WILL Rudd has announced a new partnership with the University of Strathclyde and Innovate UK to develop ‘cutting-edge’ assessment techniques for heritage structures.
The project is supported by the West of Scotland KTP Centre and the collaboration with the university’s department of civil and environmental engineering is funded by Innovate UK and supported by the knowledge transfer partnership programme, which helps businesses innovate by working with UK universities.
A core part of the partnership includes the recruitment of a dedicated KTP associate based at Will Rudd’s Glasgow office, with regular time also spent at the university with supervisors. The successful applicant will be responsible for researching, developing and embedding the new capabilities into Will Rudd’s practice.
Gerard Carson, director at Will Rudd Glasgow, said, “This partnership is an exciting development for our team and our work in the field of conservation engineering. We’re building on decades of experience working with heritage structures across the UK and Ireland and this collaboration will give us access to powerful new tools to deepen that expertise.”
Engineers across Europe are applying case studies, techniques, and insights from structural health monitoring and seismic resilience to better understand how heritage buildings, ruins and scheduled monuments behave in real time. This also shows how they might respond to protective interventions designed for long-term preservation.
The new computational methods explored as part of this KTP programme, including soil–structure interaction modelling and deep computational analysis of the structural fabric, will provide Will Rudd with sharper insight and confidence when assessing historic structures and offering sensitive repairs or alterations.
Gerard continued, “The aim is to upskill our technical team and foster a creative, collaborative environment where innovation is embedded in day-to-day practice. It’s a rare chance to combine engineering heritage with cutting-edge research and we’re proud to be part of it.”
Enrico Tubaldi, reader in structural engineering at University of Strathclyde and academic knowledge-based supervisor, added, “We are really looking forward to validating our advanced modelling and monitoring strategies on real case studies and transferring this knowledge into engineering practice. The partnership with Will Rudd represents a fantastic opportunity to bridge the gap between academic research and industrial application, helping to safeguard our built heritage through monitoring- and modelling-informed approaches that support better conservation decisions.”
Richard Lamb, KTP programme manager at Innovate UK, commented, “This KTP exemplifies the power of collaboration between academia and industry to drive innovation in heritage conservation. We’re excited to support this partnership and look forward to seeing the positive impact it will have on both the sector and the project partners.”
Hannah Freirech, computational engineering and innovation manager at Will Rudd, Glasgow, added, “It has been a pleasure to work with the talented and ambitious experts at the University of Strathclyde, West of Scotland KTP Centre and Innovate UK in developing the project scope and preparing the KTP grant application. I look forward to working alongside all members of the team, especially with the new KTP associate, to deliver this project and to further develop my own areas of expertise.”
