Graduate Inclusive Design Consultant

London, England, United Kingdom

12/13/2024

From helping shape entire cities to adapting infrastructure to deal with the climate emergency, a career at Buro Happold presents the chance to make a difference. With a world class reputation, our creativity and our people have delivered positive change to clients, the environment, and communities alike. If you want to be part of something bigger, this is your chance.

Engineer Innovation

Inclusive Environments at Buro Happold

Accessibility is determined by the way the built environment is designed, constructed, managed, and maintained. Buro Happold’s Inclusive Environments team understands how environments can have an impact on people and because of this we advise and guide design strategies that can allow all people to go about their daily lives without undue effort or exclusion. Inclusive design offers more than compliance with Statutory Guidance – it offers a quality of experience for all.

Our aim is to deliver elegant, cost-effective and flexible solutions which meet the needs of a wide range of users, fulfil current social legislation and complement the aspirations of clients and architects, improving the quality and accessibility of the built environment.

Our specialist team wrote the book on inclusive design and therefore are unparalleled in their ability to provide pragmatic advice on a range of practical and economic measures to improve usability, service delivery and facilities. When designing for Inclusive Design, we take into account potential social, cultural and community users to provide an inclusive environment suitable for diverse user groups, including disabled people, older people, carers, people of diverse faiths and parents with young children .  Members of the team authored the new BSI PAS on Neurodiversity and the Built Environment (on behalf of BSI), as well as exploring the overlaps between Inclusive Design, Social Value and Health and Wellbeing.

Where a single design solution cannot accommodate all users, our aim is to provide as much choice and flexibility as possible.

Our team is well versed in applying the principles of inclusive and barrier-free design in a wide range of projects, including:

• Cultural buildings
• Offices
• Urban infrastructure schemes and transport systems
• Mixed-use led developments
• Stadia
• Multi-family residences and hotels
  
  
  

Using our years of collective experience, we understand how people, spaces and technology all interact with one another and we design accordingly. Our strategies are not formed in isolation but reflect current good practice and social attitudes.

The Graduate Position:

Joining our team as a Graduate Consultant, you will be working closely with our experienced team of Inclusive Design professionals working both on a project design basis but also advisory, helping to shape policy.

To learn more about our work here at Buro Happold in the Inclusive Design space,  click here .

The role will be challenging and varied but will typically include:

• Undertaking detailed inclusive design reviews of projects in the form of plan checking, site visits and report writing
• Providing support for senior consultants on projects
• Alongside senior staff, attending meetings with the client, other professionals and suppliers
• Assist in ensuring that all decisions represent Buro Happold's approach to inclusive design and best practice standards where feasible
• Undertaking work across several varying projects at the same time as required
• Working to ensure service and project work are carried out within agreed deadlines and that appropriate service/design decisions are met
  
  
  

This role presents the ideal opportunity for a design-focused individual with an interest in how people interact with the built environment to carve their career in an expanding field. Working with leading professionals, you will receive exceptional support and development opportunities.

What projects would I work on?

Some of our current and recent projects include:

RNIB Grimaldi building ( https://www.burohappold.com/projects/royal-national-institute-of-blind-people-rnib-grimaldi-building/ ). Our team supported the redevelopment of RNIB’s new head office to meet the client’s goal to be a ‘beacon of accessibility’ . The charity wanted the building to be a physical manifestation of RNIB’s values, with accessibility and celebration of diversity being the key drivers.

Museum of London relocation ( https://www.burohappold.com/projects/museum-of-london/ ). Buro Happold’s Inclusive Design team has been supporting the Museum of London’s planned relocation to Smithfield since 2018. Our role has evolved over time, commencing as design support to planning, before evolving into a wider support role to the client branching base build and exhibition design, stakeholder engagement and research.

Co-Op Live ( https://www.burohappold.com/projects/co-op-live/ ). As part of a multi-disciplinary team, the Inclusive Design team played a key role in enabling the development of the UK’s largest live indoor music venue — Co-op Live, which can accommodate up to 23,500 people.

We would anticipate that you will be able to demonstrate:

• An interest and some experience in Inclusive Design and how people interact with the built environment.
• Emerging capability in the relevant Buro Happold Core Competencies (i.e. technical, communication & collaboration skills)
• Commitment to CPD and self-learning/development
• A proactive attitude and an interest in problem solving.
  
  
  

What degree would I have studied?

We have a wide range of backgrounds in our team, so we are open to applications from many degree backgrounds, however a guide to some of the people in our team at the moment are as follows:

• Architectural Engineering
• Interior Design
• Product Design
• Planning
• Environmental Psychology
  
  
  

Interested? Intrigued? Inspired?

This role is for current students or recent graduates for an Autumn 2025 start.

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