By Jessica Anstice
A Pakenham engineering company has been recognised for its leadership in the field after winning Victoria’s 2020 Australian Engineering Excellence Award.
Spencer Group Engineering (SGE) was announced the winner during a live virtual event on Thursday 17 September.
Annually, the prestigious awards recognise the country’s top engineering projects and teams, as well as individual engineers who demonstrate engineering excellence.
SGE received the acknowledgement for their outstanding work on Burwood Brickworks Shopping Centre, a leading retail space anticipated to be the most sustainable shopping centre in the world.
Completed last year, Burwood Brickworks is a one-stop hub that features shopping, apartments, townhouses, restaurants and a roof urban farm and eatery.
The award-winning company went above and beyond their usual services to address several engineering challenges that arose due to the complex nature of the building.
The team’s dedication to the project and the implementation of their own innovative practices meant they were able to complete the Burwood Brickworks Shopping Centre to the highest standards in engineering within the timeframe and budget allocated.
SGE directors Michael Spencer and Jason Howlett said they were thrilled to be part of the groundbreaking project.
“With a team of the best engineers and drafts people from across the state, we pride ourselves on delivering exceptional services across all our civil and structural engineering projects,” Mr Spencer said.
“We are constantly trying to be a step ahead of the rest in terms of new and innovative engineering practices, so it’s great to be recognised for our contribution to Burwood Brickworks.”
Mr Howlett added that the works done by SGE had set a standard in engineering for future large-scale sustainable facilities.
“We feel that the project has gone a long way in raising awareness of all the benefits that good building design, in accordance with the Living Building Challenge, can achieve,” he said.
“We would like to congratulate all the nominees and winners and extend our thanks and appreciation to Engineers Australia for the award, Fraser’s Property Australia for appointing us to the project and Hacer Group for a professional and enjoyable build.”
