IStructE President visits our Filwood Community Centre project

1 June 2026

Claire Thomas and Ben Webber recently had the honour of hosting Brian Uy, President of the Institution of Structural Engineers (IStructE), during his regional visit to the south west.

Brian was given a tour of the Filwood Community Centre project in Bristol, currently under construction. The visit was organised by Integral Engineering Design and Bray & Slaughter, in collaboration with members of the IStructE Western Counties Tuesday Group and Bristol City Council. The project team provided an overview of the scheme and shared insights into its structural design.

The IStructE is a worldwide professional membership body for structural engineers, and Brian, who is a Professor of Structural Engineering in the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia is currently visiting the UK during his term as president.

Integral maintains strong links with the IStructE and members of the team contribute widely to the institution. Published articles by Claire include “Barriers to low carbon design” and “Maximum gain, minimum pain – transformational office redevelopment”. Margaret co-authored the book Design for Zero, Chris, Grant and Margaret have presented at the annual IStructE Reusing and Managing Existing Structures conference since 2023. Team members have contributed to panel discussions on future climate requirements, insurance for timber projects, and IT.

The visit is best summed up by Ben:

“It is not often that we get the privilege of showcasing one of our projects to the president of one of our industry’s leading professional organisation and we are delighted that Filwood was chosen. Demonstrating social value at its best, it is a strong example of how we can reduce embodied carbon in construction while preserving the character and history of our buildings and is a project we are very proud to be part of delivering”.