Recipients | Gold Award

Matthew can only be described as an exemplary member of the AT community. His dedication, commitment and service to the Institute and its members is immeasurable. He serves to lead by example as an outstanding member of CIAT. Whilst he has served as a highly valued and trusted member of the Yorkshire Regional Committee, since 2008, his work for CIAT extends far beyond his Regional roles. In fact, we’d describe his role as Regional Treasurer, since 2015, as ‘light’ duties.

To fully understand the magnitude of Matthew’s impact to CIAT is to appreciate his dedication and commitment, particularly to education, within CIAT by starting at the very beginning. During 2009-13, Matthew served as the Region’s Education Officer and has since held a position on the Education Board for over ten years, where Matthew has made a significant contribution and impact.

Matthew served as Vice-President Education from 2019-21. In addition to this, he sits on the Construction Industry Council’s Education and Future Skills Committee. Matthew has added significant value to CIAT and has undertaken many roles that has complemented his role within education, including being the Chair for Student Award Judging Panels for the AT Awards, and being part of the Accreditation visit panels for universities.

For membership, Matthew has been a POP Panel Assessor and was part of developing the MCIAT Professional Assessment route. His expertise is extensive, and his voluntary work allows him to sit in a niche and prestigious role within the Institute.

Matthew’s specialisms within his research profile lie distinctly within sustainable design and thermal performance whereby he has contributed outstanding examples of work to forward the Institute. He showcases his knowledge by presenting his research and findings to Regional members through CPDs. He continually supports the CPD offer at Regional level by helping to organise and taking part in the presentations. Matthew has long maintained and supported our link with CIOB within the Region.

Since joining the Institute on 13 November 2001, Dr Matthew Brooke Peat has naturally embedded his expertise and skills within the Institute, and he is undeniably distinguished. He stands to serve as an exemplary role model for the Institute, its members and the wider construction industry. His drive, dedication and passion is unwavering. He demonstrates clear commitment to driving the Institute forward, he serves as a guardian, ambassador and key driver of positive change to ensure ATs remain at the forefront of technology and knowledge within the built environment.

Matthew has not only demonstrated his achievements through the vast number of roles he has undertaken, but through the work that has come from the committees and groups which he has served. Matthew’s achievements are outstanding and have made a significant contribution to the Institute not only in education but practice and technical design and research. He is our very own ‘Golden Thread’. He has long served as a mentor as well as continually offering support and advise to Regional Committees and aspiration members. He serves as a guide, a sounding board and a fountain of knowledge. There is no doubt Matthew will continue to lead and drive the Institute forward as more advances in education unfold.

Michael O’Keeffe is a super positive and enthusiastic Chartered Architectural Technologist. At a young age, Michael first stepped into the role as Republic of Ireland Centre Education Officer and visited almost every AT degree programme in the Republic of Ireland, promoting membership and encouraging others to apply for Accreditation. This enthusiasm and passion set the stage, and nine years on, Michael continues to coordinate everyone and everything within the Centre in his role as Chair.

Michael leads by example and has taken on many other big roles within the Republic of Ireland Centre. He has been a pioneer for statutory recognition of the Architectural Technologists’ Register and sits on the ATR Working Group, attending meetings with Ministers of State and representatives from Government Departments. He has volunteered and sits on the ATR Admissions & Assessment Board reviewing applications, and to date 95 ATs have been elected onto the Shadow Register.

On behalf of CIAT, Michael has presented at the National Construction Summit, the National Building Control Conference and the International Construction Management Conference. Michael has also travelled the length and breadth of Ireland to be a friendly face and CIAT representative at the Centre stand, at conferences including the International Congress on Architectural Technology, National Construction Summit and CIF Southern Construct Summit. All while keeping the membership up to date with the quarterly ROI Centre Newsletter. He has almost single handedly taken charge of the newsletter content and editing, ensuring members and affiliates are fully aware of the work of Central Office and the Centre Committee locally. The significance of thenewsletter is vast, reaching all members and increasing membership engagement. Public awareness of the Institute and the profession of Architectural Technology has further developed through Michael’s work with the newsletter and positive social media engagement.

