First Q Network meeting in London

First Q autumn meeting in London.

Our autumn meeting took place in London on 19-20 October, hosted by UK member Chapmanbsdp.

We discussed the current status of the 15 associated companies, as well as the common projects that the members are developing together, many of which are in the Data Center sector.

The consolidated figures expected for the end of 2023 were a turnover of 467 million euros and a workforce of 4,269 people, which represents a growth of 11% and 6% respectively compared to 2022. The budget for 2024 was also approved.

We review the status of the Activity Plan for 2023-24, as well as current progress and planned future activities for the 7 working groups. Three group coordinators were invited to present their reports: ESG & Sustainability, BIM and Marketing.

On Friday the 20th, we had two guest experts: Alan King – Head of Global Membership and AI Strategy at the Institution of Mechanical Engineers – presenting a talk titled “Harnessing the Potential of Artificial Intelligence”, who captured everyone’s attention with the possibilities that revolutionary technology is changing the rules of the engineering market; and Deepika Singhal, Associate Director at Chapmanbdsp and Environment and Sustainability expert, who spoke about NABERS, an Australian built environment rating system that BRE UK (owners of BREEAM) has recently adopted for office buildings with two specific products: “ Design for Performance” and “Energy for Offices”. The latter focuses on measuring in-use consumption efficiency against a set of benchmarks for qualification.

That same Friday, we also had the opportunity to visit the public gallery of NLA (New London’s Architecture), where Federico Ortiz – Head of Content – explained to us the history and urban and architectural evolution of London through large-scale models of the capital . that are continually updated.

Later we visited the Battery Power Station that Chapmanbdsp featured at the WOW Festival. We were able to see in person the great work carried out over a long period of 11 years.

The next general meeting of First Q will take place in Lisbon in April.