bio: Harbinder is the Founder and Creative Director of Birdi & Partners, a London based consultancy that provides expert guidance on design and procurement to government bodies, academic institutions, and the private sector.
As a chartered Architect with over 25 years’ experience, he has delivered several of the largest projects in the UK, notably on the Stirling Prize winning Elizabeth Line, where he was the principal architect for the design of Tottenham Court Road Station and the central section of Thames Tideway. He is a Fellow of the RIBA, ICE and RSA where he collaborates with industry partners on design and innovation within the infrastructure sector.
He is a Visiting Professor at the University of Cambridge, where he is currently advising on the structure of the new Masters of Design Tripos at the University, a course that blends engineering , architecture, material science and art.
Talk Title: Humanising Infrastructure
Talk Abstract: Harbinder will be discussing the role that good design governance and judgement has on the delivery and integration of major infrastructure projects. He will be describing the findings of the work he is currently undertaking with the ICE and NIC, for newly created Design Champion. A role mandated by the UK Gov that every major infrastructure project should have a qualified individual at board level to ensure that design is considered at all stages of the project, from inception to post occupancy and the projects renewal.
Harbinder will also be describing the qualities and collaborative techniques that engineers need to have to address the challenges of delivering high complex infrastructure projects in multi-disciplinary teams , lessons learnt from designing for clients such as HS2, Tideway, TFL and Network Rail where the priorities for these clients are to deliver sustainable projects that also have high social value.