Michael has also represented the views of the Irish membership as Centre Councillor for two consecutive terms. During his tenure he also served on the Executive Board as Councillor Trustee.

Michael is a very busy man, dedicating much of his free time to promoting the Institute and the profession, but he always has time for fun and has attended many CIAT social events and gatherings. Along with the Centre Committee Mike has helped organise the first of many events including: CPD & Golf; CPD tour of the Guinness Storehouse; TUDublin AT Gathering; and Committee meetings coinciding with Christmas parties! Having attended every AGM since 2017, Michael is no stranger to a good Friday night social event! This positive social engagement has formed a vast network between CIAT ROI and industry leaders, sponsors and with third level academics.

His enthusiasm for the profession and Institute has no end, he is constantly engaging with members and offering support. Michael is always keen to encourage young members, he is wise beyond his years and has a wealth of knowledge within the industry. Mike has so much more passion to give to the profession and to CIAT. Michael is a super positive and enthusiastic Chartered Architectural Technologist.

Norman Wienand, Emeritus Professor of Architectural Technology, is a recipient of the Gold Award due to his development and advancement of Architectural Technology education on behalf of the Institute for over 20 years.

Norman entered academia in 2001 following 15 years within the industry. Within a few years he became Subject Group Leader and then Head of Department in 2009, and held senior positions within Sheffield Hallam University (SHU) until his retirement in 2017. Throughout this time, he promoted and attained parity between the Architectural Technology and architecture programmes offered at SHU. This was achieved by having students on both programmes collaborate with each other regularly to understand the similarities and differences between both professions and in turn develop more well-rounded skills in both cohorts. He also championed parity at other educational establishments and shared his experiences in achieving this with others, offering praise for good practice and advice where possible.

Norman was a panel member for the Quality Assurance Agency’s Subject Benchmark Statement (SBS) for Architectural Technology (for versions published in 2007 and 2014). The SBS is an instrumental document that outlines what graduates might reasonably be expected to know, do and understand at the end of their studies at either Honours or Masters level. The standards within the SBS have formed part the basis of CIAT’s Professional Standards Framework for Chartered Membership. Norman also supported the Membership Department by taking part in the Professional and Occupational Performance (POP) Record assessments and lead on its review which took place from 2007-09.

Between the years of 2011-13, Norman served as the Institute’s Vice-President Education and engaged with numerous educational establishments which offered Accredited, or prospective Accredited programmes by visiting their campuses and speaking to senior management and the programme teams. In 2012, he gained his professorial title for his work on the development of Architectural Technology as an academic discipline. This is evidenced by several chapter publications as well as conference papers between 2009 and 2014 on Architectural Technology education and teaching of sustainability which was likely part informed by the positions he held within the Institute and his engagement with other educational establishments.

He was the Chair of the Institute’s Research Group from 2010-14 during which he led refinements to the Student Awards that are still in place today; the Project and Report categories. Even after retiring from academia, Norman has continued to engage with the Institute, by serving as a judge and later as a verifier for the AT Awards | Students.

In 2016, Norman was part of a small CIAT delegation which visited over 20 universities, practices and organisations in India, including the Council of Architecture, to promote the importance and value of Architectural Technology, the Chartered Architectural Technologist professional qualification and Accreditation. He has supported the Education Department by mentoring individuals on the path to becoming Accreditation Panel Chairs. He helped deliver Accreditation Panel training in 2020 to approximately 30 members which has kept the Accreditation process, and its standards, high.

Norman was committed to helping others improve by challenging the status quo and offering guidance, feedback and suggestions, and this is an indication of his dedication to the discipline and profession. Norman never shied away from giving clear directions if the situation required it and led others with the intention for them to be successful in the long term. It is because of these qualities and his involvement that he is considered a cornerstone for CIAT’s education and membership heritage, making him a worthy recipient of the Gold Award.