Henry Luker
BSc CEng FIEE

Senior Partner

“Engineers who like buildings” is what the advert said and I wanted to know more. Right from the start I was encouraged to find things out for myself, to learn from first principles rather than to just remember formulas, be fed standard solutions, or use proprietary software to solve problems. This approach was key to my early development as an engineer and gave me the skills to carefully design and integrate the services into buildings as well as appreciate architecture and how the building can be used to form and modify the environment within.

That was over 20 years ago but it is these values that keep me here. I may now be a director but my passion is still for the projects and working to develop robust, elegant and low energy environments that are engineered for the building and its users. I see my role as one of finding the opportunities within each project and opening eyes to the possibilities.

All my projects are important but I think some always stand out above others and way-mark your career. One of the most important for me was my work for the Tate gallery. I designed their art storage facility in Southwark (1994-98). It was an extremely rewarding project for both in terms of my development as an engineer and the overall performance of the end result. Working closely with the client I gained an in-depth knowledge and appreciation of environmental control in relation to art preservation, which remains one of my areas of specialism. The facility is still widely regarded as a benchmark in art storage design and is a project of which I am immensely proud.

I have a broad approach to design but firmly believe that it is our understanding of the detail, and the way in which we can blur the edges of what we do, that allows us to deliver better buildings.