In 2009, Aimie Rimmington MCIAT won the Student Award with a hypothetical phase three scheme situated at the southern edge of Sheaf Square within Sheffield city centre. As the principle gateway to the city centre, the phase three project is an urban mixed use development and a landmark building to create a new symbol for the city.

Meeting Aimie is a breath of fresh air and someone to look out for in the future of the Architectural Technology discipline, ‘this is an exceptionally proud achievement for me — it’s not like getting a degree as anyone can get a degree if they put their minds to it! My work was noticed out of others and I just never thought a normal woman like me could achieve such a task.’

Looking at her scheme, I asked what the greatest challenge was whilst working on the project, ‘It has to be the ETFE roof canopy — what a pain that was! I knew what shape I wanted the roof canopy to form, but it was a nightmare getting it to actually be buildable. I contacted Arups for help with steel sizes which ultimately changed the shape of the structure slightly. There was also the issue with the central funnels as the ETFE placed here proved to not function adequately, subsequently I had to change the design and shape again. For the roof to distribute as much water as possible into the funnels, the roof curvatures had to be slightly more pronounced away from the central part so that the overall area was at its maximum between the two highest points of the roof.’

A combined heat and power installation (CHP) provides a significant proportion of the buildings energy demand. A gas engine placed in the basement will provide power with an engine cooling system coupled to the buildings installations to provide heating and hot water. In summer, the system will convert any recovered energy to cooling, if needed, to keep the spaces at a comfortable temperature. There are two intensive green roof gardens situated on the roofs of the two blocks and the two atrium spaces generate warmth in the winter and provide an airy buffer zone in summer. In winter, the sun’s rays pass over the ETFE cushioned roof, a source of heat which is recovered in an MVHR system within the wave from slabs connected to the CHP boiler.

I then asked Aimie what main considerations she always takes into account when working on a project, ‘it’s the technicality and technologies surrounding the design. There is no point having a good looking building that doesn’t function as it should and as efficiently as possible. Sustainability is a main consideration with the technologies surrounding this.’ With this in mind, what part of the project is she most proud of? ‘it has to be the buildability of the design. It was designed to be built as I was adamant that it would have to work standing opposite Sheffield’s train station, as well as being a landmark design. What was the point in designing it otherwise?’

So where does Aimie get her inspiration from? ‘there aren’t really any influences other than the guidance I received from university and work. I took the site plan and created the design using the space I had to work with whilst meeting the initial brief, which the project exceeded.’