Adrien, AW’s Brand Manager, introduces you to an amazing woman, who impressed him with her project-leading skills in the challenging construction industry.

The realization of a project is a human adventure. Even if the purpose is a construction, the profession of Project Manager is based on human contact. And this is what Aurélie cares most about. This is the driving force behind projects. It’s like an art, the art of directing and coordinating human and material resources at the same time and throughout the whole project life cycle.

I have always been impressed by Aurélie’s managerial and problem-solving skills. She has been in charge of various multi-year projects. After having managed a major construction site in the canton of Geneva, the Centre Médical Universitaire de Genève (CMU), now she’s in charge of a different kind of project, testifying to her eclecticism. As Construction Project Manager at Implenia Switzerland, she’s currently delivering a 3-year project to build 36 high-end apartments in Vandœuvres, an innovative energy-efficient residence dedicated to sports enthusiasts.

In Switzerland, Human Beings Are Put at the Heart of the Strategy

#1. What’s the highlight of your career so far?

Each acceptance of a work (delivery to the public) is a source of pride, but there are many highlights in this profession. Perhaps the time I joined the construction management team of the Geneva University Medical Centre, an important project for the canton of Geneva. The challenge was enormous: we had to build a 55,000m2 large building, on 9 levels, with a total cost of 450 million of Swiss francs, hosting different research groups from the Faculty of Medicine and Science of the University of Geneva. My daily job was to manage about forty companies and more than 300 professionals towards a single common objective. This has been very formative and has allowed me to gain the trust of my peers, allowing me to manage major projects on my own today.

#2. What is it that inspired you to work in the architecture / construction field?

Seeing what has been imagined, thought out and designed on paper that become reality.

#3. What do you find so fascinating about the Swiss architecture / construction industry?

I am fascinated by the extent to which Switzerland integrates the environmental issues into its architectural projects. The main players of the industry have always known how to integrate the human being at the heart of the thinking and take into account ecology and energy optimization. This is reflected both in the habitability and functionality of the buildings.

#4. What do you enjoy the most in your day to day job?

The human aspect, the contact with the teams and companies on the construction site, but also the challenge of constantly finding human and technical solutions to situations that seem insurmountable at first.

#5. What would be your best recommendation for a junior who’s just started out his/her career in your field?

There’s a lot to learn from other people. In this field, you need to be constantly interested in what is being done elsewhere. I’m talking about innovation, new technologies and also the fact of being able to get inspired by other cultures, so that you can find how the same problems are treated differently.