A construction manager who left school without GCSEs is to develop an interactive 3D simulation designed to help residents and construction students better understand fire and building safety. 

Laurent Bolah MCIOB, known to his peers as Larry, has been named the latest winner of the CIOB Paul Dockerill Award, a £10,000 fund to honour the legacy of a built environment sector visionary, for his project. 

The project will see Bolah develop a 3D/360° scenario-based learning prototype using a real residential environment captured in 360°. Users will explore a home and communal areas, identify potential risks and make decisions about what action they should take. 

Rather than simply asking users to “spot the hazard”, the simulation will explore how different aspects of fire safety interact, including fire doors, escape routes, electrical risks, maintenance and building management. 

“I want somebody to finish the experience and look at their own home and residential building differently,” Bolah said. 

“For residents, the aim is to make potentially complex fire and building-safety information understandable and relevant to the places they actually live.” 

Users will be encouraged to consider not only what they are seeing, but why it matters, what they can do about it and where responsibility lies. 

The project will also give undergraduate students and other learners an opportunity to apply theoretical knowledge to realistic situations. 

Bolah, a freelance chartered construction manager, said the idea came from his own experience of construction and education, where he saw a gap between understanding something in theory and applying that knowledge in a real situation. 

“Someone can learn the correct information through education, a qualification or online learning, but real life rarely presents a problem in the same way,” he said. 

The project will involve residents and a team of specialists with expertise in fire and building safety, health and safety, education, psychology, technology, and simulation design. 

In a similar vein to Paul Dockerill, Bolah, who became a Chartered Member of CIOB in March, left school without any GCSEs. 

He built his career through practical experience and vocational education, and said the award’s connection to CIOB visionary Paul Dockerill’s own career makes it particularly meaningful. 

“Paul’s legacy is still creating opportunities for people today, including me through this award,” he added. 

“I hope I can use that opportunity to begin building a legacy of my own.” 

The residential prototype is targeted for completion by August 2027, after which Bolah intends to make the working simulation available online. 

Dr Victoria Hills, CEO at CIOB, said: “Laurent’s project is an excellent example of the kind of innovative thinking the Paul Dockerill Award was established to support.  

“By bringing together fire safety, resident engagement and interactive learning, the project has the potential to make complex building-safety issues more accessible and relevant to the people who live in our homes. 

“Paul was passionate about using innovation to improve building safety and empower residents, and I’m delighted that his legacy is continuing to support ideas like this. We look forward to seeing how Laurent develops and tests the prototype, and what we can learn from the evidence.” 

The CIOB Paul Dockerill Award is open to anyone in the UK and provides up to £10,000 to fuel innovation, resident engagement, and an increased focus on fire safety. 

For more information, visit: https://www.ciob.org/learning/scholarships/the-paul-dockerill-award