Arup Announces New Director of Its Chicago Office

Cierine Nicolas

Design and consulting services firm Arup named Cierine Nicolas, a specialist in large, high-performance buildings, as head of its Chicago office. Within her new role with Arup, she is expected to lead the company’s team of engineers in the city on a variety of projects. Nicolas started as an associate principal with Arup last year in November, bringing more than 18 years of experience in electrical engineering applied to urban design.

Her previous leadership roles were with Google, where she worked as vice president of engineering and real estate strategy and with Environmental Systems Design Inc., where she also held a vice president position. Nicolas’s experience spans over many sectors, including office, residential, hospitality, education and government.

Her portfolio consists of both domestic and international projects such as the Wrigley Field in Chicago, the development of downtown Chicago’s Block 37 mixed-use urban center and of a part of University of Illinois at Chicago’s forum and south campus, the Department of Homeland Security’s St. Elizabeth’s campus in Washington D.C., the FKI Tower in Seoul, Korea and the Jeddah Tower in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

In 2013, Building Design + Construction recognized Nicolas’s contribution as a technical authority and thought leader in electrical engineering by including her in its “40 Under 40” list.

Arup was appointed last year to lead the design and renovation of transportation infrastructure of Chicago Union Station Phase 1A, but its current assignments also include the Illinois Institute of Technology Innovation Center, the Wharf and Union Point’s new site, and the Nanotechnology and Bioengineering Institute in Monterrey, Mexico.

Image via Arup