Monday 29 October 2018

JMS's Liver Bird flies into the Structural Awards Final


https://jmsengineers.co.uk/Flying high for Liverpool

You may remember us telling you we were involved with one of the Liverbirds?

Well we're proud to announce that this particular bird has been shortlisted as a finalist in the Midlands Counties Structural Awards.

These awards are run and awarded by IStructE - the Institute for Structural Engineers - each year for innovative engineering achievements throughout the Midlands.

Past winners have included The Engineering Building at the University of Leicester; The RSC 'The Other Place' Theatre; and Birmingham City University - so we are in good company.


Emma's Prize Bird

https://jmsengineers.co.uk/
Making a flying visit to Andy Kenyon, JMS Midlands
Renowned artist Emma Rogers has already left her mark on the city of Liverpool with several other Liver Birds adorning local landmarks as well as her statue of Cilla Black (another Liverbird) standing outside the Cavern Club.

So when she (Emma not Cilla, bless her) was tasked with designing her most ambitious Liver Bird yet, she knew she wanted to honour one of the city's most celebrated toy makers, Frank Hornby on whose former factory site the bird was to fly.

The former Hornby Meccano factory had been cleared for the vast, new and impressive Liverpool Shopping Park which would become home for the biggest Liver Bird in the world - Emma's.

Her design was based on Hornby's best loved Meccano which, for many engineers of a certain age, would have been their first foray into the world of construction.

Emma's designs called for Meccano pieces of a much larger scale to the originals!


Building the Bird

To turn this ambitious design into reality, she briefed Art Fabrication's Andy Langley with the task of designing the giant Meccano pieces required to construct the bird.

With the scale of the project as large and unusual as this, Andy turned to the JMS Midlands team to engineer the structure and create the stylish plinth on which the amazing work would stand.


https://jmsengineers.co.uk/


"It's a real honour to be involved in this beautiful celebration of Liverpool's history and culture," said JMS's Andy Kenyon.

"And we are delighted that the finished product has been earmarked for such a highly respected industry award. 7 tonnes of steel and 1,000 hours of metalworking would encapsulate Emma's phenomenal designs. We are all over the moon that we were able to do justice to the project."


https://jmsengineers.co.uk/

As Emma herself said: "They really captured the intricacies of my design and translated my artistic vision whilst perfectly retaining the character of the bird on such a huge scale."

The rest, as they say, is history. Should you visit Liverpool Shopping Park, you will be greeted by an 11 meter tall Meccano-inspired Liver Bird who, if you're lucky, will give you a rendition of Cilla Black's 'Step Inside Love'.


https://jmsengineers.co.uk/

Wings crossed for Emma and the Team

Being part of a project that breaks records, adds to the culture of a city and celebrates the favourite 'toy' for many generations of young engineers, is a great honour for JMS. Now, having that work shortlisted for an award by our own peers is even more amazing.

https://jmsengineers.co.uk/


Whatever the result - when they are announced on 16th November at the Birmingham Council House, Victoria Square - we wish Emma, Andy at Art Fabrication and our Midlands Team the best of luck.



We add value to every project we have been,
are, and will be equally proud to support.
https://jmsengineers.co.uk/
https://jmsengineers.co.uk/







Friday 5 October 2018

Lynn leads the way at our Leicester office


A fresh approach for JMS Leicester

When we realised we needed someone to take over our current Leicester team, to make even bigger and better, there was only one name on our list. That was Lynn Clancy who we are delighted to announce has joined JMS as an Associate Director.

Lynn is the new 'head honcho' at the Leicester office, the man in charge of overseeing the many and very exciting projects we have lined up for the Midlands.



From the Middle East to the Midlands

Lynn developed a reputation for his diplomatic management skills whilst dealing with clients in Bahrain. He managed some very prestigious projects for some of the richest and most powerful people and organisations in the world. Keeping them happy was one thing, but doing so whilst the Arab Spring was in full swing was an additional challenge not many would relish.

Lynn thrived though and landed plenty of success. "It's about listening very carefully and being able to understand and evaluate the logistics of the project right from day one. It it practical and deliverable? Once you establish that it's about being pragmatic. Roads and towers have to be built after all."

Whilst political revolution doesn't seem high on the agenda in the Midlands (despite the recent Conservative Party Conference there), Civil and Structural Engineering projects need equally careful management.

As Architects continue to find new and creative ways to shape the landscape to serve the needs of growing populations and inner city redevelopment, it falls to the team at JMS to ensure such creativity can be successfully engineered.

These beautiful structures and innovative infrastructure must be underpinned by environmentally friendly, cost effective and safety conscious engineering.




JMS's Leicester office is located at the Innovation Centre on Oxford Street which is itself a striking local landmark. The team there will be growing to meet the demand for strong construction leadership.

"I'll be building a talented, skilled team over the next few months and years, adding plenty of skilled jobs into the local economy" said Lynn. "I will also be attracting and developing clients into the region, building long term relations with the people who will invest in Leicester as we take on redevelopment projects across all sectors."


Another boost for JMS

Daniel Staines, MD of the JMS Group, is delighted to have such a renowned talent on board. "Lynn Clancy is the ideal person to lead the way for us in the Midlands.

Lynn will use our intuitive communications and management system, collaborative resources and experience to ensure that JMS continues to do amazing work there."

It's an exciting time for JMS and an exciting time for Leicester and the Midlands as the area continues to enjoy massive redevelopment and investment.







We add value to every project we have been,
are, and will be equally proud to support.
https://jmsengineers.co.uk/
https://jmsengineers.co.uk/