The business of architecture has always been a collaborative one.
From the pre-design stage, which involves significant amounts of client face-time – ideally, in person, at the site itself – through bringing in structural engineers during design development and contractor negotiations ahead of construction, it’s very much a people’s business.
Naturally, the coronavirus pandemic presented a unique challenge to architects, as they were forced to navigate the unfamiliar terrain of remote work.
U+A’s team of highly proficient and design-centric specialists adopt a collaborative approach in providing the best solution for any development
Pedram Rad, partner at global architecture firm U+A, says that the crucial work of construction supervision had to continue physically on site.
“Like many businesses, architectural/interior design consultancies were also affected by coronavirus following government protocol during the pandemic,” he says. While office work shifted to the home, the same couldn’t happen out in the field.
“While our team were working from home, our construction team were present at site to monitor the contractors.”
Rad is keen to highlight just how crucial the exemption for construction workers was.
“It is proven that construction is one of the main drivers of the UAE economy, keeping people, contractors and the entire supply chain engaged. While nurses and doctors were frontliners fighting the coronavirus, I believe the construction industry – especially the people who were going to sites every day – were our economic frontliners.”
For both these areas – remote-working design teams and on-site supervisors – the key to success was a collaborative approach, reliability and resilience, he adds.
The architecture of the Creek Edge tower implement the highest standards
Lessons learned
The pandemic did offer some silver linings in the form of valuable lessons. “In any downturn there are many lessons to learn,” says Rad, adding that while he did learn a lot, the most important lesson was “going back to basics”.
“The coronavirus threatened our lives, prevented us from meeting family and friends, and stopped us from getting together. We had to overcome this situation and look forward to the next chapter of our life.” While he quickly realised our lives and business models could never go back to pre-pandemic times, the unexpected benefit was improved efficiency, as well as the ability to collaborate and focus on your business.
Sustainable design
Like so many other industries, sustainability has taken on increasing importance in the architectural context. “Sustainability begins with a simple and basic principle when you are saving paper, when you are not using plastic bags or bottles, and when you don’t waste energy,” says Rad, adding that U+A has tried to stay at the forefront of sustainable design by collaborating closely with project engineers, operators and authorities.
“Specifically, when it comes to designing, it purely depends on the typology of the projects where you can apply more sustainable aspects.”
He cites examples of how this can be done: Using local material, using technology available in the country and – most importantly – reusing any equipment and building rather than rebuilding.
“We’ve taken this sustainability approach while engaged in repurposing projects in the UAE and Saudi Arabia. In U+A our architects, urban planner, interior designers, landscape designer and engineers run multiple session with experts to apply these rules within the design.”
U+A has worked with Emaar to make the 3D-printed villa project a reality.
From an oversight perspective, Rad says the governments of the region play a crucial role in helping companies.
“They are the regulators in this process and have the funds to support projects that can initiate sustainability properly. We have seen a great push from leaders in the UAE to establish sustainable cities and developments such as Masdar or Expo 2020, which is very much a mind-blowing achievement,” he says.
The architect as leader
One common problem Rad sees across his industry is the lack of architects having a seat at the table, especially given the scope of their responsibilities and importance in a firm. “More often we see in our industry that architects do not have that ruling seat, and in many occasions the results are not satisfactory.”
For the businesses in his sector, Rad says, it’s important that those at the top have the technical know-how to succeed, quite literally, from the ground up.
Follow us on
