A man who developed an interest in architecture at the age of 12 has now been made regional technical manager of a housebuilding giant.
James Hammond was given the role at Vistry Thames Valley, which is headquartered in Reading and part of Vistry Group, Britain's largest housebuilder.
The 33-year-old from Puttenham, near Guildford, said: "I've always been inspired by architecture and buildings, and with Salisbury Cathedral adjacent to my school, there was inspiration to be taken from at an early age.
"This fed through to the subjects I learned in school and ultimately, I knew that I wanted to work in the building industry."
Mr Hammond finished school, got a degree in construction management, and joined the building industry as a graduate trainee.
He worked his way up to senior technical co-ordinator before joining Bovis Homes, now part of Vistry Group, in 2018.
He was promoted to technical manager and then senior technical manager in quick succession.
As regional technical manager, Mr Hammond now manages a team of seven in the technical department at Vistry Thames Valley, which is building new homes across Oxfordshire, Berkshire, Hampshire, Surrey, and Buckinghamshire.
He said: "My role is to look after the operational side of the technical team.
"Basically, we aim to keep things going on site by coordinating all the information from our architects, civil and structural engineers, landscape architects, and other third parties.
"This ensures a smooth handover of information to other departments which, in turn, enables them to carry out their roles in working towards completing great homes for our customers."
Mr Hammond is also directly overseeing the technical operations at two sites – Buckler’s Park in Crowthorne, in Berkshire, and Beckley Place in Barton Park, Oxford.
He added: "My personal professional ambition is to become a technical director and head up the whole team.
"The reason I love this job so much is that it is not only challenging but also that two days are never the same.
"That variety keeps things fresh and exciting.
"I feel lucky that I love my job and that Vistry has a positive promotion pathway."
The Vistry Group is the UK's leading provider of affordable mixed tenure homes.
Their aim is to work in partnership to deliver sustainable homes, communities and social value.
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