The fourth CIBSE Fellows Masterclass was held with great success, offering attendees an inspiring look into the career journey of CIBSE President Fiona Cousins. During the session, Fiona shared personal insights from her distinguished career as a mechanical engineer and sustainability consultant, highlighting the key people and events that have influenced her along the way.
Fiona's career has seen her specialise in high-performance HVAC design, contributing to numerous complex projects, including museums, archives, trading floors, laboratories, and performing arts centres. In addition to her technical expertise, she has been a committed advocate for sustainable design and resilience, engaging extensively with industry organisations to drive positive environmental outcomes.
In the Masterclass, Fiona discussed the evolving expectations for building performance and how engineers can ensure their work creates meaningful, long-lasting impact. Drawing from her work as Chair of the Americas Region at Arup, an Arup Fellow, and a member of the Group Board, she emphasised the importance of aligning building projects with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
Throughout her career, Fiona has been a frequent speaker on sustainability and resilience in the built environment. She delivered the 2016 CIBSE Annual Lecture, co-authored the book Two Degrees: Climate Change and the Built Environment, and has presented at TEDx with her talk titled "Actioning our Hope."
The event was a great opportunity for Fellows to engage with Fiona's thought leadership and learn from her expertise in transformative design and sustainability.