15 minute read
Project profile
ICD Pavilion
PROJECT NAME:
Investment Corporation of Dubai Pavilion
CLIENT:
Investment Corporation of Dubai
CONTRACTOR AND DESIGNERS:
ALEC FITOUT, Icaria Atelier and LMS
LOCATION:
Expo 2020 Dubai
TOTAL PAVILION AREA:
1,350 square metres
TOTAL NUMBER OF MODULES:
Eight
A Tranquil Space
BIG PROJECT ME SPEAKS TO ALEC FITOUT TO FIND OUT HOW THE ICD PAVILION AT EXPO 2020 DUBAI WILL PROVIDE VISITORS AN OASIS OF CALM AND RELAXATION DURING THE MEGA-EVENT
ith Expo 2020 Dubai kicking off this month, several pavilions are making final preparations ahead of the big show. Given that several countries are using the six-month long event to showcase their culture and heritage, the crowds visiting the Expo site are sure to be treated to an extravaganza that will rival anything that can be found in the world.
However, while most of the pavilions at the Expo have opted to go for the spectacular and eye-catching, one pavilion has opted for a more serene and understated vibe. This pavilion belongs to the Investment Corporation of Dubai, the principal investment arm of the Government of Dubai, who says that the pavilion will be a ‘memorable, welcoming, and enriching experience’ for visitors.
At the ICD Pavilion, visitors will be taken on a journey to explore some of ICD’s portfolio of companies, including regional giants such as DMCC, Emirates Global Aluminium, Dubai Holding, LINQ by ALEC, Emaratech, Kerzner and Dubai Global Connect.
Taken on a journey
Visitors to the ICD Pavilion will be taken on a journey to explore ICD’s portfolio of companies.
A sense of respite
The pavilion has been designed to give visitors a respite from the bustle and crowds of the EXPO.
Narrated over eight modules, interspersed with seating and relaxing areas made of all-natural materials, the pavilion has been designed to give visitors respite from the busy and crowded areas found elsewhere around the site.
Designed and built by ALEC FITOUT and design partners Icaria Atelier and LMS, the ICD Pavilion will cover an area of around 1,350 square metres and will be focused on highlighting the portfolio companies’ focus on excellence, commitment, sustainability, integrity and respect.
“The Investment Corporation of Dubai supports and drives the economy of the Emirate, an imperceptible yet key component of its success. Like an essential element in nature, ICD weaves itself firmly and naturally into the fabric of Dubai’s every day, vital for its successful growth and emerging at strategic points to reinforce progress. This interconnected, seamless progress is the inspiration for design,” a spokesperson for ALEC FITOUT tells Big Project ME in an exclusive preview of the pavilion ahead of the Expo’s October 1 launch.
“ICD’s presence at the Expo is a true representation of the corporation’s spirit, transforming a notion of progress and security into a physical space of peace and enjoyment, a discreet but firm and elegant infrastructure that provides shelter and guidance to its visitors, seamlessly integrating different natural elements with layers of information,” he continued.
The outside of the ICD Pavilion consists of a bamboo structure that will radiate light and movement, with visitors attracted to the entrance via an audio-visual waterfall aperture that will screen the ICD corporate
identity. Once past the waterfall, they will be engulfed by tall hedges and guided through the pavilion whirling stems and stalks, and winding grassy slopes, the spokesperson continues.
“The ICD visitor experience inverts the typical design for an EXPO Pavilion in that ALEC FITOUT and our design partners Icaria Atelier and LMS have designed an outdoor space combining all natural materials as well as intelligent and subtle use of media and technology to reinforce the corporate identity of ICD.
“The visitor experience is one of relaxation and exploration – informal seating areas along the experience route encourage visitors, families and corporate guests to unwind in a natural outdoor environment.”
The decision to participate in EXPO 2020 was taken following a discussion between the senior management of ALEC, ICD and EXPO, with the consensus being that the mega-event would provide an excellent platform for ICD and its various assets to showcase and reinforce their corporate identity to the thousands of visitors, guests and businesspeople expected to attend.
