Meet Dean, Project Manager!
Get to know Dean, Hawkland’s Project Manager
Having spent over fifteen years in various areas of property management, Dean decided to take a career break after growing increasingly frustrated by the quality, culture and lack of sustainable thinking within mainstream construction. During this time, he spent two years living in a number of eco-communities in Greece, practising permaculture and learning about natural building techniques. He says that “this was a great opportunity to re-set and re-evaluate where I wanted to take my career.” A passion was quickly sparked for sustainable construction, leading him to discover CAT ( The Centre for Alternative Technology) and enrol on an MSc in Green Building. Whilst researching at CAT, Dean found out about Hawkland and got in touch to see if there was any work opportunities.
No two days look the same for Dean at Hawkland. A typical day might involve team meetings in the office to discuss current or future projects in the pipeline, or meetings with clients to update them on their project. He also works closely with the Site Managers, making sure they have everything they need and supporting them with procurement, issues and/or future planning.
When asked about his interest in sustainability and construction, Dean emphasises the built environment’s massive contribution to global warming - currently accounting for around 40% of global emissions. However, rather than stressing the negatives, Dean draws attention to the opportunity for change we are being given. He is passionate about making urgent change within the industry in order to hit vital carbon reduction targets, and maintains that “we don’t need to wait for groundbreaking technology or new inventions, we already have everything we need to build better, healthier, lower-impact homes right now!” Dean is especially interested in the specific qualities of natural/sustainable building materials and their application in retrofitting our existing housing stock, and, in particular, the challenge of retrofitting historic buildings.
When not working or studying, Dean is kept busy by two young children. He spends most of his weekends out in the countryside, and is happiest when cycling on his bike. He also enjoys getting out for long walks with family and friends, ideally including a pit-stop at a pub or two along the way!
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