Richard Mawer PhD

Associate at WSP

The Shard was a fantastic project to get involved in, everyone in London has seen it go up and it’s very impressive. When you stand at the bottom and look up, it almost disappears into the sky.

Structural Engineer and University of Southampton PhD graduate Dr Richard Mawer has played a major role in building London's latest iconic building, the Shard. At almost 310 metres tall, with 72 floors and a viewing gallery, it is the highest building in Europe and is expected to open in June 2012.

Richard was the senior engineer responsible for the core of the building providing  its central stability. "It was a fantastic project to get involved in," he says. "Everyone in London has seen it go up and it's very impressive. When you stand at the bottom and look up, it almost disappears into the sky."

He joined the international engineering consultants WSP Group in 2005 after graduating from Southampton with a doctorate in structural steelwork, supervised by Dr Mike Byfield and sponsored by Corus. Richard first worked on a 50-storey twin tower development in Canary Wharf before joining the team working on the Shard. "My experience in working with tall buildings, combined with my PhD, helped me get the involved with the project," he explains. "I often get asked to give talks about the building and speak at events  and I enjoy discussing the technical challenges we faced."

Now an Associate at WSP, Richard has moved on to his next project, the redevelopment  of London Bridge railway station, which may take up to six years.