Anthony Calderone

Tell us about your specialism and why you chose it

Engineering is normally thought about as the things that dominate the world around us - roads, bridges, dams, skyscrapers. Building services would rarely be thought about when most people consider ‘engineering’.

I think this is partly why building services appeals to me, it’s the engineering that makes a building work. Every structure I work on, be it new or old, presents different challenges. But with those challenges is the opportunity to innovate and provide design that is human-centred and a step a toward climate resilience and sustainability.

Why did you choose to join Mott MacDonald?

I first worked for Mott MacDonald in England part time whilst studying for my Masters in the mid-2000s. Mott MacDonald didn’t have a presence in Australia when I returned home after my studies. However, in 2013 an opportunity came up to work in our New Zealand team. I always remembered my time at Mott MacDonald fondly, where my passion for sustainable design was always encouraged and embraced. With my wife being from New Zealand the decision to move back was very simple!

How has your career progressed since joining?

Career progression for me is the ability to work on and manage bigger and more complex engineering challenges. Reflecting now it began with the opportunity to manage a 1,000m² office fitout and I’m now currently delivering the engineering design for the Canterbury Multi-use Arena.

What have you learnt while working at Mott MacDonald?

That we can’t run a sustainability agenda without first running a human agenda. People are at the heart of every building and they must therefore be at the core of building design.

Also, that the current delivery model of ‘artisan’ buildings will not help to solve the urgency of sustainable building delivery. We have an industrial scale problem, so we need to be better at trusting our experience and applying solutions more globally.

Where in the world has your role taken you?

England, Australia, Hong Kong and New Zealand.

What are your career highlights and achievements?

A couple that spring to mind are the Mason Bros. project in New Zealand which won a CIBSE Award for Best International Project. The other is the Edithvale-Seaford Wetlands Discovery Centre in Australia which has won numerous architectural and sustainability awards.

On paper, these projects are miles apart from each other, one a 6,000m² commercial office building the other a 350m² community facility.

The Mason Bros. project does not have any revolutionary technology or world-first innovations; from the outset, there were no grand objectives to demonstrate world leadership in sustainable design – yet this is what we achieved. It is the first adaptive reuse building in New Zealand to achieve a 6 Green Star rating for as-built design, and a 5.5 Star NabersNZ rating for the effectiveness of the operation of the building.

On the contrary the Edithvale-Seaford Wetlands Discovery Centre aimed to showcase sustainable design practices throughout (well before they were the norm in 2012). The building’s sustainable design features are displayed throughout the building and showcased as a learning tool. The building produces no carbon emissions and has its water neutral with no connections to public infrastructure such as water and drainage.

Are you involved in any additional initiatives at Mott MacDonald, aside from your day-to-day role?

I am also the office manager in Christchurch, New Zealand. As a small city we only have a small office (less than 20 people) but it is very rewarding to work here as the city continues to recover from the earthquake sequence of 2010 – 2011.