Aurecon Design Academy named Best in Class at Australian Good Design Awards
Aurecon Design Academy wins Best in Class at the 2026 Australian Good Design Awards, celebrating the company's decade-long investment in developing its people.
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Aurecon's Patrick Shephard has received a High Commendation for Excellence in Steel Design in the Young Designer/Detailer/Trades Person Category at the 2014 Australian Steel Institute (ASI) Excellence Awards in the NSW/ACT Division.
Graduating from the University of New South Wales with a Bachelor of Civil Engineering with Architecture, the 24 year old structural engineer not only left university with Honours (Class I) but also with a keen drive to pursue his passion for architectural engineering.
"In receiving this award, I feel very humbled by the acknowledgement and support of my peers in the industry", Patrick reflects.
"I truly enjoy the work that I perform as a structural engineer, and for the countless opportunities I have to learn new skills, improve on those I already have, and to grow both professionally and personally."
Since joining Aurecon's Sydney office as a graduate engineer in 2011, Patrick's burgeoning career has been enriched by a formidable range of buildings projects spanning Sydney, Canberra and Melbourne which include: Sydney's 161 Sussex Street Redevelopment and Global Switch's East Sydney Data Centre, a new auditorium at the Australian Defence Force Academy's Canberra facility, and the latest Equinix Data Centre located in Melbourne.
In his award submission, Patrick documented his experiences, observations and learnings acquired from working on the very challenging and rewarding Equinix Data Centre project. Responsible for various roles on the project, Patrick was involved in structural design, leading structural – architectural design workshops and authoring the Structural Safety - in - Design report in accordance with the Workplace Health and Safety Act 2011.
"Great architectural visions require creative structural engineering to make it happen", Patrick answers.
"I aspire to work on inspirational projects of significant structural engineering and architectural merit. I believe that my deep appreciation of architecture, familiarity with the language of architects and determination to develop advanced analysis skills will help me be successful in achieving this goal."
Realistic about the many years of crafting his expertise ahead, Patrick has set a mid – term goal of achieving his Chartered status in 2015. Before then, he aims to build up as much project experience as possible.
Congratulations Patrick!
The awards programme is open to designers, detailers and trades people under the age of 25 across Australia. It is only offered every second year making it extremely competitive and high – calibre.
Included in the programme are five award categories:
Entrants are required to demonstrate: skills around project management, dedication to his/her trade/profession and show keen ambition to succeed, awareness of environmental sustainability as applied to construction, and have worthwhile personal development and future aspirational plans.
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Aurecon Design Academy wins Best in Class at the 2026 Australian Good Design Awards, celebrating the company's decade-long investment in developing its people.
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