About Us

city birdseye view

About Us

Engineering Innovation is at the heart of our approach to structural engineering.  Shire were formed during 1988 in the belief that many clients were dissatisfied with the traditional reactive response of some Engineers.  Shire aim to have an active involvement in projects, making recommendations where we see more effective solutions. We have gained a reputation for being ‘Thinking Engineers’ which has led to varied workload in the Civil, Structural, Highways, Aerospace, Education and Rail sectors.

Over time, we have expanded our services to include Geotechnical investigations, telecommunications design services, structural repair services (including piling, jacking, root barriers), product innovations and foundation systems to name a few.  We work on projects large and small – to date we’ve completed individual commissions up to a value of £20M.

The Shire Values are the same today as they’ve always been.  It’s how we’ve built our business:

  • Working with integrity and finding the right solutions
  • Inspiring confidence in the people we work with
  • Proven credibility through our track record
  • Valuing connections among our teams and with our customers
  • Enterprising in our approach to problem-solving, with a fresh outlook
  • Valuing a challenge, listening and finding a realistic solution 

Not sure how we can help?  Contact us today to discuss your project or challenge.

Our Awards

We take pride in what we do and are even more proud when our work is recognised by others.  Our awards are a valuable asset as they are judged and awarded by recognised experts in their various fields and are a true mark of recognition of our hard work and dedication.

Shire have received numerous awards for design and innovation. Recent awards for building design include 2010 RIBA Architecture Award for the ‘Zero Carbon House’ in Birmingham, the 2013 RIBA West Midlands Award for the Michael Baker Boathouse, King’s School, 2013 RIBA North East Award for Yarm School Auditorium and the 2013 RIBA West Midlands Award for St Georges Primary School.

To date, we’ve won:

  • 13 RIBA Awards for Structural Engineering from the Royal Institute of British Architects
  • Wood Awards that recognise, encourage and promote outstanding design, craftmanship and installation using wood
  • Civic Trust Awards for design excellence on projects that are recognised as providing a positive civic contribution with strong sustainability credentials
  • Our product innovations have also been shortlisted for the highly respected Ground Engineering Awards.  Our QuickBase system has been nominated for, and won, various Product Innovation awards including a Fenestration Industry Gold Award and “Best Exterior Product” at Interbuild.

Accreditations & Memberships

institute of structural engineers
the subsidence forum
bsi
achilles
ice
chas
breeam
safe contractor approved
riba

Our People

Our Directors originally set up the business in 1988 and now lead our teams of engineers by constantly challenging, inspiring and questioning to unlock creative thinking and problem-solving skills to deliver the best solution for every project we work on.

As a responsible employer of people from across the UK, we employ people who want to work in a collaborative, problem-solving, professional environment with strong team members who support each other, see the bigger picture and recognise their role as trusted experts.

We add new skills to our portfolio and expand our teams in sectors where we’re growing our business.  We have a wide variety of roles within our business including Structural Engineers at varying levels, Site Supervisors, Site Technicians, CAD Technicians, Geotechnical Engineers, Telecoms Specialists, Surveyors, Contract Managers, Customer Service Specialists, Finance, Health & Safety, HR, Business Development and IT.

To find out more about what roles are available, please get in touch.

Find out more

To mark our 30th anniversary, we’re sharing some of our experiences: from the projects we’ve been involved in, sectors we’ve worked in, challenges we’ve overcome and problems we’ve solved.  We’ll be offering advice on choosing the right foundations for your projects as well as hints, tips and other news. Sign up via our ‘contact us’ page and you’ll receive regular newsletters.  You can unsubscribe at any time or why not follow us on Twitter to get our latest updates.