I guess a few of you that have been reading my blog are already getting the impression that for me Architecture is concerned with far more than aesthetics, at the start of the afternoon session Saleh Mubarak. Head of Civil Engineering and Architecture Qatar University claims just that, well not just that, he is talking about Construction Project management: Characteristics and Challenges. Starting off on the premise that Architects and Engineers come to a project with completely different goals, mutually sharing the ‘Architects vs Engineers, can’t live with them, can’t live without them’ mentality, and to illustrate the differences made the statement that Architecture is concerned with Aesthetics whilst Engineering is about safety, which was met with some skepticism from the audience, and the statement was modified along the lines that Architecture is concerned with everything. Moving on the differences between Engineering and Architecture were illustrated not to oversimplify but to emphasize that one is an art one is a science and although Architecture does cover everything and there are no right or wrong answers, meaning that opinions are subjective and making it an Art. Engineering on the other hand, deals in answers are more absolute, meaning that opinions are objective, it will either stand up or it won’t, making it a science. In project management terms the type of project will influence who takes the lead: Vertical projects i.e. buildings are Architecture led whereas horizontal projects i.e. roads are Engineering led.
Having come to the middle east from the background of construction projects in the UK I can relate to a lot of situations in the discussion. Time management for example, it is actually not possible to manage time, but the tasks that you have to get completed in the time available, and the notion that when busy you don't have time to get 'organised' but spend far more time in being 'dis-organised'. Key challenges of the project management process in the Middle East Region? much of it has to do with the mentalities of individuals involved: Unknown decision makers and the ‘what to do Yanni?’ mentality. The resistance to change, the ‘been doing it this way for 25 years’ mentality. ‘English is not English’ we joke about English and Americans using the same words but meaning different things, program, programme, schedule, for example; the problem becomes magnified when there are so many nationalities involved. Risk management is influenced by different priorities: labour costs are low, the workforce is mainly unskilled, climatic conditions mean that there is lower productivity during summer months.
All these factors serve to make the process more challenging, and I think the key tactic is about flexibility, being able to act differently in given situations, flexibility to deal with different perceptions and to address different priorities. In summary there are challenges to maintaining the team managing the project that are not necessarily unique to the region but are certainly more prevalent which makes the emphasis on teamwork all the more important.
First thing on the Sunday morning James Bannerman, Lateral Thinking for Principal Architects' brings a wealth of experience from a variety of fields, starting out in the music industry, from being a cartoonist for Punch magazine, working with BA, Orange, Starbucks, NASA, Mission to Mars. Teaching at Warwick Business School on the MBA programme and currently a senior Academic at Oxford Brooks University, and author of ‘Genius’. If the talk was anything to go on, I would say that the book is well worth a read. The talk ranged from anecdotes of using the cliche ‘it’s not rocket science’ to a room full of rocket scientists, to the story of the Wright brothers ignoring the notion of what will not work and replacing with the question why will that not work? ...and success!
The expected groan when we were all asked with the interactive exercise involving nine dots and connecting with straight lines? What do you see? nine dots that can easily be connected with four lines without taking the pen off the paper: and to achieve the exercise with three, and continue working at it until you link the nine dots with one line will take a little thinking outside the box. Demonstrating that nothing is impossible it you are prepared to think a little differently, what was surprising is the amount of ways that is is actually possible. The discussion moved on about why for many of us thinking outside the box is an effort, where thought processes are likened to the mountain stream with the water taking the path of least resistance and defining its own channels and in some cases experience not being an advantage.
There are many examples of a simple change of emphasis or asking the question differently (simple with the benefit of hindsight). in the 1980's how to break Wham! in America...answer go to China. Seems obvious in hindsight, don't tackle the problem head on, playing China made them a global sensation overnight, by making news. One example of creativity that sticks in my mind is where a negative is turned into a positive…Guinness! Not just because I enjoy a pint of Guinness on occasion, but, 'What is wrong with a pint of Guinness?'…the time taken to pour, and those fantastic adverts based on the notion of time ‘all the time in the world’, ‘good things come to those who wait!’ with the surfer waiting for the perfect wave. The reality was not changed, it was the way that we look at it, and turning the negative into the positive is often what we do as Architects. One last word on creativity, avoid ‘But’ the No.1 Idea killer, as the word that kills creativity.
The last speaker, Alberto Treves, Section Director of Design, Abu Dhabi Educational Council (ADEC). tells of ADEC’s vision of educational reform through Architecture,and the experience of project delivery.Starting out with the vision that all new schools will be developed in designs that enable students to create knowledge and understanding through exploration and experimentation. Taking us through the new school designs to promote an integrated learning environment based on the notion of the central hub a flexible break-out space at the heart of the school. The aspirations for the designs with integrated sustainability features that earned the school building an Estidama Three Pearl rating. (The UAE's Environmental Design assessment tool that deals with environmental, economic, social and cultural sustainability). Three pearl being the highest. Having worked on similar programmes in the UK I can relate to some of the challenges of developing an architectural prototype that is rolled out across multiple sites, and judging by some of the comments from members of the audience it seems that this programme is not without its challenges.
As an Architect relating to local context is a strong priority, however, when working on a national programme the reality is that some of these priorities become compromised in the interest of project delivery to facilitate the building 100 schools in the Emirate. The project was procured through inviting architectural practices in an international design competition, what cannot be controlled by the Architects is who is selected at the end of the day. Going back to my opening comments about architecture being concerned with aesthetics it seems that we can not avoid assessing the perceived success of architecture from an aesthetic viewpoint. I suppose it stems from the notion that we could do better, and in my view that is healthy!
The seminars gave a number of perspectives on what we do from how we work to facing the challenges ahead, the one to one meetings had a number of benefits of getting to see some ‘cool stuff’without the interruptions of holding meetings in the office, and the opportunity to talk about work in a broader context. At the same time having the opportunity to talk with such a range of suppliers and fellow Architects at one time meant that advances in technology, materials, developments in processes are a lot more noticeable.
Abu Dhabi has the feel of a city undergoing significant change with high hopes for the future, with a number of projects to look out for from the ongoing growth of Masdar City, the world’s first zero carbon city to planned works such as Nouvel’s Louvre and Gehry’s Guggenhiem this is very much a city to return to in the future.
Abu Dhabi September 2012
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