Meet the Team – Dan Gibson

Working in the civil engineering team as a project lead, Dan Gibson is heavily involved across all project sectors from industrial, commercial, residential, townhouses, retail, property developments and high-rises. We caught up with Dan to find out a little bit more about his career and projects.

Why did you become an engineer?

I have always loved problem solving, so I think I was always going to become an engineer as we are lucky to be able to spend our careers solving problems.

What do you love about engineering?

You get to work with smart people and never stop learning. It is one of the best things about being an engineer and in the early stage of my career it has really helped me to hit the ground running and take what I learned at Uni and bring it to our clients’ projects.

What are you working on at the moment?

I’m working on the civil design for a huge range of infill and land development projects. We have a broad range of work at the moment and the variety and scale covers everything from land subdivisions to new towers in Brisbane CBD.

What has been your greatest professional achievement to date?

It’s early days still. Watch this space.

What’s the best project you have worked on?

I’m currently the civil lead on a child care centre for Emerald Little Lane’s brand in South Melbourne, a childcare development designed by renowned Japanese Architects Tezuka Architects and Brisbane’s Milton Architects.

The centre will sit at the heart of an Education Precinct that combines Victoria’s first government vertical school, parklands, training facilities, retail and dining establishments and South Melbourne Market. A stone’s throw from Melbourne Convention and Exhibition centre and access to public transport and the South Bank, the location cannot be described and anything other than inner city.

On the civil engineering front, we have been engaged to coordinate Environmentally Sustainable Design (ESD) and Hydraulic engineering solutions and translate these into a workable stormwater management system. This will be done by harvesting of rainwater for pool reuse as well as integration of proprietary, space-saving treatment devices to remove pollutants from stormwater runoff before it leaves the site.

Our structural engineers have been tasked with turning an architectural vision into a design that can be built in line with the vision and the timescales and budgets available.

It’s incredibly innovative, not only in the architectural design but in the integration of Water Sensitive Urban Design (WSUD) features and requires delicate cross-discipline collaboration.

What’s the most useful thing you’ve learned throughout your career?

To make the most of the knowledge and experience of your peers. The best project outcomes come from open collaboration between stakeholders – contractors and consultants alike.

What would your last meal be?

Coffee and a toastie.

Who’s the greatest engineer of all time and why?

I’d have to go with Leonardo da Vinci – For the unbelievable reach of his work spanning engineering, architecture, anatomy, art and so many other spaces.