Cundall (engineering consultancy) explained

Cundall
Type:Partnership
Foundation:1976
Location:Partnership House, Newcastle, United Kingdom
Key People:Carole O'Neil (Managing Partner)
Industry:Engineering consulting

Cundall is a multi-disciplinary engineering consultancy. Originally based in Newcastle and Edinburgh, the company had spread its operations across five continents.

The firm was founded in 1976 on the basis that it would offer a more client-focused service with a multi-disciplinary and ecologically friendly approach to projects. Five years after its establishment, Cundall expanded into London, and thereafter various other locations, securing increasingly prominent work as a result. During the 1990s and 2000s, a new generation of partners gradually took on operations from Cundall's original founding partners; the company's first managing director, David Dryden, was appointed in 2002. Significant expansion of the company occurred during the 2010s, although job losses occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic of the early 2020s. Cundall has frequently advocated for environmental sustainability and sympathetic development; it plans for all of the firm's undertakings to achieve new zero carbon by 2030.

Development

During 1976, Cundall was established, having been co-founded by Geoffrey Cundall, Rick Carr, Michael Burch, David Gandy and Bernard Johnston. A common belief held by the founders was that the construction industry was chaotic and could be better organised; Cundall thus sought to deliver projects via a people-centric multi-disciplinary approach that incorporated structural, civil, electrical and mechanical engineering.[1]

As directed by several of its founders, the company has long maintained an emphasis on ecologically friendly development. Referred to as low energy design early on, sustainability in Cundall's undertakings was pursued from the firm's early years.[1] Company representatives have often publicly spoken out on the topic and promoted the incorporation of low energy solutions and new technologies to minimise environmental impact and increase efficiency;[2] [3] the company has also set a goal for all of its undertakings to achieve new zero carbon by 2030.[4]

Initially, the firm's activities were initially centred around the northern cities of Newcastle and Edinburgh.[1] During 1981, at the urging of Carr, the company's London office was established; Carr and Laurie Clark secured numerous key clients in London that led to Cundall being awarded roles in numerous high profile projects, including the headquarters of several major firms, such as Swiss Bank, British Airways and Deutsche Bank. The next three offices opened by the firm were in Birmingham, Manchester, and Sydney - the latter being the start of Cundall's international expansion.[1] The company had pursued a strategy of wholly organic expansion; this has been not only in terms of geographic coverage but also in terms of the disciplines offered to prospective clients, such as IT, geotechnics, fire protection engineering, lighting design and acoustics.[1] [5]

During 1989, founder Geoffrey Cundall departed the firm; he died in early 2015.[6] [7] During 2002, David Dryden was appointed as Cundall's first managing partner; a new generation of partners gradually took on day-to-day operations of the firm from the remaining founds around this time.[1]

In early 2009, Cundall took legal action against a hotel group over its failure to pay for work performed on a luxury hotel adjacent to St Paul's cathedral in London.[8]

The 2010s saw significant expansion of the company. By 2014, Cundall was operating numerous offices around the world; in the United Kingdom, it had officies in London, Newcastle, Edinburgh, Birmingham, Belfast, and Manchester; its Australian offices were in Sydney, Perth, Melbourne, Brisbane, and Adelaide; the Asian offices included Hong Kong, Shanghai, Manila, and Singapore; and its Middle East and North African (MENA) offices were in Dubai, Doha, and Tripoli, and European offices in Dublin, Bucharest, Paphos, Madrid, and Wroclaw.[9] In 2014, Tomás Neeson took over as managing partner.[1]

In July 2020, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the firm announced that it would shed as many as 40 jobs; at the time, it employed 550 UK-based employees.[10] In July 2024, Rick Carr, one of Cundall's founding partners and a key figure at the firm for almost half a century, died.[11]

Awards

In 2016, Cundall won the Consultant of the Year award at the Construction News Awards, as organised by Construction News.[24]

Selected projects

United Kingdom

Australia

MENA

Europe

Asia

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: History - About - Cundall . Cundall . 28 August 2024.
  2. Web site: Net Zero Jargon Buster: heat pumps . building.co.uk . 7 December 2021.
  3. Web site: How to regenerate historic buildings sustainably . Cundall . May 2022.
  4. Web site: Zero Carbon Design 2030: How we plan to achieve net zero carbon on all our projects by 2030 . Cundall . 5 July 2023.
  5. Web site: Hearing is believing: Virtual reality and acoustic modelling . constructionnews.co.uk . 1 August 2016 . Andrew . Parkin .
  6. Web site: Tributes paid to Geoffrey Cundall . building.co.uk . 2 March 2015.
  7. Web site: Consultant remembered for environmental vision . thefreelibrary.com . 14 March 2015 . Tom . Keighley.
  8. Web site: Cundall vs Global Grange: Payment dispute on luxury hotel . building.co.uk . 27 March 2009.
  9. Web site: Contact Us . Cundall . 13 May 2014.
  10. Web site: Cundall next to shed staff with 40 roles at risk . building.co.uk . Tom . Lowe . 2 July 2020.
  11. Web site: Tributes paid as Cundall founding partner dies aged 78 . building.co.uk . Tom . Lowe . 9 August 2024.
  12. Web site: Last Years Winners. 13 May 2014. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20131223114352/http://www.building-awards.com/2014-last-years-winners/. 23 December 2013.
  13. Web site: Announcing the Winners of Build Qatar Live 2012. 13 May 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140514033401/http://www.buildqatarlive.com/index.php/awards. 14 May 2014. dead.
  14. Web site: The Legacy Award – Sustainability 2012. 13 May 2014. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20140513172510/http://www.wmcce.co.uk/awards/2012_legacy_award.html. 13 May 2014.
  15. Web site: Constructing Excellence National 2012 Winners. 13 May 2014. dead. https://archive.today/20140513053849/http://www.constructingexcellence.org.uk/news/article.jsp?id=12926. 13 May 2014.
  16. Web site: Team Collaborative Future wins Zero Carbon Challenge . 13 May 2014.
  17. Web site: Finalists and Winners of the Romania Green Building Council Awards. 13 May 2014.
  18. Web site: Building Magazine Sustainability Award Winners 2010. 14 January 2011. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20101219015720/http://sustainabilityawards.building.co.uk/winners/. 19 December 2010.
  19. Web site: 2010 ACE Engineering Excellence awards. 14 January 2011. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20110812023547/http://awards.acenet.co.uk/winners/497. 12 August 2011.
  20. Web site: 2009 British Council for Offices (BCO) Award Winners. 14 January 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20110114121545/http://www.bcoawards.org.uk/winners/2009/. 14 January 2011. dead.
  21. Web site: 2009 RIBA Award Winners. 14 January 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20120407022804/http://www.architecture.com/NewsAndPress/News/RIBANews/News/2009/2009RIBAAwardsWinnersAnnounced.aspx. 7 April 2012. dead.
  22. Web site: 2008 British Council for Offices Awards. 14 January 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20101209170107/http://www.bcoawards.org.uk/winners/2008/innovation/#Portland. 9 December 2010. dead.
  23. Web site: 2007 British Council for Offices (BCO) Awards. 14 January 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20110114124431/http://www.bcoawards.org.uk/winners/2007/fit-out/#ISG. 14 January 2011. dead.
  24. Web site: Construction Consultancy of the Year: Winner . constructionnews.co.uk . 15 July 2016 .
  25. Web site: Cundall Johnston and Partners sets up acoustics division. 17 March 2011.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Cundall (engineering consultancy)".

Except where otherwise indicated, Everything.Explained.Today is © Copyright 2009-2025, A B Cryer, All Rights Reserved. Cookie policy.