AECOM UK

Describe the work your company carries out

AECOM is a global infrastructure consulting firm that provides architecture, engineering, construction management, and environmental services. It designs, builds, finances, and operates infrastructure projects across sectors such as transportation, water, energy, and government. 

Our heritage experts work closely with engineers, designers, architects, planners and other specialists to identify and deliver the full potential of heritage for clients across the UK and around the world. 

Our multidisciplinary team supports projects of any scale or complexity with a range of in-house skills and experience, including archaeology, built heritage, historic landscapes, historical research and conservation. We combine academic strength, professional experience and commercial awareness with an expert understanding of the positive impact heritage has on national and local identity.

Give examples of up to three projects you have undertaken

Example Project 1: The Covent Garden Workhouse (Grade II): 2018-2024
Location: London
Client: University College London Hospitals Charitable Trust

• When surveying and investigating ‘The Covent Garden Workhouse’ our heritage team conducted a two-stage assessment approach. Stage 1 included a condition survey of the building and fabrics. The building was visually inspected from ground level of the external elevations and internally of the building interior. In addition to this, a photographic schedule provided any notable visual defects. Following on from this, a written report was produced alongside photographic and illustrative evidence to highlight the visible symptoms of distress to the building. The report recommended further investigations, consequences of inaction and enabled a cost consultant to prepare broad cost estimates for structural repairs.
• Our CARE Engineers and Conservation Architect team undertook further assessment in stage 2 of the condition survey. Some of the general activities undertaken during the structural investigation included an application for Listed Building Consent (LBC) for investigations, site-based investigations, liaison with our heritage consultant, interpretation of results from the survey and updating the report, scheduling emergency structural repairs and a client meeting to discuss the findings in Stage 2. These were delivered to a high quality and in a timely manner, enabling the contractor to maintain their master programme.
• Our heritage consultants sympathetically proposed the integration of modern building services into the building which had the potential to cause damage and intrusion to the historic structure and fabric if not carefully considered. This needed careful consideration and coordination by the design team, innovative ideas were needed to adapt the floor structure to accommodate new services. The heritage team were alerted about cracking to the existing stone cantilevered staircase. Our investigations revealed that cracking was due to settlement of the adjoining wall, linked to major groundworks at the rear of the site. Consequently, successful and economical repairs were made to the staircase using hidden steel shim plates which tightened the structure allowing the cracks to be repaired.
• The successful transformation in 2024 of this 246-year-old remnant of the Georgian and Victorian industrial revolution allowed our team of structural engineers to expand our pool of knowledge in adapting existing buildings. Opening up works sometimes cannot be avoided, however our knowledge and expertise ensures that we can focus on the core information needed to inform the design, and ensure that all works proposed are adequately justified and proportional.

 

Example Project 2: James Watt North Engineering Building (Category B): 2020-2023
Location: Glasgow
Client: Glasgow University 

• The project involved a £5 million restoration project for the 1901 School of Engineering, removing decades of inappropriate alterations to create an open plan shared academic workspace. Our team combined heritage requirements with modern sustainability measures, including the installation of efficient VFR systems, mixed-mode heating and ventilation, with LED lighting throughout.
• Our heritage team provided a detailed heritage statements and planning applications for listed building consent. Additionally, we specified conservation repairs using traditional techniques and materials, reusing Scottish slate, and restoring decorative stone strapwork carvings that had undergone erosion. In addition to this, specifications were supported and informed by analysing samples of existing mortar and petrographic analysis of the stone in adherence to best conservation practices.
• The project championed the reuse of materials, with 30% of the original roof slates salvaged and reused and the difference reclaimed from within the university estate. Sash window refurbishment and draught proofing improved energy efficiency whilst retaining important historic fabric contributing the building’s character. Lastly, obsolete structures of no historic interest were removed, and original architectural features were reinstated, these included cast iron roof trusses and blocked windows.
• AECOM employed NEC4 Project Management principles and acted as the NEC Supervisor, ensuring structured oversight and compliance throughout the project lifecycle. Our team facilitated effective communication and collaboration among stakeholders, maintained rigorous quality control measures, and ensured that the project adhered to timelines and budgets. Our team also used HoloBuilder 3D image capture was used for remote progress monitoring, which was particularly beneficial during the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Some of the key challenges that we faced included sourcing matching materials for conservation. Scottish slates are no longer quarried, so replacement reclaimed slates to match the originals were sourced from within the University estate. Secondly, ensuring high quality conservation work. The first stonework subcontractor was unable to achieve the required high standard of work, so the decision was taken to remove them from the job early on and a replacement subcontractor procured.
• Overall, the project benefitted greatly from integrating conservation expertise early in the investigative and design process to ensure that correct testing and analysis was undertaken in good time. A comprehensive condition analysis and stonework repair prioritisation schedule allowed the client to tailor the extent of repairs to meet their budget, and to ensure expensive high-level repairs were undertaken while the scaffold was already erected for the re-roofing works, ensuring maximum delivery of value in the project. The need for reclaimed materials was identified early on and they were sourced at the beginning of the project, which ensured that re-roofing could be carried out in a timely manner and efficiently scheduled in the works program.

