Anne Kovachevich

Describe what the Mott Mac Life means to you in three words

Strategic, technical, connected

What do you enjoy about working here?

I love working with people who are passionate about delivering sustainable outcomes and have the experience and capability to achieve these results.

Tell us about your specialism and why you chose it

My role is focused on helping to design and deliver sustainable buildings and precincts. Working closely with clients and design teams, typically starting close to the inception of a project, I work with teams to set a sustainability vision. Then, together with the extensive engineering analysis skills across Mott MacDonald, we design the systems that result in successful and sustainable precincts.

More often than not we use rating tools including Green Star, LEED, WELL, LBC and NABERS to benchmark projects and guide sustainable outcomes. In my role I have been part of many projects that have achieved exemplar ratings using these tools.

Why did you choose to join Mott MacDonald?

Because Mott MacDonald embraces my two strengths: strategy and technical sustainability. The people here have encouraged me to bring these elements together onto exciting new precinct projects.

Also, there were many talented engineers who I was keen to work with and that I knew worked here. Since joining I have met many more. It’s great to see the value placed on keeping senior engineers embedded in projects in order to get excellent outcomes.

What have you learnt while working at Mott MacDonald?

The biggest lesson I’ve learned here is that we do better with connected thinking. It really is how we get the best outcomes. We are happy to partner with others when they bring new expertise and challenge our thinking, but most importantly, we connect with our Mott MacDonald colleagues to create the best outcomes for projects, our clients and the planet.

How do you contribute to Mott MacDonald making a difference to people and the planet?

The focus of my role is on achieving sustainable outcomes for projects and this very much extends to creating places for people. I love to push the boundaries of sustainable design by collaborating with a range of technical specialists and challenging existing design norms. I am excited by how we see indigenous input on projects being embedded from design inception and understanding so much more about place than we have in the past.

I am also pleased to see how universal design is emerging with consideration of a broad range of needs by engaging with diverse stakeholders.

Where in the world has your role taken you?

I have worked on many great projects around Australia and the world. It is an amazing time to be in Brisbane as there are so many transformational projects going on that will shape Queensland for the Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games. I love working on projects that you know you will be going to or walking past all the time.

I am also very passionate about our work in Southeast Asia. Last year, I had the pleasure of running some sustainable precinct vision workshops in Indonesia. The scale of development and the opportunities to think differently about solutions is incredible. The context presents new challenges and different technical solutions to what I’ve experienced in Australia. The culture and values have a huge influence on the strategies that are put in place. These workshops have led to great sustainability master planning work that is shaping the future of a large new precinct.

What are your career highlights and achievements?

In my career I have been lucky enough to work across academia and industry. Achieving my PhD in Aerospace was a highlight for me and has given me great perspective on how to explore innovative solutions in sustainability as well as many transferable skills including computational modelling, understanding complex systems and research.

I have worked on many key projects where we have achieved great sustainable outcomes including Northshore Brisbane where we achieved a 6 Star Green Star Communities V1.1 rating.

Are you involved in any additional initiatives at Mott MacDonald, aside from your day-to-day role?

I like to connect with people across the industry and beyond. Mott MacDonald has provided support and encouragement for me to participate in several advisory and advocacy roles.

These roles include being the technical expert for sustainable buildings providing design advice on the independent design advisory panel for the Brisbane City Council. In this role we advise on developments as well as policy and other items that shape Brisbane.

I am the Chair of the Games Legacy sub-committee for Committee for Brisbane. This role brings together a range of stakeholders across industry to advocate for positive outcomes from the Olympics that industry can help to deliver and benefit from.

I am also on the Technical Advisory Group for the Green Building Council of Australia. In this role I get to help shape the Green Building Council tools. This includes advising how the tool is being implemented in practice and how we can get Green Star ratings to continue to drive sustainable outcomes in the Australian market.

Professional accreditations

• Green Star Accredited Professional
• Technical Advisory Group Green Building Council of Australia
• Chair Games Legacy Sub-Committee: Committee for Brisbane
• Independent Design Advisory Member Brisbane City Council (Sustainable Buildings Technical Specialist)
• Futures thinking and strategy development program, Melbourne Business School
• PhD Aerospace Engineering UQ
• BE/BSc ANU