As an engineer with Arup, Erin McConahey has worked on some of the most complex and innovative projects in the world. As a colleague, leader of thought and mentor, he also leaves a deep imprint on the industry.
“Erin represents the human face of engineering,” says Jo Da Silva, a global director of sustainable development with ARUP. “He is a brilliant engineer and a real human being committed to using his knowledge, expertise and intellectual to make a positive difference for his clients and the world.”
Current embassies, office buildings, courts and border stations.
“I love to bring to the complexity of the building design collaboratively among all the disciplines,” says McConahey, who almost 30 years ago in Arup. “I feel that design is an act of social imagination and I think at its best the AEC industry is the people who join Goodwill and [with] A generous spirit to build something beautiful and useful. “”
In recognition of its impact on the industry, Enr West has chosen McConahey as the winner of the South California Legacy Award by 2025.
McConahey was part of the Arup team that worked on the updating and expansion of the Los Angeles County Art Museum.
Photo Courtesy Arup
A chosen path
McConahey, who has mechanical and structural engineering degrees, claims that he was interested in engineering at the age of 5, when a aunt gave him a set of tinkertoys. This began his creative spirit and began to build structures and soon helped build things around the house. His love of construction continued until one day, as he volunteered at the Church, a space shuttle shuttle technician suggested his parents to pursue an engineering career.
At that time, when he was about 14, McConahey’s father, a high school biology and chemistry, was contacted by the Women Engineers Society. The group was looking for high school girls to attend a summer engineering camp in Cal Poly Pomona, in southern California. When his father did not find any of his students to sign up, he suggested to his daughter and was accepted. From there, McConahey studied engineering at UC Berkeley.
“I feel that design is an act of social imagination.”
—Erin McConahey, director and companion, Arup
Looking back his career, McConahey says he has never been boring. “Being a design consultant has brought me to many different cultures, exposing -in many different ways of thinking. The great thing in our industry is that, in the end, we all have the same goal of achieving a real building that real people can travel and be happy with the results. “
Steve Matt, President and Chief Executive Officer of Matt Construction, says that McConahey is an exceptional collaborator, always open to contributions during all phases of the project.
“Working with Erin on the [Los Angeles County Museum of Art] And the wide [Contemporary Art Museum] The projects, we all considered it as the ideal person to solve complex mechanical problems with rational and effective solutions, “says Matt, who has been working with McConahey for more than 15 years.” Erin’s passion is emphasized for sustainability and sustainability. Energy efficiency. Green construction practices. “
And this year, McConahey’s team was part of the Google Gradient Canopy project in Mountain View, California, which won the Golden State 2025 Honor Awards of the American Council of Engineering (ACEC). In this project Leed Platinum, he led a team of structure, MEP, security of the life of fire, facade, acoustics and other specialists.
The sustainable project has a seismic design based on performance and an innovative water conservation, with a light marquee and similar to a wave equipped with a series of photovoltaic panels, ready to channel rainwater for collection , treatment and reuse in the site.
“Erin has made a significant contribution to the design of mechanical, electrical, plumbing engineering of plumbing and structural engineering of the project,” says Kerri May, manager of senior projects, Project Management Advisors Inc. “It has a significant capacity to break down complex situations and say that all involved. It understands the facts. Its calm behavior, even in the most difficult situations, makes it a constant force in any project.”
Erin McConahey with Fiona Cousins, also a companion and director of Arup, during the Long Arrup Service Award ceremony in Los Angeles.
Photo Courtesy Arup
Help others
Helping women under construction is important for McConahey. He directed the creation of the Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) program within the ARUP between 2012 and 2018, and produced a learning resource on unconscious bias in STEM, which was later distributed by the Women Engineers Society.
“It’s about encouraging women and people from other minority populations less represented in engineering to get to know their own value and look for an environment where they can prosper,” says McConahey. “Many times people with a little wind on their back will take a step and will generate confidence and get the opportunities they deserve.”
May says that McConahey is an inspiration for other women in the industry.
“Erin has shown me what it means to navigate through a men’s dominated industry,” says May. “She is often the only woman in the room, but she never seeks to look and, of course, she commands attention with her extensive knowledge.”
Karine Lablanc, sales manager of the Daikin air conditioning company, says that McConahey has inspired him to be “authentic and safely take his place in a men’s dominated industry.
“Seeing someone like his rise as a lead engineer in high -profile projects, climbing the ranks of his organization and paving the way for other women in the industry shows that success is possible,” says Leblanc, who He has worked with McConahey on projects since 2001. “Beyond his technical excellence, he returns in so many ways, either through his DEI initiatives, his leadership and his tutoring within the his company or his commitment to decarbonization.
McConahey also initiated and designed an introductory course for new graduates joining Ap. The program, which still happens annually, joins the junior personal with the aim of launching them for a successful career. During the ten years he has directed the course, each graduate who began in Arup in the region of America personally met McConahey.
McConahey directed the effort of the MEP of Arup to the Medical School of Kaiser Permanent in San Diego.
Photo Courtesy Arup
Focus of sustainability
Another important topic for McConahey is carbon emissions in buildings. Using his two decades of experience in multidisciplinary design leadership and strategic corporate transformation, he directed hundreds of colleagues to help promote the overall carbon initiative of a lifetime of Arup for the last three years.
I DA SILVA, a structural engineer with a claw, says that it is reasonably simple to measure carbon emission of a design once it is almost complete because it is possible to measure the amount of material such as steel, concrete and glass, for example , is found in a building and the amount of carbon is associated with the extraction, transport and manufacture of these materials and components.
“The tricky piece is to estimate the amount of carbon associated with different design ideas and solutions in the early stages of design, and secondly, measure carbon the same way in all our projects,” he says.
Da Silva says that the entire Carbon Evaluation Program of the Life Cycle of ARUP needed that someone was resolved, so it was inclusive.
“Erin was asked to drive this because he is very smart, can navigate the complexity and really care about creating a better future,” he says. “But also because he is able to inspire and motivate people from all over the world and collaborate with them to reach a consensus on the way to go.”
