The new president of the CIBSE has called on building services engineers to view themselves as artists and practitioners
Building services engineers should view themselves in a different light, says the new president of the Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers (CIBSE).
Speaking at the Royal Academy of Engineering, London, Peter Y Wong called for a change in the way the sector is viewed.
He drew comparisons between works of art and the process of creating high performance buildings. Wong said building services engineers should look at their work as an expression of the principles of integrity, professionalism and the public interest.
Furthermore he said there should be pride in creating buildings that perform highly.
Building services artists
Wong said: “My presidential pledge is to inspire the industry to embody the spirit and values of being a CIBSE member and to promote the positive message of the values we believe in, the professionalism we treasure and the aspiration of exchanging best practice among like-minded professionals worldwide.
“Building Services Engineers are one of the most important professions for the future health of the planet, and the world is depending on what we do to ensure that we have healthy and productive places to live and work for generations.”
The CIBSE’s core mission is to promote the science, art and practice of engineering. Wong said art should be emphasised, as it is the most important of those three ambitions. This is because the structured and principled nature of the art of engineering separated competent engineers from truly great ones.
Wong also noted that by considering themselves as artists, building services engineers could improve their profession while strengthening the CIBSE as an organisation.
Wong has an extensive background in engineering, having worked in the sector for more than 40 years. He was announced as President-Elect of the CIBSE in 2016 and founded the CIBSE Hong Kong region.
