Sara Moslemi Zadeh from BuroHappold Engineering has been out in Zambia volunteering as Build It Assistant Project Manager at the Centre for Excellence. We caught up with Sara to see how she’s been getting on. “Four months might not seem long but it is long enough to notice a change in myself! I stayed in […]
Construction continues at our new training centre, our Centre for Excellence, in Lusaka. It is estimated that Zambia needs around 17,000 new construction workers each year but very few school leavers are given the opportunity to gain the necessary skills to pursue this opportunity. Our new centre will allow us to substantially expand our training […]
We’ve got two main projects on the go: Learning Plaza 2 and the new Ablution Block plus a few smaller site works and improvements. Managing construction sites is not straight forward. There are different challenges every day, ranging all the way from deciding how to adapt the programme because the roofing sheets are delayed, to […]
I’m writing this blog from my site office, which means it will get written piecemeal; I definitely spend more timem out and about on site than I do behind my desk. The Centre for Excellence feels so alive! Aside from all the trainees and workers involved with my construction projects,the Centre is currently hosting Cohort […]
It’s been a very exciting week – works for Learning Plaza 2 have started! Learning Plaza 2 We’ve started off on site by doing site clearance. This means collecting rubbish, removing loose stones and earth, digging out tree roots and generally flattening the ground. I won’t lie, it’s tough work. Back in the UK, this […]
Hi all! It’s been a while. I have no doubt that you’ll all be pleased to hear that I am in a state of readiness; I have drawings, schedules, resource plans, programmes of works, risk assessments, health and safety plans, contracts, and inducted trainees. All I need now is the money [insert shameless plug here]. […]
Development on our Centre for Excellence continues to be made, as the first cohort of fast track trainees complete their training. Our unique Centre for Excellence, situated just north of Lusaka, has progressed significantly over the last couple of months. Ultimately the complex will act as both a training centre for young unemployed people and […]
The rains are coming to an end which means we’re tantalisingly close to the 2017 build season. There’s a lot of work to do before it gets here though! Project management – got to love a good spreadsheet My work recently has been mostly office based (ie excel based). We’re working up detailed material quantities […]
Well I’ve only been one month out in Zambia with the Build It team but already it feels like home. Boy, have I learnt a lot in the past month though! Firstly, hello and let me introduce myself; I’m Deborah and I’m an engineer. With the support of BuroHappold Engineering, I’m currently working with Build […]
Matt Duckett reflects on his nine month sabbatical working in Zambia with Build It International and Gensler, part-supported by the Happold Foundation. Through the BuroHappold Share Our Skills (SOS) programme and Happold Foundation sponsorship, a team of engineers from BuroHappold has been working with Build It International and architects Gensler on the design of a […]