Congratulations to Regional Director, Fiona Williamson, who recently celebrated reaching the incredible milestone of 25 years working under the banner of DSSR.

Fiona began her career with DSSR straight from university in 1998, and in time was promoted to Senior Engineer in 2004, Associate in 2007, and has been a Regional Director since 2020. A Chartered Engineer and the Sustainability Lead for DSSR, Fiona manages a multi-disciplinary team based in our Glasgow office which has a particular expertise in sustainable building design.

As the Sustainability lead for the company, Fiona keeps abreast of the current energy and sustainability policy, legislation, industry updates and such, applicable to our business, to ensure the company is informed of all relevant requirements.

Fiona is also a Member of CIBSE, Low Carbon Energy Assessor LCEA (Scotland), BREEAM Assessor (NC & RFO), BREEAM Advisory Professional (AP), and CIBSE Heat Network Consultant.

History of Fiona

During her early school years, Fiona wanted to be an Architect. Driven by a love of Lego, drawing, and buildings she found herself led in that direction. Over time, she developed a particular aptitude for more technical subjects, such as maths and physics, and was encouraged to consider the field of engineering.

Fiona later undertook an Undergraduate Degree course at Strathclyde University called ‘Building Design Engineering’ as it covered a variety of building elements including Architecture, Structural Engineering, and Environmental Engineering. She particularly enjoyed Environmental Engineering–in particular Sustainable Building Design–and completed her honours degree in this subject.

Following graduation, Fiona began to look at Building Services Consultancies who, even in the late 1990s, were involved in the design of sustainable and low-energy buildings. Since graduating, she has been able to use her skills and passion to influence building designs and continues to look forward to the opportunities.

“I have loved being part of the evolution of the construction industry seeing the changes in safety and welfare as well as the continuing challenges of meeting the future needs of our world. I am in a privileged position to have the skills required to help contribute to managing Climate Challenge and this is something of which I am very proud.”

Career with DSSR

Fiona joined DSSR straight from university in 1998, jumping straight into an extensive refurbishment project for the University of Glasgow under the mentorship of DSSR veteran, Chris Marriott.

While at DSSR, Fiona has worked on many iconic projects and buildings. From the University of Glasgow project in her early days, she has worked on the News International presses at London and Liverpool – a £500m project which was the largest DSSR had ever undertaken at the time.

In more recent years, Fiona has continued to develop DSSR’s expertise in Sustainability Consultancy in the Built Environment and our national reputation in this continuously evolving field.

“You are lucky in your life if you meet people who make your life a better place; I consider myself lucky to have known Fiona for 25 years. She has enriched my working life, and I am a better person for having worked with her.”

– Bill Chalmers, DSSR Director