Ever wanted to... design buildings?

If you enjoy finding solutions to technical problems, mechanical engineering could be the job for you. Buro Happold’s Richard Walder tells Lydia Coelho at 360? why he loves his job and what inspires him

Richard Walder, mechanical engineer

Case study: Syed Shah

"This is a great job if you want to deliver the technical know-how to make a project come to life. I've always been impressed by the skill and ingenuity that goes into shaping the built environment. I wanted to be part of that - to build real things that I could be proud of.

I work in the roads and rails division and I'm involved in a major housing development worth around £5 million, assessing and approving the highway works: road junctions, road safety, bus routes, cycle routes, pedestrian routes and street lighting. I take into account all the technical specifications as well as environment and safety issues. I interact with the client, contractors, designers, developers, local businesses and local residents - and work to find appropriate solutions for the problems that may arise at various stages of the projects.

I have high but realistic goals. We provide the technical knowledge and support to take a project from an idea to the real world."