You started out as a QS. How is the profession adapting to the focus on whole life carbon and wellbeing, and the way we measure value?
I’d say the core QS perspective is about costing the various carbon initiatives – the specific measures you can implement, for example the reuse of steel. A lot of them are getting involved in carbon measurement, especially around upfront embodied carbon, but so are lots of others: engineers are getting involved, sustainability consultants are getting involved. There’s a lot of opportunity and its constantly evolving and improving. But the QS is the gatekeeper of the budget and should be measuring whatever design responses to targets as set out in the brief. It’s not really their decision, but they are well equipped to offer advice and help shape and influence design. They have the benefit of sitting across a lot of projects and being able to compare a lot of different approaches. A good QS will say “I know this tenant is doing that” or “this landlord is doing this. What other things should we consider?”

What does your current role entail?
I’m now a development director at Brookfield Properties. I sit in a team that is responsible for end-to-end delivery of the development or redevelopment of our assets. Right now, my focus is on the delivery end of that, so I’m involved in the construction stage, working with consultants, contractors, internal stakeholders – we are very fortunate in that we have specialists in marketing, leasing and ops and external stakeholders – you’ve got your fund, you’ve got your tenant, to name a few. So it’s about having oversight of all of that and helping us to achieve the best possible outcome on our assets.

I’m currently responsible for One Leadenhall by Make Architects, which is a new-build tower in the City of London due for completion in Q1 next year. The interesting thing about that was that I was the QS on the project. That’s how I made the leap to development. I’ve always been really interested in what development could look like as a career, and it’s fascinating to see the same project from the other side of the fence. By contrast, I’m also looking after 77 Grosvenor, a 50,000 square foot reinvention in Mayfair by tp bennett. It’s Brookfield Properties’ first entry into the West End. All our other assets are in the City or very close by.

How do you select your architects and what are you looking for?
It’s very bespoke for each project. We’d look at different architects for a tower or for a fit-out. If it’s a big project there will be an architectural competition of some variety. We always want an architect that really responds to the brief and brings their expterise but is also able to collaborate. I like watching how teams work together, with the architect, the engineer and the client really pushing each other to get the best results.

I think all architects are protective of their design – and they should be! They’re custodians! – but they are really starting to adapt to the need for flexibility. You design a space now knowing that it’s not going to be the right plan in ten years’ time. I did the judging for the BCO London Awards recently and found that all those amenity spaces usually have more than one function. The breakout space is also where you have lunch, where you can hold town halls and things like that. I think architecture and interior design are getting to the point that it’s important there is a level of flexibility.

How has BCO Conference changed and what are you expecting from BCO Conference 2025?
Well it’s in Milan, so I imagine it will be a lot about design. How can you not focus on design when you’re in Milan? Otherwise I imagine it will be an evolution of the things we’re talking about now: AI, ESG. We’re on a journey. It’s not going to change fundamentally, but it has to evolve. There’s been a massive change from when I first attended the BCO Conference three years ago. This year 25% of tickets were reserved for NextGen which I think was massively positive and made a big shift in terms of encouraging a younger demographic, which, in turn is more diverse than the older generation. A lot of the chat we’ve had this year is about diversity and inclusion, and when I look around the room you can see how far we’ve come.