Day in the life: Graduate Environmental Designer

by Agathe Chevee

As an environmental designer graduate, this is going to sound cliché, but no two days are the same, and the variety mainly depends on the types of projects I’m working on.

A typical day in the office could involve performing environmental assessments, like energy modelling or embodied carbon calculations for a cinema in London. I might be reviewing the thermal performance of a façade, and daylight access for a government building in Canada, or analysing the potential for natural ventilation in a retrofit office building.

On occasion I would go on site visits, whether it’s during construction to make sure sustainable design features are on track for benchmarking purposes, or before construction kicks off to spot opportunities for circular economy strategies, like material reuse and waste reduction.

A big part of my role involves collaborating with architects and engineers to ensure sustainability goals are integrated smoothly into the overall design, and tools like Rhino and IES-VE are essential in this process. What really helps with this collaboration is being involved in projects from day one. By attending weekly design meetings, even as a junior, I get the chance to learn, contribute, and work closely with the team. Atelier Ten is also great at fast-tracking our learning with internal training sessions that help bridge the gap between academic theory and practical, real-world skills, making it easier to hit the ground running.

On top of that, there is strong focus on being innovative, so we have dedicated time to research and go to conferences on new materials, technologies, legislation, or manufacturing processes etc… We then have the chance to share our findings in forums like Friday Knowledge Share sessions, ToTs (Training on Thursday), or our weekly team meetings. This really create a collaborative learning culture across the team.

Outside of the project work, there’s a great emphasis on building a strong team spirit. Whether it’s starting the day with a coffee catch-up, enjoying Friday drinks, celebrating the completion of a project, or playing tennis, softball, basketball, football – you name it, there are plenty of opportunities to socialise and connect with the people you work with.