GLM’s Year in Numbers – A review of 2021
To summarise what was an exciting, varied and at times uncertain year, GLM reflected on 2021 through our year in numbers. The campaign which was viewed by many of you during the holiday season, used the final days of 2021 to quantify some of our biggest achievements.
With input from everyone in the team, our year was summarised in terms of personal achievements within our team, operational successes in the work we do and some great measures of business growth.
In this blog, the Year in Numbers is compiled together, giving you a glimpse into our lives at GLM and our the work we get involved in. Enjoy the read and we hope you stay connected with us in 2022 for more stories, scenery and news on what we are getting up to!
8 New Team Members
Over the past 12 months we welcomed eight people to our team.
From students and graduates, to experienced professionals, all are exceptional additions to our professional services team.
It has been such a delight creating these opportunities during such challenging times and we look forward to continuing to provide them with challenging projects in 2022 and beyond!
159 New Projects started in 2021
Over the year we’ve started 159 projects across our Architecture, Building Surveying and Project Management disciplines.
It’s been wonderful to work with clients new and old, forming relationships and rekindling old connections. We are grateful for the opportunities to work on such unique buildings and to bring our clients’ visions to life. It is satisfying to know our work helps to ensure a future for these buildings – and another tick in our Sustainability box.
10 Scottish Castles Surveyed
In 2021 GLM surveyed a record number of castles.
Simply put, this means we have helped more of these buildings, which form such an important part of Scotland’s culture and built heritage, find new ownership and, hopefully safeguarding their future.
Our detailed building surveys identify urgent works and maintenance, conserving them and creating adaptations for a new lease of life.
3 Masters Completed
We celebrated the success of our 3 postgraduate Masters – Sophie, Finn and Helen and their hard work in achieving these.
Each undertook a Masters to develop their knowledge in their field, this is invaluable to our work as a company and supporting specialisms within the team.
Sophie completed an MArch in Advanced Architectural Design; looking at the impact of cars on how we live in our cities and imagined a car-free future with redesigned car dominated city spaces.
Finn specialised in Sustainable Design and Building Performance within his MSc Architectural Technology and Building Performance postgrad.
Finally, Helen read MSc Architectural Conservation with research on the Collective Conservation of Edinburgh’s Theatres. This work earned her the Architectural Conservation Prize in the ESALA Awards.
22 Planning Applications
GLM has been at the forefront of many exciting developments in 2021 with 22 planning applications submitted across Scotland and the North of England.
Our architects have submitted plans for lodge and glamping sites, alterations and extension to listed buildings and the restoration of country houses and castles. This is where our skilled team of architects and architectural technologists take the reins, ensuring projects meet building regulations and local planning authority standards.
3 Islands Visited
It is well known that the GLM Team like to escape the mainland every now and again: working on the incredible islands around the Scottish Coastline brings us back to why we do this job – the love of Scotland, its wilderness and the great outdoors.
This year we visited Mull, Scalpay and the lesser known Inchcolm. Working on these islands gives us an appreciation for rural life and helps us to visualise how our design proposals will work in the wild landscapes.
1 New Office – GLM Glasgow
In October, we opened in Glasgow. This expansion brings our brand of multidisciplinary services to the West and beyond.
GLM Glasgow builds upon director, Gerry Smith’s, extensive experience in commercial surveying following a successful career with Ryden. Its an exciting opportunity for GLM to delve further into the commercial property world.
With the skills of the wider GLM team we offer a full complement of services to our GLM Glasgow clients.
12 Months of Surveying Roofs
As an eventful and unpredictable year drew to a close, we find predictability in the frequency of roof failures – conducting 12 major surveys in 12 months.
Roofs are the ‘hat’ of a building, keeping it dry, and playing a key part in the building’s energy efficiency. Unfortunately, people can’t easily see how their roof is doing, so regular roof surveys help assess its current condition and make suggestions for remedial repairs or replacements.
We can’t overemphasise the importance of a roof survey. Carried out by an experienced, impartial, professional, chartered building surveyor, it can extend the life of a building by decades and help reduce maintenance costs. An actively maintained traditional slate roof will last a hundred years or more.
In 2022 we challenge ourselves to do even better, a prospect which if anything is exciting. We hope you’ll follow us along the journey and even get involved with us if you have an idea or project to realise in 2022.