1. Dominic Holder
Personal Details
Nationality British/Barbadian
Profession Consulting
Specialisation Structural Engineering
Years of Experience 4
Key Qualifications A structural engineer with 4 years experience in structural
steel/concrete/timber design and precast concrete design and detailing for
fabrication.
Education / Professional
Status
Post-graduate advanced concrete courses
BSc. (Hons. - 1st) Civil Engineering
Graduate member of IStructE / ICE / PEO / B.A.P.E.
Key Relevant Experience
Nile Street, United Kingdom - This is a £60m mixed-use development based in Hackney, London. The scheme
involved a 23-storey high rise building with 200+ units plus an alternative educational facility accommodating 150+
pupils. Pell Frischmann were appointed as the Civil and Structural Engineers for the scheme. I conducted preliminary
calculations and sizing of structural elements for the RIBA Stage 3 report submission.
18 Blackfriars Road, United Kingdom - This is a £360m project based in Southwark, London. I was responsible for
the preliminary ETABS FE model for one of the two (2) towers which dominate the site. This was a 45-storey residential
tower with 3 basement levels. I performed the initial wind analysis and sensibility check on the core walls for stability. I
also performed a modal analysis on the structure in order to assess human comfort due to horizontal wind accelerations.

2. Centre Point, United Kingdom - Centre Point is a substantial concrete and glass office building in central London,
almost directly above Tottenham Court Road tube station. Centre Point achieved Grade II listed status for being a
model example of 60’s architecture. It surpassed and furthered the engineering of its day and still, even now, is a
landmark in the city as well as a benchmark for modular construction methods. Pell Frischmann provided structural
engineering design and construction supervision services for this refurbishment project with a value of £150m. I was
responsible for design review and amendment if necessary of new steelworks throughout the Tower and Maisonette
Block.

3. The Grotto, Barbados – Precast engineer and fabrication detailer for a cluster of five, five-storey fully precast concrete
buildings as affordable housing for the National Housing Corporation.
Prince Arthur’s Landing, Canada – Structural designer for the following two (2) public buildings that are part of a
$130m public-private development, transforming Thunder Bay’s waterfront and promoting year-round mixed-use and
recreational activities in this critical region adjacent to the historic downtown.
The Water Garden Pavilion is a completely new, 8,000-square-foot building that provides support services for some
of the Landing’s outdoor activities, notably skating in the winter and a splash pad during the summer. I was
responsible for the design of various structural elements comprising this 2-storey building. Steel was chosen as the
structural material for the frame with concrete composite deck for the floor plates. Synthetic polymer fibres were
specified as reinforcement for the composite slab as an alternative to mesh reinforcement. This building had an
unusual complexity about it since the soil beneath it was peat, which was assumed to have no bearing capacity. The
columns were each supported by a tripod of proprietary pull-down helical grouted micropiles that went down to
bedrock. There was a double-height hallway with exposed glulam beams that formed the top chord of a series of
inverted king trusses complete with steel rods and square Hollow Structural Sections at their centres. Skaters can
enjoy an outdoor fireplace and a full-service restaurant that will spill out onto the patio during the warmer season.
Inside, the building’s Mariner’s Hall is designed to echo the shape of a ship’s hull, one of the many metaphorical
references to water and shipping found across the site.

4. The Baggage Building was originally constructed in the early 1900s, and has now been expanded with a new 2-
storey addition that includes exhibition and teaching spaces, artisan studios and retail. The studios house activities
that include painting, printmaking, pottery, jewellery design, video art production and other media. A second-floor
mezzanine, suspended from the roof above, overlooks other double-height interior spaces, offering an enriched
spatial dynamic. This structure utilised three different structural materials; reinforced concrete, steel and timber. One
complexity of the site was the existence of a 900mm diameter water main that ran through the site. This was critical
city infrastructure and piling/boring was not allowed within 6m of the centreline of the water main path due to the
potential damage to the pipe due to excessive vibrations. Using a complementary material palette of timber and glass
for the new arts centre, the historic Baggage Building is connected to the CN Railway Station, thereby establishing a
strong image for a facility that will successfully anchor a gateway leading from downtown to the waterfront.

5. Breithaupt Block, Canada – Structural designer for a $36m renovation into high quality office space designed for
Waterloo’s technology sector. The former rubber, then car-parts factory stretches over a block of Kitchener’s old
warehouse district. The building housed mammoth machinery and desperately needed an environmental clean-up. No
original structural plans of the building existed. Several alterations had been made over the years and only some of
those more recent structural plans existed and could be sourced. This was done manually, over the course of several
site visits and inspections. All visible structure was physically measured and recorded, except in inaccessible areas or
where it was unsafe to do so. One difficulty with this project was the removal of around 1,200 tonnes of assembly line
machinery. Another was that two sections of the building were demolished to create modern courtyards. The
developer was convinced that the nearby rail line and the technology sector’s appetite for interesting spaces would
define the potential value of the vacant plant. This is due to a growing appreciation for repurposing dormant factories in
downtown locations, a concept that appeals to tech-sector workers who want to be close to amenities. The rail line that
once shipped its goods now carries commuters to white-collar jobs in the city. The Region of Waterloo purchased three
acres of land across the tracks from the site to build a transit hub for Via Rail, GO Transit and inter-city buses which
has added to the lustre of the location. This trend of revitalising and restoring defunct industrial buildings has added
cachet to a once-overlooked downtown city centres. The Breithaupt’s interior now features large windows, high ceilings,
brick walls, Oak floors, foot-square beams of Oak, Douglas Fir and Hemlock and the window replacements are
consistent with the original 1900s style. Some historic features have been restored and two old large factory iron gears
feature in one of the newly created courtyards.

6. CFB Borden, Canada - The overall goal of the Department of National Defence (DND) was to consolidate facilities in
order to create a training environment that would allow students to walk no more than 500m to all facilities. The design
strategy for this new prototype kitchen and dining facility focused on providing a pleasant, efficient and enduring building
with plenty of natural light and optimized interior traffic flows. The exterior forms were kept deliberately orthogonal,
streamline and understated in order to produce an elegant, timeless building which fits in with the existing built
environment at the base. As you enter the facility the aesthetic changes remind one of the history of the pine forests
that were once dominant in the landscape of the site in the form of the dramatic glue laminated curved structure of the
columns and beams. The interior design focuses on achieving a pleasant, easily maintained space optimized for clear
and instinctive wayfinding – achieved through use of forms, materials and colours inspired by the military ribbon graphic.
The most complex feature of this facility was its curved glulam arch beams and associated columns in the dining hall.
Their end conditions and geometry required particular attention to ensure that they only carried axial load.