Archives: Members
Philip Vernon
Regional Manager North America
Philip is the founder of Digital Environment Construction and has extensive experience in composites and digital fabrication. An architect by training, he studied at Rensselaer Polytechnic Insitute, and has worked with designers and factories to build complex projects around the world.
Natalie Matsentidou
Design Consultant UK/EU
Natalie Matsentidou is the founder and director of Reinforced Design Services, a leading company in the GRC (glassfibre reinforced concrete) industry. She has worked on a wide range of sectors, including residential, education, and commercial buildings, delivering innovative and bespoke design solutions for GRC projects.
She is passionate about creating stunning and sustainable GRC structures that enhance the architectural vision and the environmental performance of the projects..
James Bunn
Regional Manager UK/EU
James became a Chartered Engineer with the ICE in 1987. He was admitted as a Chartered Member of Engineers Australia in 1989 and became a Fellow in 2016 in recognition of his long professional association and career achievements.
Becoming President and UK/EU Chair at The Institution of Engineers, Australia from 2021-23, he has now come full-circle joining Australian based global Rickard Consulting Engineers in 2024 as Regional Manager for UK and Europe. He is uniquely positioned to leverage key connections across Governments, the Crown, industry and individual Engineers alike – removing barriers to trade right across the Engineering Profession.
Yanfei Che
Regional Manager China/SEA
Yanfei is an expert in UHPC (Ultra High-Performance Concrete), a material similar to GRC but with different applications. After finishing his PhD at Sheffield University, he worked in the GRC industry in the UK, before moving to China as the Vice Chairman of China GRC Association and China UHPC Association.
Yanfei has decades of experience in the theory and applicability of both of these materials and their use in the design and engineering of major projects.
William Clarke
Associate
William is an Associate at Rickard Engineering with over 6 years of experience in structural and façade engineering since graduating from The University of Wollongong (UOW) with a Bachelor of Civil Engineering in 2017. William’s background in residential engineering which was developed during his time working on the South Coast of NSW has led to a thorough understanding of a wide range engineering subject.
His focus in more recent years has been on the design, manufacture and installation of glass fibre reinforced concrete and glass fibre reinforced polymer façades systems which he has applied to large scale infrastructure projects, international hotels and university facilities.
William has been involved since the onset of the Design and Building Practitioners Act (DBPA) in 2020 designing and detailing an extensive scope of façade systems for large class 2 residential building projects in NSW working in collaboration with architects, project managers, contractors, manufacturers and suppliers alike.
Ibrahim Hayek
Associate
Ibrahim is a dedicated Associate with over 10 years’ of specialized experience in the design, analysis, and implementation of facade systems for both residential and commercial buildings.
Holding a Master’s Degree in Structural Engineering from the Technical University of Dresden in Germany, Ibrahim focused his career on the facade sector and worked in a variety of management, acquisition, and design roles on façade projects across Germany, Europe, the Middle East and Australia.
As a key member of the team at Rickard Engineering, Ibrahim has successfully managed numerous Class 2 façade building projects in NSW under the DBPA Act for high-rise multi-residential, multi-unit apartment buildings, and mixed-use buildings. He has taken such projects from initial concept design all the way through to the completion of construction, working closely with Builders, Developers, Architects, Contractors, Manufacturers, and other Consultants.
Thomas Chan
Associate
Thomas is the Associate at Rickard Engineering with over 20 years of experience in structural and façade engineering. He has international professional memberships in Australia, UK and Hong Kong. He has extensive proven experience in the design office, client-side project management office and on construction sites.
Thomas has been involved in a wide range of projects across Australia, Hong Kong and Macau from small to mega scale up to projects valued at 1.8 billion Australian dollars. Those projects involve high-rise buildings, residential, hospitals, health care centres, police stations, fire stations, hotel, theatre, theme park and heritage building with the use of a wide range of materials such as reinforced concrete, precast concrete, structural steel, masonry, timber and glass reinforced concrete.
He previously specialized in Design for Manufacture and Assembly (DfMA) and Modular Integrated Construction (MiC) for the successful fast track delivery of projects. He also specialised in research and development of design manuals for façade products such as breeze blocks, glass bricks and brick slips..
Vera Tchikina
Associate
Vera is an Associate at Rickard Engineering with over 5 years of experience in designing and delivering façades since graduating from a Bachelor of Engineering (with Architecture) from UNSW.
Over this time, she has worked with architects, builders, suppliers and other industry consultants in a wide range of projects across Australia, from curtain wall commercial towers, large multi-residential developments and small-scale bespoke façade solutions.