 

Example Project 3: Newenden Bridge Scheduled Monument: 2020
Location: Newenden, Kent
Client: Kent County Council (KCC) 

• KCC instructed AECOM to undertake a Special Inspection of Newenden bridge, with particular emphasis on the ongoing deterioration of the stonework. Given that the bridge is a Scheduled Monument, Historic England certified Daniel Wallington (accredited conservation engineer) to be named as the engineer directly responsible for the structural appraisal and the specification of the repairs to the bridge. The approach described below enabled our objectives to be fully met through the production of a Stage 4 fabric repair specification for tender and construction use.
• Our team co-ordinated approach comprised a schedule of investigative activities, which were carried out to a high quality to the satisfaction of KCC and Historic England, in a timely manner. These included; initial touching-distance condition survey of the bridge elevations, barrel arches, abutments and parapets. Provision of a specification for a point cloud laser survey of the bridge to produce a 3D model, photogrammetry and the production of 2D stone-by-stone elevation drawings was also undertaken. Scheduled Monument Consent was secured for intrusive investigations (i.e. stone coring, stone and mortar sampling and testing), followed by reinstatement. The provision of a specification for a ground penetrating radar (GPR) survey of the bridge deck to determine construction and identify tie rods was also prepared. Production of the design of the repairs to the bridge fabric and a Scheduled Monument Consent application for the fabric design package.
• One of the main challenges that our team faced was access during the surveys and investigations, which was achieved by specialists using a floating pontoon and safety boat. Prior to the surveys we were required to provide full method statements to the local authority, Historic England and the Environment Agency to demonstrate that disturbance / damage to the bridge and the river and riverbed would be minimised / avoided. We also found evidence of previous structural interventions, such as incompatible cementitious patch repairs and different stone types. Once these were identified we were able to include these areas in the conservation repairs specification.
• Whilst it is a challenge to maintain historic structures in extreme environments such as this indefinitely, their designated status, national importance, and traditional construction dictates that best conservation practice is applied to their repair and maintenance. In this case, the client now benefits from AECOM’s detailed record of the historic bridge's condition, which will be a vital recording benchmark, allowing future maintenance to be fully informed.

HESPR 'Designated Service Adviser'

Name: Hector Martin

Job title: Principal Built Heritage Consultant

Tel: (+44) 07917 354097 

Email: hector.martin@aecom.com

Which of the following roles do you consider your company carries out under the HESPR scheme?

Historic Building conservation YES

Conservation planning YES

Architectural design and new build in historic areas YES

Historical research YES

Historic area assessments YES

Project Management YES

Archaeology YES

Other

• Archaeological preservation and associated monitoring
• Assessments and reviews to support planning applications
• Conservation Architecture
• Designing archaeological evaluations and mitigation works
• Environmental Impact Assessment
• Environmental & Social Due Diligence
• Environmental & Social Impact Assessment
• Environmental Statements
• Expert Witness
• Procurement, management and monitoring
• Risk appraisal and due diligence prior to purchase
• Statutory consultation and stakeholder engagement 
• Strategic assessments, heritage statements and masterplan support World Heritage Site documentation, assessment and monitoring