Building in highly dense city centers presents a unique set of challenges—tight spaces, heavy traffic, and the need to preserve historical structures while meeting modern safety and sustainability standards. 

Today we hear from an experienced engineer turned project manager who is an expert in navigating these complex logistics, from coordinating material deliveries with precision to ensuring that construction doesn’t disrupt the surrounding urban landscape. We hear how to safely excavate deep beneath a centuries-old building and what it takes to integrate modern engineering solutions into historic sites, along with the ever-growing importance of sustainability in engineering.

Our guest today has nearly 30 years of experience in construction across sectors such as pharmaceuticals, semiconductors, and large-scale commercial projects. He is a regional director at PJ Hegarty, John Gavigan. 

GUEST DETAILS
John Gavigan joined PJ Hegarty in 1996 as a graduate engineer. He progressed within the company embracing new responsibilities and roles, completed several projects as Contracts Manager and was appointed as Regional Director in 2023. John’s experience includes projects across several sectors: pharmaceutical, city centre commercial, healthcare, semi-conductor, logistics, education, retail and PPP bids. He was the site lead for 10 Molesworth Street and Tropical Fruit Warehouse in Dublin city centre and the Zoetis project in Tullamore.

Molesworth Street project https://www.pjhegarty.ie/projects/10-molesworth-street/ 

Tropical Fruit Warehouse project https://www.pjhegarty.ie/projects/tropical-fruit-warehouse/ 

Looking for ways to explore or advance a career in the field of engineering? Visit Engineers Ireland to learn more about the many programs and resources on offer. https://www.engineersireland.ie/   

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The challenges are the things that you remember. That's what keeps it interesting. - John Gavigan

Getting concrete trucks into the city centre location in the middle of the day during business hours, was very challenging. - John Gavigan

It's knowing how to judge when there's an opportunity. - John Gavigan

As an engineer who has evolved as a project manager in my career, you learn different problem solving techniques, you develop analytical skills. - John Gavigan

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