Nicola Rooney, an Architectural Design graduate from the Isle of Man, is the newest recruit to Fusion Building Systems’ design team.
Joining the Northampton-based offsite construction business with a 2:1 BSc Honours degree from the University of Wolverhampton and work experience as an architectural assistant, Nicola will help design light gauge steel superstructures for Fusion’s expanding portfolio of clients, which include some of the UK’s largest developers.
Nicola will work within the company’s design team as a technical designer. She will build on her existing skills as she learns how to use Fusion’s tailored BIM software to produce designs to meet specific client briefs for residential housing, student accommodation, schools or care homes. She will also work alongside architects, structural engineers and project consultants, as well as handle technical enquiries and attend client meetings.
Nicola said: “From a young age I remember being fascinated in the design and operation of buildings. At 16 I completed work experience for an infrastructure business and knew then this was the career path I wanted to follow. Through my A-levels and then into my degree I was able to learn more about model-making, technical drawing and build my knowledge of different software programmes such as AutoCAD, Revit and BIM. Now I feel lucky to be working in a design role at Fusion with so many experienced people around me.”
Nicola is also one of an increasing number of women now working for the offsite manufacturer. Despite being one of only six females on her university course of 30 students, Nicola has never seen gender as an issue in getting her foot on the construction career ladder.
Nicola continued: “Construction is historically a male-dominated environment, but that’s changing. In fact, a lot of aspects of the construction industry are changing and I’m extremely excited to be working for a company which is forward-thinking and passionate about changing attitudes and practices for the better.”
Robert Clark, head of business development at Fusion, added: “Nicola is a very capable young designer who I hope will enjoy a long and successful career with us. She’s also one of a growing number of individuals at Fusion who are passionate about the future of offsite construction. We’re capturing this enthusiasm and applying it to our conversations with industry peers as we look to develop training modules and change mind-sets around modern methods of construction ¬– ultimately to deliver a future for UK construction which has offsite manufacturing at its core.”
