Building on solid foundations: LDSA's first female President

Later this month, Mariza Graham is set to become the first female president in the London District Surveyors Association’s 180-year history. She talks to Building Engineer about her aspirations for the year ahead, including inspiring more women to take up leadership roles in the building control profession.

Mariza Graham, Building Control Manager at the London Borough of Hackney, takes up the presidency of the London District Surveyors Association (LDSA) at a watershed moment. 

It was only last month that the government published its response to the Grenfell Inquiry Phase 2 Report and it’s fair to say the building control sector will have its hands full responding to the new legislative requirements that flow from the Building Safety Act and the report’s recommendations.

The LDSA consists of 32 London Boroughs including the City of London is one of the most influential players in the construction sector; Hackney’s head of service has already identified some of her main objectives for the year ahead. 

One is to ramp training up so all building control professionals are "on par with what is required [from the legislation]."

"Within the Act, you’ve got to prove your competency and you have registered to work on certain types of buildings. That’s a positive change because it’s highlighted that safety is paramount," she says.

"Equally, we’re seeing a lot of people either leaving the profession or retiring early and that has had an impact on resources. Hopefully, me being in this position, although it’s only for a year, can inspire further positive change and encourage more women and young people into the profession."

Stakeholder engagement

When she steps up from being vice president on 20 March, Mariza envisages that a large part of her role will involve working closely with stakeholders like the Building Safety Regulator (BSR) and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) to ensure the LDSA has input into how any new legislative requirements are applied.

"It is really about trying to influence positive change within the built environment," she explains. 

"That’s what our goal is. To be at the table, so everyone has a voice, [which is important because] we’re the ones that are implementing these changes."

This brings her back to the importance of on-going training. With so many legislative changes sweeping through the sector, she worries that, potentially, mistakes could be made hence why it’s important to ensure building control professionals are, and continue to be, well trained. 

While Mariza welcomes moves to improve the competency of building control professionals, principal contractors and others, she feels this requirement should be extended across the board. 

"Developers and small builders also need to be competent in the work they carry out," she stresses. 

"That is so important, especially [in relation to] small builders. They’re the ones that [I feel] are not aware of changes that are occurring within the industry, especially around competency and carrying out building works."

First female president

Asked why it’s taken so long for a woman to hold the position of LDSA president, Mariza explains that building control remains largely a male-orientated profession. 
It’s very hard for women to be promoted into a leadership role, for example, to the position of a manager or head of service. That is one of the reasons why she put her ‘head above the parapet’ and put her name forward to become president. 

"I just want to inspire more women to come forward and think, 'I can work in construction and I can become a leader of an organisation or I can put myself forward and see what happens," she says. 

In her own case, Mariza joined the building control profession in 2002 at London Borough of Waltham Forest as a Building Control Surveyor. She studied for a degree in Building Control Surveying at the University of Westminster. However, she worked in the housing department for six years prior to joining building control.

Mariza found it was quite hard to join the profession. "There weren't a lot of trainee positions within building control," she reflects. "It’s nice to see more and more women coming into the sector, which I have seen over recent years."

Fast forward six years and Mariza landed a position at the London Borough of Newham just as it was gearing up to prepare the ground for the London 2012 Olympics. 

She stayed with the local authority for 12 years during which time she obtained her CABE accreditation and was promoted to the position of building control manager before taking up her current role at Hackney in November 2020.

On reflection, Mariza says she worked on some "fantastic projects" in the lead up to and during London 2012 as well as legacy work, all of which gave her a solid foundation to progress her building control career.

"I assisted one of the principal surveyors doing the site inspections on the Olympic stadium and was the lead officer for the Hockey stadium. I learnt a hell of a lot regarding Safety at Sports Ground," she recalls.

The legacy work included, among other things, transforming the International Broadcast Centre and the Media Press centre into offices and studios. 

Her time at Newham also enabled her to work on many residential projects, some of which proved to be quite challenging and complex developments such as the Atrium Building in Canning Town, which provides more than 600 new homes as well as office space. 

The ambitious project was awarded the title of ‘Best High Volume New Housing Development’ at the Local Authority Building Control (LABC) Building Excellence Awards Grand Finals in 2018. 

However, aside from becoming the LDSA’s first female president, this is not the only time she has made the headlines in the building control sector. 

In 2019, she was one of an illustrious group of professionals who were honoured for being LABC’s Superstars and Rising Stars; Mariza was among three individuals to be handed ‘Highly Commended’ awards for their achievements in the sector. 

Concluding, Mariza reiterates that she just wants to make a change. Judging by her own achievements to date, she will undoubtedly inspire other women to follow in her footsteps and make their mark.