BESA said: “A popular and respected figure, Rob had a long and distinguished career in the building services sector – graduating from Northumbria University with a BSc in Building Services Engineering before starting work with Kyle Stewart in 1983. He moved on to Roberts & Partners, before joining Skanska in 1996, and in 2014 was appointed head of Engineering and Compliance of its mechanical and electrical arm, SRW. The following year he became Engineering director, and many of the projects he oversaw were noted for their technical excellence and focus on reducing energy consumption and carbon emissions.”
A Chartered Engineer and a member of CIBSE and the American technical society, ASHRAE, he was a long-time servant of BESA, most notably as a leading contributor to its Technical Committee. The Association had been planning to mark his retirement later this year by offering him the rare accolade of lifetime associate membership in recognition of his ‘outstanding contribution to its technical standards and publications’.
Also a founding member of BESA’s Building Safety Act Advisory Group, he had already made a notable contribution to the guidance prepared by the group to help the building engineering sector adapt to this significant legislative change. CEO, David Frise, said everyone associated with BESA was shocked to hear of his death, and mourning his loss, describing him as ‘well-liked, knowledgeable, and ever willing to contribute’. He said: “Rob was the consummate engineer whose input was invaluable, and opinion always respected. He will be deeply missed.”
Technical director, Graeme Fox, said he was ‘devastated by the news’, adding that Rob Lambert had been ‘a huge contributor to the work of the Technical Committee’.
“He was always so willing to share his extensive knowledge,” he said. “Rob was the consummate professional, and well respected among his peers. A voice of reason and understanding, a great colleague and I, for one, will miss his counsel.”