Emerging South West property talent celebrated at Nextgen Awards
Lowri Jeffs, Chartered Structured Engineer at Arup, was named the Rising Star of the South West at the fourth annual British Council for Offices (BCO) NextGen Awards on Tuesday November 12th.
The awards dinner, which took place at The Porter Tun, London, was attended by the country’s top designers, developers, architects and occupiers under the age of 35. It celebrated the achievements and successes of young professionals in the commercial property sector across the UK, and the leaders who have inspired them.
The BCO NextGen Rising Star award recognises an under 35’s outstanding contribution to the office sector in their region. Lowri Jeffs, who currently leads the multi-disciplinary engineering team on the Beagle House development in London, was named as the South West’s winner by a panel of local judges.
Lowri has delivered some of the most prestigious office developments in Cardiff, including Central Square Interchange. The £100 million mixed use development sits at the heart of the Cardiff city centre and involved storey high transfer trusses within a 250-space private car park and above a column free bus manoeuvring zone. The judges felt this was evidence of Lowri’s ability to bring different teams together to work as one and deliver complex projects seamlessly no matter the challenges.
The judging panel were also impressed by Lowri’s collaborative attitude and inspiring leadership skills, which shone through her nomination. In addition to her role at Arup where she has excelled from strength to strength, Lowri is an active STEM ambassador and works closely with local schools and universities to promote the industry to young adults and children across the region. In 2017, she also undertook the challenge of climbing Kilimanjaro and raised £32,000 for the Proton Beam Therapy Unit at the Christie Hospital in Manchester.
The Awards are part of the BCO’s NextGen programme, which sets out to mentor and encourage the next generation of professionals to become future leaders in the industry, whilst providing a platform for new talent to share ideas.
Emma Wan, Associate Architect at AWW and Chair of the BCO NextGen South West chapter, said:
“Lowri has made remarkable progress during her time with Arup and delivered some of the most prestigious office developments in Cardiff. I have no doubt she will shake up the built environment in the years to come. Congratulations Lowri, you should be very proud!”
Paul Patenall, President of the BCO, added:
“Lowri has proved both her skill and her professionalism in her role at Arup but what inspires me most is her dedication to raising the profile of the industry. Many congratulations Lowri, I look forward to seeing where the future takes you.”
For more information about the awards and the winners this year visit the BCO NextGen website www.bconextgen.co.uk.
