CCE’s Top 10 Under 40: Sameer Hasham

Photo courtesy RJC Engineering.

This year, for the third time, Canadian Consulting Engineer launched an initiative to recognize up-and-coming consulting engineers across the country. We are now showcasing them on our website, in alphabetical order by surname.

Sameer Hasham, 39, is an associate and group leader with RJC Engineers, specializing in building science. As a Certified Passive House Designer (CPHD) and board member of the British Columbia Building Envelope Council (BCBEC), he focuses on designing enclosures for buildings with consideration for both structural and thermal engineering of the façade.

After emigrating from Kenya at 17, Hasham completed high school in Canada. He was drawn to physics, learning how things work at a fundamental level.

“My father was a steel fabricator who designed and built structures,” he explains. “I initially wanted to be an architect, but found myself enjoying the engineering side of putting things together.”

While attending the University of British Columbia (UBC), he joined RJC as a co-op student.

“As soon as I started studying civil engineering, I knew it was exactly where I wanted to be,” says Hasham. “It’s the connection between learning concepts from books and practical, hands-on construction work.”

After completing his degree, he rejoined RJC as a design engineer. He has since contributed to national best practices, e.g. by developing design tools for fenestration assemblies’ structural and thermal performance. He also contributed research to a guide for mitigating thermal bridging in wood-frame balcony assemblies and to a digital twin-based analysis of deep-energy retrofit strategies, both for the B.C. Housing Excellence Grant.

“It’s interesting to apply building science to designs for retrofitting existing buildings while they are still occupied,” he says.

His projects as building envelope engineer of record have included Vancouver Island’s McLoughlin Point Wastewater Treatment Plant and Victoria’s LEED Platinum-certified Capital Park office and retail building. Today, he leads a team of engineers and technologists on Vancouver Island and has overseen hygrothermal analysis and reporting for the retention of heritage fabric in the redevelopment of Ottawa’s Block 2, across from Parliament Hill.

“Our Victoria office has doubled in size since I joined,” he says. “Building science was not well-known when I was in school, but now the young talent coming into the industry is amazing. And I’m in a position now where I can teach and mentor, which gives me a great sense of fulfilment.”