LONDON – Global construction consultants Davis Langdon, an AECOM company, today announced that Steve Watts, Head of Davis Langdon and AECOM’s Tall Buildings Group, has been appointed to the Board of Trustees at the Council for Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH). The CTBUH is the world’s leading authority on tall buildings and Mr. Watts is the first person based in Europe to be named to its nine person Board. The Council’s global membership spans a wide range of disciplines, covering the financing, development, ownership, design, construction and operation of tall buildings.
Mr. Watts joined Davis Langdon in 1997 and during his time with the business he has worked on numerous towers in and outside of the UK. His key London high-rise projects began with the HSBC Headquarters at Canary Wharf, followed by The Leadenhall Building in the City and The Shard at London Bridge, on which he first provided advice in 2002.
Commenting on the appointment, Davis Langdon’s Chief Executive Jeremy Horner said, “The evolving London skyline over the past decade has been nothing short of dramatic and Davis Langdon, led by Steve’s tall buildings team, has been closely involved in a majority of the City’s new towers. This appointment is a well earned recognition of Steve’s unrivalled expertise in the economics of tall buildings as well as his excellent project work over the past 14 years.”
Mr Watts added, “I am absolutely delighted to be offered this privileged position, and will be using the role to help take the CTBUH in new directions, geographically and otherwise. I am passionate about the subject and have a particular interest in buildings that are not only efficient and sustainable, but also fit-for-purpose in that they provide a space in which people enjoy living and working. Creative design can reconcile quality in these terms with cost, and the Council has been at the forefront of such thinking for some time.”
Mr. Watts will be formally inducted as a Trustee at the Board meeting on 11 October, which is being held in conjunction with the CTBUH 2011 Korea Conference. He has also accepted the position of Treasurer for the Council and will continue in his role as the CTBUH’s UK Country Leader as well as Chairman of the Council’s Finance & Economics Working Group.
He is a strong advocate of research and development, his output including a key contribution to the British Council for Offices’ seminal work Tall Buildings – A Strategic Design Guide, numerous articles and presentations on the economics of tall buildings and two industry high-rise cost models. He also led the 2010 study for Sir Stuart Lipton looking at the tall office building of the future which has received wide coverage in the press. His innovation and project experience has enabled him to work closely with many of the world’s leading developers, architects, engineers and advisors.
