This blog was originally published in on July 26th, 2017, and was updated on Monday 20th March 2023.
SWJ Consulting Ltd. is made up of three former employees and directors of Gemma Design Ltd, Witney. Rhys Skym, Managing Director is a chartered structural engineer with over 15 years of experience, successfully delivering projects of up to £40m in value in a variety of fields, including Building Structures, Earth Retaining Structures and Adopted Highway Structures.
Rhys’ forward thinking and ability to inspire others led him to come together with Russell Wrapson and Sam Johnston, to form a structural engineering practice with considerable expertise.
Russell himself holds the key to many years of experience in the use of technology in assisting the industry to get the best results for end users. His passion for delivering projects that embrace the collaborative systems of BIM makes him the principle authority on strategy at SWJ.
And with Sam in the mix as the third director, a genuine enthusiasm for use of technology runs throughout the whole practice. Sam is often recognised for leveraging design tools to improve on traditional methods of design and his extraordinary ability in delivering multiple projects simultaneously.
SWJ is the newest and most progressive structural engineering company on the block and between them, Rhys, Russell and Sam intend to progress the field of structural engineering and have a positive impact on the industry with the implementation of the latest digital software and innovative thinking.
Structural engineering hero project
A distinct pride in the portfolio of Rhys, Russell and Sam (as Gemma Design) is that of the Aston Martin showroom, Bristol. The architect was LABC award winning NC Architects, the main contractor was Square One Construction Ltd. for client, Dick Lovett.
This was one of those specialist, high end projects that had to radiate luxury, to match the standards of the Aston Martin clientele. On a project of this scale there is zero tolerance for error and BIM came into its own, with Russell at the helm. Collaboration is the key to a successful, multi-partner execution of strategies and BIMs integrated systems allowed minor adjustments to made at different stages of the planning and drawing, with the need to ‘go back to the drawing board’ and start from the beginning each time. Considerable time and money was saved for the principle contractor and substantial risks to the integrity of structures were predicted and avoided.
SWJ Consulting Aston Martin Showroom
Image credit to NC Architects
Read more about this project
– LABC Grand Finalists – https://swjconsulting.co.uk/news/swj-goes-on-to-labc-grand-final-in-london-with-aston-martin/
– Project write-up – https://swjconsulting.co.uk/portfolio-items/vibration-issues/
SWJ Consulting Ltd.’s mission
Collaboration and knowledge are at the heart of our philosophy, using the latest BIM technology for integration and the most up to date Autodesk software for the superior quality programming and making use of the Education Community.
Rhys, Russell and Sam bring the perfect mix of expertise, knowledge and experience to SWJ Consulting Ltd. and they intend to continue the development of their industry knowledge alongside the growth of this exciting new structural engineering company.
Ideal clients for SWJ
The areas of specialism in the three founders of SWJ lie in adopted highway structures, reinforced concrete framed buildings and commercial or educational sectors. An ideal client for the boys would be a new school requiring infrastructure, a new community hospital where earth retaining structures or water table allowances are necessary or a large social housing complex requiring extensive structural surveying and refurbishment. However, SWJ have been known to work on a rather unusual houseboat project, so get in touch with the details of your project and take their advice…
