Ian Maitland has been a practising structural engineer for 50 years and has become an acknowledged expert in the field of heritage engineering.
On Australia Day 2016 Ian was honoured with the awarding of a Medal of the Order of Australia for services to Cultural Heritage and Structural Engineering.
Ian served as engineer and director in several major national consulting firms before establishing his own practice, now named Maitland Heritage Engineering.
Ian’s firm has specialised in providing structural and general building advice for over 200 heritage projects.
The projects tackled are enormously varied, including such icons as The Golden Pipeline pump-stations, Rottnest Island structures, timber bridges, cranes, buildings and ruins.
By applying his more general structural engineering expertise to the conservation and reuse of heritage buildings, he highlights to the profession that heritage buildings require special application of an engineer's skills. This includes an understanding of the behaviour of traditional materials with recognition of how their properties change over time. It also requires an ability to use modern materials and methods in a style that is sympathetic to the heritage character of a building, or clever ways of hiding the presence of modern remedial support to a structure.
Ian is one of only a handful of engineers currently registered with Engineers Australia National Engineering Registration Board in the Heritage and Conservation Engineering category. He is also an active member of ICOMOS Australia and collaborates with other heritage professionals.
Ian's contribution has been recognised in many ways:
2008 – Engineers Australia WA Engineering Excellence Award (and finalist at the national level) for his work on St George's Cathedral Perth
2009 – Heritage Council of WA citation for Outstanding Contribution to Heritage
2011- Bankwest Excellence in Construction Award Certificate of Commendation
2012 – City of Perth Heritage Awards High Commendation and Certificate of Merit for his work on Trinity Church in Perth
2012 – John Monash Medal - Engineers Australia’s premier award for outstanding contribution to engineering heritage.
2014 – City of Perth Heritage Award for heritage balconies on the Treasury Building.
Ian also contributes his time, resources and advice on a voluntary basis to several heritage causes. He has served on the Rottnest Island Cultural Heritage Advisory Committee and is currently Chairman of Engineering Heritage WA.
He is currently leading a programme to introduce heritage education through Engineers Australia’s CPD programme to allow more engineers to contribute to heritage engineering.