Top 10 Under 40 Awards
Canadian Consulting Engineer | July/August 2024
Sameer Hasham, BASc, P.Eng., CPHD | Group Leader
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.
Projects where he has served 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.