Vicki Reynolds has joined multidisciplinary design company ONE Creative Environments as technical director of digital estates.
She joins from Catalyst, where she was chief technology officer, having started there as head of digital in December 2019.
As well as being recognised for building and environment design, ONE is seen as a leader in digital information management and high-quality BIM solutions, winning multiple industry awards for digital innovation.
Speaking to BIMplus, Reynolds explained her new role: “A dedicated business unit leader was required to continue to nurture the growth of ONE’s innovative Digital Estates team, and after seeing their incredible case studies and deliverables to date, I couldn’t resist getting involved.”
She will lead ONE’s digital twin configuration service, ONE TwinVis – a software-agnostic approach to developing and deploying tailored digital twin solutions. “I’ll be working with organisations to develop their strategy predominantly around digital twins and using them for greater efficiencies, carbon reduction and greater safety,” she said.
Reynolds first came across ONE when she was at Multiplex (prior to her stint at Catalyst): ONE director Jason Whittall and his team worked on one of the contractor’s projects with her. “They had a knack for genuinely understanding requirements and designing efficient, yet effective, solutions. When I left Multiplex, Jason and I stayed in touch,” she explained.
Whittall said: “As ONE celebrates our 50th anniversary in business this year, we are delighted to welcome Vicki as technical director within our award-winning digital estates team. Her extensive expertise in BIM and digital twins will be instrumental in helping our clients successfully implement digital twin solutions. I’m looking forward to working with her to expand the reach of ONE TwinVis, ensuring more clients benefit from our in-house digital expertise.”
Digital twin excitement
The move into digital twins excites Reynolds. She said: “It’s hard to explain how excited I am for this. It’s a role that didn’t exist just a couple of years ago. When the Digital Twin Fan Club [podcast] started, many asset owners weren’t equipped to manage or maintain a digital twin, and some vendors were spreading misconceptions about what they were. This was something the Fan Club tried to improve through our podcasts and events by raising awareness and signposting best practice.
“My aspiration was to find a company that really understood the value a twin could deliver if developed and maintained appropriately. Finally, I have found that in ONE. What Jason and the team are working on is incredibly valuable for social development, for keeping people safe, and for efficient buildings in the drive for net zero. There’s a lot of value there, which feels good to be involved with.”
Lesson in resilience
Reflecting on her time at Catalyst, she said: “I love Catalyst. It’s been a really great experience working there. Even though we had the covid pandemic, and a range of other economic challenges, the business continued to grow and thrive without having to let anyone go. It’s been a great lesson in resilience for me. We grew very quickly, and I stepped into roles looking after cyber security, information security and general IT. It was very interesting, but it wasn’t where I wanted to be.”
Reynolds will continue her extracurricular activities, including being:
- academic director for the Master’s in Global BIM Management at the Zigurat Institute of Technology;
- part of the executive team at Women in BIM;
- nima ambassador;
- part of the Building Advisory Committee for the golden thread; and
- on the Innovation Advisory Panel for the Chartered Institute of Building.
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