CIBSE’s Engineer of the Year: Miriam Ozanne

Miriam Ozanne started her own consultancy the same month she won CIBSE Engineer of the Year

Miriam Ozanne’s recognition as CIBSE’s Engineer of the Year highlights how versatile, dynamic and influential the modern-day building services engineer has become.

Since entering the industry in 2009, Ozanne has advised high-profile public bodies and blue-chip corporate clients, applied her technical expertise to sustainable projects in Palestine, and worked on the ‘greatest show on Earth’ at the London 2012 Olympics.

In March 2026, the same month she was named CIBSE Engineer of the Year, Ozanne took the decision to establish her own design consultancy, specialising in bridging the gap between design and operational reality. It marks the start of an ambitious new chapter in an already rich and varied career.

Like many engineers before her, Ozanne was not immediately aware of the attractions of a career in building services. After turning her back on the idea of becoming a Formula 1 race engineer – too much travel – she decided to look at well-known engineering consultants close to Imperial College London, where she was studying for her degree in mechanical engineering.

While admitting to being ‘a bit of a geek’ who loves the technical side of the job, Ozanne says she is also a people person. Her work with Arup on a variety of projects – including a bank HQ in Mexico and the British Museum – allowed both sides of her skill set to thrive. ‘The opportunity to work with so many different people, coming from so many different angles, was great. I really enjoyed that,’ she remembers.

As her skills as a building services engineer developed, Ozanne soon realised she could put them to good use volunteering with various NGOs and organisations in Palestine.

‘When I started out in my career, there was this feeling that I could have a positive impact,’ she says. ‘I did a lot of volunteer work on renewable energy, recycled water and schools projects. It was a huge motivator for me. I’m very purpose-driven. I care about what I’m doing.’

Her passion for volunteering saw Ozanne leave Arup and work full time in the Middle East, supported by research funding. Afterwards, she returned to the UK to work as an associate director and principal engineer at Aecom.

For three years from 2019, Ozanne worked at flexible workplace provider WeWork, where she experienced the reality of operating buildings.

‘My time at WeWork was important because, up until then, I had designed buildings without necessarily understanding how they were going to be operated. We have this divide between the people who design and people who operate, and that doesn’t help with energy efficiency,’ she says.

In 2022 Ozanne returned to Aecom and formed a building performance team focused on optimising buildings in operation, an area she was passionate about. Her aim was to break down traditional industry barriers between those who design and those who operate buildings.

Since March this year, however, she has been her own boss, having set up her consultancy. ‘I have a young family and it feels like the right time for an adventure like this,’ she says. ‘While at times it feels slightly terrifying, the freedom and flexibility of greater choice was a strong motivator to take this step.’

Much of her work is with organisations that have made bold decarbonisation commitments and now face the practical challenge of delivering them cost-effectively.

‘There was a time when everyone was just running headlong for decarbonisation, but that has changed – it can’t be at any cost. A lot of my work now is listening to organisations that are saying “we’ve made this commitment; how are we going to meet it?”.’

Fortunately, Ozanne says there are a lot of ways to save energy in a building before looking at expensive retrofit options.

Taking a holistic view was important when she was working on a net zero strategy for 20 Fenchurch Street. Ozanne and her team combined their design knowledge with strong collaboration with the building management team. Based on extensive data analysis, they identified and implemented a range of changes to operational controls, at no cost, that resulted in significant energy savings.

Ozanne notes the wider benefits of prioritising building performance, such as extending plant life. ‘If plant is run efficiently, the expected life can go beyond their lease, saving money and carbon’.

She talks passionately about embodied carbon, and says huge strides forward with Environmental Product Declarations and TM65 are allowing for better calculations. Building operators are increasingly understanding the bigger picture of whole life carbon, she adds.

While Ozanne has spent many years working
on new ‘steel and glass’ buildings, her heart is in the heritage sector. ‘I am passionate about decarbonising heritage buildings. If you can’t bring
a historic building into the modern world so it’s suitable for use and resilient to climate change,
then you’re essentially leaving it to ruin.

‘My approach is shaped by my time in Palestine, where the history of buildings and people’s connection to the land are so important.’

Ozanne’s consultancy is already collaborating with others to deliver decarbonisation solutions for heritage projects such as Leeds Castle, in Kent, with Zero Emission Buildings. ‘With older buildings, it’s not just about decarbonising from an environmental perspective; it’s about future viability. If we can cut operating costs, that is positive for these venues.

‘I’d love to be known as the “heritage decarb lady”, honouring the past by allowing it to evolve and develop. That really excites me.’