Vera specialises in façade waterproofing and structural design but is passionate about consulting on designs holistically to achieve the architect’s vision with consideration for the constructability. She has also been heavily involved in recent NSW residential projects and since the introduction of the Design and Building Practitioner’s Act came into effect she has been involved in the design and delivery of several projects, most notably an eight-story development of approximately 5,600 square metres of façade area involving twenty different façade types and features..
Amir Naderi
Principal
Amir Naderi is a senior Structural/Façade Engineer and a highly professional member of the Rickard Engineering team. With an impressive portfolio in a variety of projects ranging from commercial to residential, Amir is highly regarded within the engineering industry. He holds a Master of Structural Engineering from the University of New South Wales and a Master of Geotechnical Engineering and Engineering Geology also from University of New South Wales.
Amir is a Chartered Engineer (NER) and also registered in Queensland (RPEQ) and Victoria (VBA). Amir has been with Rickard Engineering since 2014 and within this time has contributed to a range of major projects both domestically and internationally including Australia 108 (VIC), 380 Lonsdale (VIC), Wynyard Walk (Sydney), The Ribbon (Sydney), Australian Parliament House (ACT), Oman Convention Centre (Muscat, Oman) and Singapore Zoo (Singapore).
Szymon Fujak
Director
Szymon was born in Poland and attended Wroclaw University of Technology, BSc earning the Prize for the Bachelor Thesis (Analysis of Long-Span Steel Roofing Solutions). He studied in both Belgium (Vrije Universiteit Brussel and Université Libre de Bruxelles) as an exchange student in Germany (Universität der Bundeswehr München), also studying in Japan for his PhD in Structural Dynamics (Tōhoku University).
His Masters thesis (completed in Poland) was awarded the ‘Best Graduate of the Department’ and second place in the Best Graduate of the University. Szymon worked for K2 Engineering starting from the last year of his Masters, with major projects being Gliwice Arena (sports hall with PT roof, 14,000 seats), Fabryczna Station (one of major Polish railway stations) and Wroclaw Station (one of major Polish railway stations).
He travelled to Australia after graduation, starting work at Demlakian Engineers – Lane Cove Pedestrian Bridge, but soon changed to Rickard Engineering (from 2015). Szymon worked on many significant projects: Wynyard Station, Australia 108, Al Rayyan Stadium, Rosewood Doha, Singapore Zoo and new models of GRP swimming pools.
Noman Ali
Director
Noman joined the Rickard Engineering team in 2017, having gained significant experience in Abu Dhabi and Pakistan. After attending university in Pakistan and completing a bachelors degree in Civil Engineering and masters in Structural Engineering, Noman extended his education at the University of Rome in Italy with a masters in Seismic Risk.
Noman’s extensive portfolio includes civil and structural projects in both Abu Dhabi and Pakistan including the construction of the Sea Palace Highway and 50 MW Wind Power Plant project. For Rickard Engineering, his portfolio includes engineering for major projects such as 380 Lonsdale St Melbourne (Vic), Al Rayyan Stadium (Qatar), IICC – Exhibition Centre (India), Infinity by Crown (Sydney), Destination Gold Coast (QLD) and many others.
Charles Rickard
Managing Director
Charles Rickard graduated from Surrey University, UK with a Master of Science (Distinction) in Structural Engineering in 1975, having completed a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering the previous year.
Charles undertook his initial three years of engineering training with Taylor Woodrow, the international engineering group. By 1982, after an 18 month stay with Alan Baxter & Associates, he had achieved the position of London Associate with White Young Consulting Group (now known as White Young Green). His major responsibility with them was the engineering design and site supervision of construction for the $100 million (1980 value) Phase 2 Basildon town centre development in the UK. Charles also did a three month stint in Qatar, where he designed a new palace for the Emir.
In 1984, Charles moved to Australia and set up Rickard and Partners Pty Ltd, subsequently known as Bonacci Rickard, then Rickard Hails Moretti Pty Ltd (RHM).
In 2004, Charles amicably left RHM and after a short spell working with Connell Wagner in Neutral Bay on contract, in 2006 he set up Rickard Engineering, also located in Neutral Bay.
Now in 2024, the company has grown to include four Directors, four Associates and 18 staff with overseas representatives in Denver, Hangzhou, Dubai and London. New offices are planned to open in Melbourne and Canberra before Christmas. The company’s current turnover is in excess of $4 million.
To view Charles full CV click HERE.