Meet the judge: Toby Maclean
Toby Maclean is the founder and director of Allt Environmental Structural Engineers; a firm he established in 2020 to address the embodied carbon emissions of the built environment. Starting his career at Arup in 1993 and becoming a chartered IStructE member in 1999, Toby spent 25 years engineering technically demanding projects before recognising the urgent need to create Allt. Toby has served as an IStructE Structural Awards judge annually since 2017.
In his own words, here are Toby's reflections.
Toby’s journey with the Structural Awards
I’ve had an incredible experience serving as a judge for The Institution of Structural Engineers' Structural Awards for the past eight years. My connection to the awards began in a unique way: I was a winner myself in 2008 for a project involving residential pavilions in Costa Rica. That project, built with locally sourced wood, was designed to work with available resources rather than having the resources dictated by the design.
This experience gave me a profound respect for the awards, which I've now had the pleasure of judging since 2017. As a generalist engineer by background, sitting on the panel alongside around 20 judges who are expert in a wide range of fields is a source of continuous enlightenment. It’s an invaluable part of my professional development, and always fascinating to see how and in what direction the boundaries of structural engineering are being stretched.
Inside the judging room
The judging process is really thorough. Although the Awards receive a large number of applications each year each of the judges pore over the entries before first meeting so that when we all come together, the discussions can be quite animated and detailed. It should be reassuring for entrants to know that judges will passionately champion the projects they really admire and that there will always be someone who recognises engineering excellence in a project.
How the Structural Awards have evolved with the industry
I’ve seen some great changes during my time as a judge. One of the most significant has been the introduction of the "four key attributes", the criteria used to judge entries: Planet, People, Process, and Profession. This change allows very different projects to complete on a more equal footing and also sharpens the focus on sustainability.- both in the entries and our discussions. The submission of embodied carbon calculations with each entry is also a great recent innovation.
We've also made a very welcome practical change to the submission timeline, extending the window to two years after a project’s completion. I think this change is really important, as it is often in the year or two after a project is finished that we, as engineers, fully understand its significance and impact. This change gives teams the time to reflect and tell the complete story of their work.
A global platform: the rise of international entries
The IStructE Structural Awards is an incredible platform to showcase the best of structural engineering on a global scale. We are seeing more and more international submissions: projects overseas by non-UK firms have won a Supreme Award in three of the last four years.
Not only are the regional challenges very different in some areas compared to the UK but it is also interesting to see the different approaches to engineering.
The awards are an excellent way to highlight these achievements.
Looking at this year's submissions
I've been encouraged by the increased focus on sustainability in submissions, but from my perspective, there's still a gap in understanding the full scale and implications for structural engineering of the climate crisis. I’m confident that as an industry, we will continue to get better at addressing this challenge - and the IStructE have shown some great leadership - but time is of the essence in that respect.
This year, there was a wonderful range of projects, from those that were "brain-achingly clever" yet small in scale, to bold, large-scale projects where despite the size, the attention to detail was very impressive. We also saw submissions where engineers were clearly unphased by apparently daunting challenges; you could see the enthusiasm they relished tackling them.
We also saw projects that pushed the boundaries of applied research, where engineers had to find the best way to do something economically, efficiently, or well, rather than just sticking with what had been done, by them or others, before. This kind of innovative thinking is one big driver moving the profession forward.
Advice for future entrants
For those considering submitting a project, I have a few key pieces of advice.
It really helps for the entrants to spell out – in technical terms, not for a lay person – exactly what is exceptional about the project in specific terms. What were the challenges faced and how were they overcome? What action did you take as an engineer and how did you use your influence in the design team to elevate the project? Also, make the most of the opportunity to include supporting information (drawings and images) – the judges do look in detail at these. The more judges you can get on your side, the better chance you have, in what is always a highly competitive environment.
The best submissions are like a piece of fractal geometry: no matter how far you zoom into the detail, you can see the same quality of design and engineering regardless of the scale. This kind of attention to detail can really set a project apart.
Judging the Structural Awards is an experience that I always come away from feeling proud and optimistic about our profession and the incredible work being done in our field. It's a true privilege to witness the innovation, passion, global reach and excellent work in structural engineering first-hand.
![About Toby Maclean]()
Toby Maclean is the founder and director of Allt Environmental Structural Engineers, a firm he established in 2020 to address the urgent need to decarbonise the built environment. He was educated at Cambridge University where he graduated with a first-class degree in engineering. His career began at Arup in 1993 where he achieved chartership in 1999.
In 2000, he established a satellite office of Packman Lucas at the design and architectural firm Heatherwick Studio, an experience that reinforced his belief in a collaborative, cross-disciplinary approach to design. In 2005, Toby founded his first venture, TALL Engineers, which completed hundreds of successful projects and was recognised for its achievements with architectural awards, and at the IStructE Awards in 2008, 2011, and 2012. His commitment to low-carbon outcomes is now the exclusive focus of his work at Allt through project work, research, and consultancy.
Toby remains actively involved with The Institution of Structural Engineers, serving as a professional review interviewer for prospective chartered engineer candidates, a co-opted member of the IStructE council for 2020, and as a judge for the Structural Awards.