New civil engineer joins our team

We’re delighted to welcome civil engineer Gareth Dugine to the Land Studio team. Below you can find out a bit more about him and our Flood Risk Assessment work.

What attracted you to a career in engineering?

I like that you never know what you’ll be working on next. There are a vast array of projects that an engineer can be involved in, from designing roads and buildings to tunnelling under a city centre to create new drainage infrastructure. It’s an exciting career.

What do you enjoy about working at Land Studio?

I’m really enjoying working on a variety of project types from rural projects to urban residential developments and the different challenges that come with each.

There is a lot of variation in my role as I work on a multitude of different types of schemes from rural sites to urban and commercial developments. I create three-dimensional models of projects levelling sites by setting finished floor levels, designing the vertical alignment of roads to adoptable standards, and creating foul water and surface water drainage systems.

Why do you think it’s important for engineers to work closely with ecologists and landscape architects?

As engineers we are responsible for making the architect and the client’s vision a reality by designing the infrastructure to create a functional and sustainable project.

In almost all instances the existing site levels will need to be altered to allow for a site to be drained and accessed appropriately.

When shaping a site, everything we do has an impact on the local habitat and the overland flows of surface water. Through smart design and collaboration we are able to produce a design which enhances biodiversity, flood risk management and natural habitats.

The aim should be to incorporate functionality into the designs we produce to allow for multipurpose solutions. For example, a SuDs feature which not only attenuates surface water during a high intensity rainfall event, but provides an amenity space that can be enjoyed by local residents while improving the environment and water quality.

What are Flood Risk Assessments and why are they important?

A detailed Flood Risk Assessment should be used to inform designs to ensure that a development doesn’t have an adverse effect upon local flood risk and catchment management.  

Each assessment should detail information relating to the existing process surface water undergoes on site. This information is then used to create a drainage system which mimics the natural process by restricting discharge rates and attenuating flood waters.

It’s important that the natural route is not obstructed by discharging surface water at the natural rate to its existing discharge point minimising the affects the development has on the local catchment and environment.

A Flood Risk Assessment should also cover information relating to existing water bodies in the vicinity to ensure the proposals don’t adversely affect local flood risk both on or off site post development.

By highlighting existing flood risk, we are able to identify the source of flooding and develop solutions to improve on flood risk by for example creating areas for flood compensation and slowing the flow of flood waters.  

What drives you?

As an engineer the work I do has a significant impact on both the environment and the public.

Designing something as simple as a road can have a lasting affect by safely connecting people with their community. Approximately five people lose their lives every day in the UK on our roads, a figure which shocks most people but which highlights the importance of the work we do.

I find it is also important to consider people who may find it difficult to access local amenities such as wheelchair users or the visually impaired, by ensuring routes are suitable to connect them with the community safely and unhindered.

From my previous experience of investigating flooding incidents, I have seen first-hand the devastation that can be caused to families and businesses and strive to improve on flood risk strategies to help safeguard against future flooding.

As a lover of nature I take pride in creating amenity spaces which can allow others to enjoy the outdoors as much as I do but also to improve natural habitats for local wildlife.

What do you like doing outside of work?

Outside of work I enjoy being in nature whether it be hiking, running, wild camping or just walking the dog. I’m also a keen motorcyclist and love nothing more than adventuring through Wales on my bike.

• For more information on our Flood Risk Assessment work please get in touch.