Emma is a fully qualified architect who trained for nine years, first in Sheffield then Kingston and Westminster.

Her first job was at an architectural practice in Marylebone, where her projects ranged from shopping centres to a service station on the M25 to her boss’s house!

She joined S2e in October 2021 and has certainly hit the ground running. She is working on projects from Lincolnshire to London ranging from refurbishing a swimming pool to adapting a Victorian primary school. “I'm working with a great bunch of people and it has been really easy settling into a company that is so warm and friendly,” she says.

Role at S2e

Emma conducts all the architectural work on her S2e projects from beginning to end. She goes on site visits to meet clients, develops the brief, prepares proposals with design work that includes sketches, computer-aided design (CAD), 3D models and visuals, prepares planning submissions and tender specifications … in a nutshell, she’s involved at every stage until construction is underway.

Recent projects

She is currently working on the refurbishment of an academy swimming pool and sports hall, including extending the pool to better meet curriculum needs and allow more scope for teachers to carry out assessments. The project also involves opening up the changing rooms so they are modern, mixed and all inclusive, and smartening up the hall to be a fabulous space for sports. At the Victorian primary school, she is reconfiguring the existing buildings by adapting the layout to create two extra classrooms and more staff space. S2e is also adding an extension in traditional style to blend in with the original architecture.

Emma says: “Creating more usable space by opening up pokey rooms, cupboards and offices to improve layout is such a rewarding way to help schools get more from their buildings.”

Solving problems

Emma says she loves the variety of her work with S2e – the different challenges presented by each school, their individual needs and the wide range of problems she has to solve. “It's exciting and every day is really interesting,” she says. She enjoys visiting sites and getting to know the schools and teachers, presenting them with a visualisation of their space and how it can be transformed. Clients are reassured when they get a sense of how they will experience the new space and how it will fit with the rest of their school.

“They are often putting a great deal of money into the project or fighting for big amounts in grants and external funding, so it is very important for them to see what they are investing in. I am always stretching as much as possible to give them more for their budget.”

The green agenda

Emma works closely with clients to make the best use of what they already have, making sustainability a priority and finding ways to reuse their existing buildings rather than simply starting again. She looks for ways to reduce spend in the build and in the service infrastructure to minimise running and maintenance costs, often thanks to environmentally friendly means of generating energy (such as heat pumps and solar panels) and by using smart technology to help schools be energy efficient.

“The environment is part of our mission from day one on every project,” she says.

About Surveyors to Education (S2e)

Surveyors to Education (S2e) work solely in the education sector to provide estate strategy, funding and surveying expertise to MATs and academies, giving trustees the information they need for making effective decisions. For more information on sustainability and how we can help you develop the optimum learning environment for your pupils, contact us today to find out more at 01530 877969 or email enquire@s2e.org.uk.