W OME N ’ S M ON T H
TANYA BUSSCHAU, ASSOCIATE, DHK ARCHITECTS Tanya has eight years of combined experience in both the public and private sectors, performing an architectural and urban design role on a variety of projects ranging in complexities and scales, including local area development frameworks, residential urban design frameworks in the public and private sectors,
and commercial precinct plans. She currently serves on the Urban Design Institute of South Africa (UDISA) Steering Committee. Prior to joining dhk in 2017, Tanya’s experience included architectural work on the Sol Plaatje University and various residential buildings. Her involvement in projects ranges from conceptual design to technical documentation, contract management and site supervision. At dhk, her focus has been on the design, coordination and documentation of urban design frameworks, structure plans, concept and detailed masterplans, site development layouts and the development of design guidelines. Her current work includes urban design frameworks for Hatfield Town Centre
LOUISE BUYS, EXECUTIVE TRANSPORT LEAD: WESTERN CAPE, CIVIL INFRASTRUCTURE, AFRICA, AECOM Louise Buys leads AECOM’s transport team in Cape Town. “I am passionate about project management and actively managing various roads and civil infrastructure projects,” she says. “My duties include managing project teams, client liaison, stakeholder liaison, and schedule, cost, quality, risk and scope management.” Although we often take the everyday conveniences such as roads and bridges for granted, she says, “Communities depend on engineers to do what they do best to allow the general public to thrive.” Louise joined AECOM in 2009. “I first worked as a design engineer in the water department,” she says. “I started my career working on-site during the preparation period for the 2010 FIFA World Cup.” Later, she was given the opportunity to manage technical deliverables on a multidisciplinary project. “This provided me with a good understanding of team dynamics, the importance of coordinating project deliverables and how clear, effective communication ensures good and costeffective design solutions,” she says. Her message to young women contemplating the idea of entering the engineering field would be, “If you are passionate about improving the day-to-day lives of communities with great design solutions, engineering is your thing! Women are sometimes put in a very specific box, but don’t allow anyone else to shape your future for you.” Phone: +971-2-613-4410 Cell: +971-56-996-3851 Email: faye.bastow@aecom.com
in Pretoria and Conradie Park in Cape Town, a master plan for Franschhoek Pass Estate, as well as two residential architectural projects. “Just like different backgrounds, cultures and upbringing shapes how a person approaches a task or design problem, similarly one can argue that men and women often approach tasks from a slightly different viewpoint,” says Tanya. “It is the combination of different opinions, ideas and approaches that produces the richest and most inspiring solutions.”
dhk Architects Email: hello@dhk.co.za Tel: +27 (0)21 421 6803 www.dhk.co.za
NIKITA BUDREE, SENIOR STRUCTURAL ENGINEER, AECOM Nikita Budree is a Senior Structural Engineer in AECOM’s Durban office. “I also assist our manager to plan the weekly workload for a team of eight engineers,” she says. “As an engineer, I design structures using hand calculations, 2D and 3D analytical programs; I also review designs and drawings.” One of many career highlights was Nikita’s involvement in the design and construction of the Moses Mabhida Stadium. “I was given the opportunity as a young candidate engineer to design concrete suspended slabs for the stadium,” she recalls. “I was also fortunate to be heavily involved in a green field bottling plant in Mozambique, which gave me a huge platform to grow both as a design and site engineer, as well as to travel within Africa.” She achieved her professional registration in 2015, which helped to boost her career. More recently, she has developed knowledge about travelling crane designs and fulfilled a design manager role on a press plant project in East London, as well as earthquake/seismic design on a project in Ghana. “Site visits initially were awkward due to so many males on a construction site,” she recalls. “Eventually, I decided to take a stand and greet as many of the staff on site so that they could realise that us women are to be treated as equals.” As a senior, Nikita says she enjoys mentoring others. “I also enjoy helping to organise social events within our team to keep the spirit up,” she adds. “I think this is a ‘motherly’ trait that I bring to the team.” She says that women have to “constantly ‘think smarter’ as they juggle many roles both at work and at home”. She adds, however, that “this brings a great energy to the construction industry”.
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www.LeadingArchitecture.co.za AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2021 15
