BG&E Associate – Structures Leonard Ambrogi believes his extensive engineering expertise, gleaned from temporary works for milestone Sydney projects, would not have been possible without a good work-life balance.
He says, “I enormously value work-life balance, and strongly believe that a poor work-life balance can have a negative impact on your professional life.”
Leonard’s ethos has served him well, seeing him work on the iconic Quay Quarter Tower (QQT) project for the past four years, supporting the 216-metre-tall redevelopment of AMP Capital’s commercial building at 50 Bridge Street in Sydney. The project is an engineering hallmark and Australia’s first example of upcycling of a commercial tower, which will retain 60% of its existing core.
Leonard commenced working on the project as a temporary works designer, progressing to a role as full-time site engineer before becoming Project Manager for the past two and a half years. The variety of structural challenges provided an immense source of experience and knowledge.
Leonard says, “This project is above and beyond what I could have ever expected to work on as a structural engineer when I started my studies.
“It would be great to be able to use insights from the QQT project to contribute to enhanced structural and materials recycling and sustainability impacts throughout the built environment industry.
“In Australia most buildings carry a design life of 50 years, which is not sustainable.
“I hope I can contribute to playing a small role in the extension of the design life of more important buildings, whether through upcycling or building with enhanced resilience.
“I am Italian and grew up in Rome, where you can still admire buildings that were designed several centuries ago.”
Other significant projects which have benefitted from Leonard’s thirst for practical, easy to procure and smart solutions to lighten and speed up the construction process, include the 23-storey luxury residential development for One Palm on Palm Jumeirah in Dubai.
He claims his BG&E work colleagues play a significant role in his work on every project, providing a work environment which enables him to discover innovation to reduce construction costs and timeframes, without discounts on safety.
Leonard says, “Since I started working with BG&E I felt like part of a family, which backs me to express my talent as best I possibly can.”
As an Italian who swears by work-life balance, he can cook (and eat) pasta just as well as he can provide structural solutions. Leonard is also passionate about geography and history and can think of nothing better than when history crosses paths with architecture and engineering.
When not working, Leonard maintains a dense social schedule, filled with close friends and outdoors adventures, especially anything that involves spending time in the ocean.
He says, “The ocean is one of the reasons I moved from Rome to Sydney.”