Atkins has won ‘Engineering Practice of the Year’ at the Irish Building and Design Awards, which took place on 11 April. With the upturn in construction activity, almost 250 professionals turned out for the annual event, as companies and professionals battled to showcase their outstanding achievements in the construction industry. According to the judges, the accolade was awarded to Atkins because of the depth and breadth of current projects across different sectors, the extent of Atkins' innovations, Atkins’ approach to sustainability and other features including training and internal processes. Tom O’Malley, Atkins’ managing director, stated that a particularly pleasing aspect of the awards was “the recognition given to the innovative and sustainability aspect of our work across many projects such as carbon workshops, integrated constructed wetlands and innovative modelling techniques”. Recent and ongoing projects that convinced the adjudicators to name Atkins as 'Engineering Practice of the Year 2014' included:

  • The Great Dublin Regional Drainage Project City Centre Sewerage Scheme for Dublin City Council,
  • The Mutton Island Waste Water Treatment Plant for Galway City Council,
  • The Finn Valley Leisure Centre for Donegal County Council,
  • The Cycling and Walking Strategies for metropolitan Cork and surrounding towns for Cork County Council,
  • Bridge inspections of more than 500 bridges for the National Roads Authority,
  • Cardiffsbridge Park for Dublin City Council,
  • Audit and administration services for Ireland’s motorway network for the National Roads Authority and
  • Youghal Main Drainage and Waste Water Treatment Plan for Cork County Council.
Justin Norman, Atkins’ director of engineering, water & environment, said he was proud of the recognition that the award gave to the company’s recent engineering projects within the Atkins Ireland portfolio. “The sample projects submitted as part of the selection process really demonstrates the local capability and expertise that we have in our offices in Dublin, Cork, Galway and Belfast,” he added. Atkins is a leading worldwide engineering and architectural design consultancy, employing some 17,400 people across the UK, North America, Middle East, Asia Pacific and Europe.