Team Civic at MIPIM 2026: Meet Rob!
Rob Harris, director in our building services engineering and sustainability team, shares his tips ahead of MIPIM
We caught up with Rob Harris, director in our building services engineering and sustainability team, to hear what he’s most looking forward to at this year’s MIPIM.
What’s one topic you’re secretly hoping everyone’s talking about on the Croisette this year?
“Sustainable infrastructure and how to match solutions to viable developments, communities and places. There’s an increasing awareness of the link between health, sustainability and the value of assets among developers. Sustainable infrastructure and healthy homes don’t need to come with high costs. It all comes down to greater collaboration, smart design – using the right orientation, shading and material choices, for example – and thinking of things as one connected system. That way you can achieve project viability without significant cost increases, and create scalable and repeatable solutions.”
In three words, how would your teammates describe what you’ll be doing at MIPIM 2026? “
You can find me learning, soaking up industry direction and opportunities, and most of all linking up with old and new contacts and friends.”
Tell us your MIPIM survival strategy, any secret hacks?
“Learn from the best and follow their lead. Don’t say yes to everything! Zero alcohol is your friend!”
If someone bumped into you at MIPIM and had 60 seconds to hear your take on the market, what would you talk about?
“The market challenges we all face offer opportunity. For those doing it differently, and applying unique thinking that is based on proven performance to each challenge, there’s real potential to get ahead with delivering positive impact. From where we are coming from, the market offers us an opportunity to add real value to our clients, combining our engineering services for a coordinated and efficient outcome. Save time, save money, save waste.”
What’s the one conversation you hope you’ve had by the end of the week?
“Conversations about work or the state of the industry are one thing, but what’s great about these events is having more space to find out how people are doing and what’s interesting in their lives at the moment. We ultimately build places and infrastructure for people, and it’s the people and connection with them that matters.”
Outside of your role at Civic, how do you spend your time?
“My passion is inline hockey and I love a bike ride with friends and colleagues. It’s a great way to meet and socialise with people. The goal or the work we deliver together, be it the puck in the net, a 300km cycle, the tallest Passivhaus Tower in Europe, to getting the kids to school is always a team effort, the outcome a team achievement!”
Next in our series is Gareth. How would you describe Gareth’s ‘system thinking’ superpower in one line?
“Gareth’s core skills are collaboration and knowledge gathering across teams and specialisms. It’s founded based on a true passion for the industry and the projects we work on. He surrounds this with a performance-focused, low waste and greater reuse approach for all the right reasons. You can’t fake the passion for what you do!”
Find out more about our team's plans for MIPIM here.
