In Conversation with our Engineers
- PICCO
- Feb 26
- 4 min read
March 2026
For National Engineers month we’re spotlighting the talented engineers behind PICCO. From career journeys to lessons learned, get to know the people designing, detailing, and delivering the projects that shape our built environment.
Q: What’s one tip you’d give architects early in design?
Ahmed: Try to make the drawings as comprehensive and clear as possible. Keep in mind the lessons learned from previous projects.
Matthew: When working with stone, it is very important to understand the material beyond just the colour/finish. Different stones can have radically different properties depending on how they were formed and what they are constituted of, leading to very different recommendations in how and where to use them, or what protections are required to make sure they continue to perform well for years to come.
Afsheen: Bring façade engineers in early. Panel sizes, joints, and connection types affect structure, cost, and constructability more than most people think and the earlier façade, structural, and architectural teams collaborate from Day 1, the better the outcome for everyone.
Nicholas: I would encourage architects to involve structural input early, even in the conceptual stage. Small adjustments to spans, beam locations, or load paths early on can significantly improve efficiency and help reduce revisions at a later stage. Full coordination early on ensures everyone has the same vision and helps minimize costly changes at later stages of construction.
Q: What’s your go-to tool (digital or physical) that you couldn’t live without?
Helia: My go-to tools are codes, standards, and technical property documents; they’re the backbone of everything we do. I can’t complete a design without referencing at least one standard, even though some requirements are already embedded into our calculations. Overall, they guide our decisions and ensure every detail meets safety and performance expectations.
Matthew: Mathcad has absolutely become my go-to software for calculations, especially for working with different systems of units: pounds, kilograms, newtons, feet, inches, meters... Very important functionality when working on projects across North America and using data for stone from across the world!
Q: What's your favourite part of working with stone?
Matthew: Working with stone is always interesting and always has unique challenges. The material, the geometry, the application, there are tons of variables that require us to stay creative. Also, the beauty of stone is what makes it particularly special to work with, as the aesthetics are a greater concern, if not the greatest, when engineering the façade.
Afsheen: It’s structural…but also art. Every panel is engineered, but the material itself is natural and unique.
Ralph: Stone is naturally unique and beautiful—veining, texture, tone. I love translating that into a precise, engineered façade system where the detailed connection and layout make it buildable and consistent.
Zack: Stone's natural beauty lends itself nicely to architecture. From churches to mausoleums, stone is able transform a structure into a work of art.
Q: What’s one thing people misunderstand about your job?
Nicholas: Our job isn't just running numbers. A big part of our role includes our professionalism and coordinating with architects/clients in order to develop solutions that are structurally sounds, practical to build and low cost. We often times go out of our scope to provide solutions that optimize efficiency, ensuring client satisfaction.
Afsheen: People often think façade engineering is purely aesthetic support. That we just “hang” the exterior. In reality, we’re designing structural systems that manage gravity, wind, seismic movement, thermal expansion, and long-term durability all while coordinating with architecture and primary structure.
Helia: Most people assume installing a stone façade is simply placing stone on a building, without realizing the level of engineering involved. In reality, stone engineering requires detailed structural analysis, load calculations, anchoring design, and coordination to ensure safety and long term performance. Explaining the technical depth behind what appears simple can be challenging, but it’s also quite enjoyable.
Jeff: One thing people often misunderstand about my job is that engineering is just about calculations, when it’s really about problem solving. It’s about understanding complex challenges, collaborating with different teams, and finding practical solutions that can actually be built.
Q: What’s one engineering skill you think will matter most in the next 5–10 years?
Ralph: Adapting to new tools. AI, automation, advanced analysis/BIM will be essential, but the most important skill is still technical judgment: knowing what assumptions are being made, what looks wrong, and when to challenge results instead of trusting the output.
Jeff: The ability to stay on top of the constantly evolving technical landscape, both on new products, and code/industry changes.
Zack: Adaptability–each project presents unique challenges and conditions; codes and standards for the industry are changing and design assist technology is rapidly improving with the onset of AI. But this means our practice must change too, in order to deliver optimal and efficient solutions.
Q: What’s one way mentors or teammates have helped shape your path in engineering?
Zack: My mentors have encouraged me to stay curious! Engaging in problem solving and looking at the world through an engineering lens has led me to be interested in the work I am doing today.
Nicholas: My teammates and mentors gave me several opportunities to take ownership of projects, while still being available for guidance. This balance helped build my confidence and helped accelerate my growth as an engineer. Having that trust early on made a big difference in shaping my path.
Ahmed: Learning is a lifelong process, stay humble, stay focused, ignore the noise. Only when carbon gets pressure and stress, it becomes a diamond.
Jeff: Over the years, I have been blessed with several mentors who went out of their way to expose me to industry related items that aren’t necessarily engineering related, to widen my breadth of knowledge.
Q: What's a project moment you're proud of?
Ralph: A project moment I’m proud of is when a complex area gets fully resolved on drawings and the install team can follow it without guessing. It’s the point where hundreds of small decisions; connection design, panel layout, jointing, edge returns, and hardware lock into one engineered, elegant solution.