A firm of consulting engineers which has grown from two people working from home into a team of more than 40 has marked its 20th anniversary with a move to larger premises.
Daniel Staines, who studied A-Level engineering at Woodbridge School, launched his first civil and structural engineering office with his wife, Anna-Maria Staines, in 1997, using a fax machine on their landing.
Today, JMS is based a newly-built head office at Brightwell Barns, near Woodbridge, with other members of the team located at networked offices in London, the Midlands, the North West and Greece, with projects being managed by teams local to the development for hands-on interaction.
Daniel Staines said: “We are just a few miles from Ipswich and the heart of commercial growth and infrastructural development in East Anglia. The new offices allow for the high level recruitment needed to fulfil our own growth plans for the region and across the country.”
He added: “As well as many developments in Ipswich itself, we are heavily involved in the civil and structural engineering support of Port One, St James Park, the 750,000 sq ft warehousing development just outside Ipswich.
“This is intended to support freight transport across the ‘Golden Triangle’ to the Midlands and north. And we are positioned centrally and regionally to follow the building projects such growth will naturally feed.”
The office at Brightwell Barns, the design of which involved JMS, include some of the latest “green” initiatives. Part of the drainage systems includes a rainwater harvesting system, where natural rain water and used “grey” water are collected and filtered in a landscaped pond and garden for reuse.
Office lighting combines the maximum use of natural light through window materials and positioning, together with energy efficient internal lighting triggered by infra red motion detectors.
As well as positioning the windows to maximise natural light, they are double glazed and filled with argon gas which carries less energy between the two panes, so controlling the heat in and wasted heat out. Being frame built, the walls can also take more insulation, making winter and summer extremes more efficiently manageable.
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