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Arup people and projects sweep 2020 Consult Australia Awards

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Trish Sunga Trish Sunga Australasia Press Office,Sydney
2 November 2020

Our people and projects have been honoured with an impressive six awards at the Consult Australia 2020 Awards for Excellence, with Arup also named Large Firm of the Year for the third year in a row. 

Held annually, the awards celebrate and promote the outstanding achievements of Consult Australia’s member firms to the industry and community.

We received the Gold Award in the prestigious Design Innovation category for the Queensland Country Bank Stadium – the new home of sport and culture in North Queensland. 

Queensland Country Bank Stadium, Townsville Queensland Country Bank Stadium, Townsville
Queensland Country Bank Stadium, Townsville

The 25,000-seat multi-purpose stadium capitalises on its beautiful location with innovative structural design and sustainability features. 

The undulating, pandanus leaf-inspired cantilevered roof can withstand cyclonic winds and covers more than 75% of seats. The elegant design incorporates ‘folded plates’ to achieve its unique geometry in place of trusses which are traditionally used in stadium roofs.

“

We knew it would be a city-shaping project for Townsville and we brought our global stadium design and spectator experience understanding to the work. The completed stadium roofline looks deceptively simple because of its streamlined visual consistency, achieved through the innovative geometrically-driven and cost-efficient design. ” Ian Ainsworth Ian Ainsworth Principal

We also received a Gold Award in the Community Engagement Excellence category for our ground-breaking collaborative work to help make cities safer. 

The prestigious award recognised the exploration of the views of women and girls and the focus on addressing their concerns regarding safety after-dark in urban environments. 

People with torches assessing night time lighting in city People with torches assessing night time lighting in city
Our exploration of the views of women and girls and the focus on addressing their concerns regarding safety after-dark in urban environments.

Arup’s Melbourne Lighting team worked with global charity Plan International and Monash University’s XYX Lab to research and influence lighting design so cities can be inclusive and safe. 

“We learnt the true value of engaging through traditional (face-to-face) and digital (crowd sourcing) methods,” said Arup Lighting Designer Hoa Yang.

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We discovered that not enough attention is being paid to how light can shape and promote activities, events, pedestrian movement and perceptions of safety at night. Starting with how people experience spaces has allowed us to reinforce our design skills with the needs of the community and come up with solutions that promote social resilience. Winning this important award is particularly meaningful because the relevance is universal for socially beneficial community outcomes. ” Hoa Yang Hoa Yang Lighting Designer

A career of championing positive change in business, industry and the community was recognised with the Champion of Change – Female Leadership award for our Australasia Buildings Leader Dr Marianne Foley.  

Celebrated for her technical innovation as a fire engineer, Marianne has worked on famous buildings such as the National Aquatics Centre in Beijing (the Water Cube) and 50 Martin Place in Sydney. 

Marianne Foley Marianne Foley
Australasia Buildings Leader Dr Marianne Foley

Her leadership roles have included being a Member of the Region Board, Leader of the largest office – Sydney, inaugural Member of the Arup University Council and Leader of the Consulting Sector for Australia and Singapore. In that role, she grew the business more than 60% and increased diversity within the teams.

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Marianne’s generous leadership style and success within Arup have made her a role model, particularly for young women. Her professionalism and personal integrity give credibility to her views and have extended her influence and contribution beyond Arup to the industry and wider community. ” Peter Chamley Peter Chamley Former Chair, Australasia Region

We received a Highly Commended Award in the Technological Innovation category for our SNAPshot noise modelling software which is saving time and money on construction sites and reducing distress for nearby communities. 

The interactive tool was developed in-house by Arup for site engineers and environmental managers to carry out noise assessments quickly, manage impacts on local communities, adjust equipment and works on-site and fast-track approvals.

SNAPshot SNAPshot
SNAPshot was developed in-house by Arup

SNAPshot’s key innovation is a simple intuitive, yet powerful, web-based interface to the project construction noise model. It gives the modelling power to the site team who have the best understanding of site equipment, where the works will be undertaken, and timing of works. 

“

To have SNAPshot acknowledged in this way by Consult Australia shows its value to the industry and the community. This tool is really changing the way contractors are able to understand what their noise impacts will be and helping them manage their sites for the benefit of the community and their stakeholders. ” Kym-Burgemeister Kym Burgemeister Principal

Meg Panozzo has taken out this year’s Consult Australia Future Leader Award in recognition of her project leadership skills and commitment to improving and promoting gender diversity in the workplace.

A Chartered Civil Engineer who graduated with first class honours in civil engineering, Meg is the Project Manager for the multi-million-dollar Woolgoolga to Ballina Pacific Highway Upgrade.

Meg Panozzo Meg Panozzo
Meg Panozzo, Senior Engineer
“

It is unusual for someone relatively early in their career to be the Project Manager on such a high-profile project. Meg exemplifies everything we seek in our future leaders and I delighted that she has received this award. ” Ryan Andriessen headshot Ryan Andriessen Principal

Within Arup, Meg has founded an initiative called ConnectSTEM to empower and support women in engineering. Under her leadership the group has grown, with more than 90 members in Sydney alone. It delivers initiatives to inspire and educate women of all ages.