In order to deliver the project on time and on a very tight schedule, ALEC FITOUT was appointed because of its record of delivering fast-track design and build projects, and its experience in delivering a variety of EXPO projects including the Mobility and Opportunity Pavilions, as well as the KSA, Morocco and Qatar country pavilions, and the ENOC and DP World pavilions.
“Considering our experience in fasttrack projects and that our operational teams are familiar with EXPO delivery, it was a natural choice for ALEC FITOUT to be chosen to deliver the design and build visitor experience for ICD Pavilion,” the spokesperson says.
“The remit for the team was to design and build – on a limited and fixed budget – a truly memorable and exceptional visitor experience that reinforced the corporate identify of ICD and its various owned entities. An extremely challenging timeframe of five months was mandated for the D&B project, considering that
EXPO must open on 1st October.”
The only reason this project has been delivered to such a tight deadline is because of ALEC FITOUT’s long established delivery frameworks, says Taylor.
These frameworks not only allowed for fast and clear decision making, but it also ensured that the team were able to progress uninterrupted once the decisions were made, he explained. “Over the years, ALEC FITOUT has developed a nonlinear, non-traditional, fast track delivery framework whereby design, budget and program are validated in parallel – a truly collaborative process with our design partners Icaria Atelier and LMS as well as close communication with ICD ensured that design intent and direction was approved early in the process.
“Once the concept direction was approved our team quickly developed design in relation to program and cost to ensure the design intent was achieved bearing cost and time constraints.
The second major milestone was
Fast-track delivery
The pavilion was designed, built and delivered within a period of five months.
8
Number of modules across the pavilion
presentation of final design with confirmation of lump sum budget and program. From this moment the project operations team, with the ongoing assistance of EXPO, ensured that the build and installation proceeded at a super-fast track pace to ensure timely delivery,” he outlines.
Conceived in the first quarter of 2021, the pavilion and visitor experience has been planned and designed with COVID in mind, with the outdoor experience partly motivated by the pandemic and ensuring effective social distance, combined with the intent of
showing only natural materials and focus on sustainability.
“Naturally there have been various delivery constraints due to logistics and international procurement, however, considering that the pavilion is an outdoor visitor experience we believe that it is very COVID friendly in terms of its design,” he highlights, but points out that ALEC FITOUT’s fast-track, non-liner, design and build framework ensured that any issues and challenges that arose were dealt with in an effective manner, with due consideration to the impact on design intent, program and budget.
“Working very collaboratively with our design partners as well as the EXPO delivery teams solutions have been found for all challenges as they arose,” the spokesperson asserts.
“ALEC FITOUT, together with our exhibition design partner, Icaria Atelier, developed a clear vision and strategy early in the design process for the AV, Media and lighting direction to be incorporated within the pavilion. Considering the visitor experience is outdoor the design was required to be practical yet creative as well as mindful of project budget and timeframe.
1,350 sqm
Total size of the ICD pavilion
“Each of the participating assets including Kerzner, DMCC, Emirates Global Aluminium, Dubai Holding, LINQ by ALEC, Emaratech and Dubai Global Connect, as well as ICD will have media content in a specially designed totem naturally integrated into the organic shading structure.
“The media productions for each company are linked using fluid transition texture images that represent each business category and add an artistic note to these AV productions and ensure a coherent visitor experience for the guest,” he adds.
“The use of natural materials provides an incredible opportunity to our creative and delivery teams to design and deliver a truly memorable visitor experience. We are very proud that the pavilion uses natural materials such as bamboo for the woven structure. We believe that our firm commitment for the use of natural materials will ensure a memorable and relaxing visitor experience for all guests and connects with many of the overarching themes of EXPO 2020 which includes sustainability at its core.”
Finally, Taylor says that ALEC FITOUT will continue to be involved in the pavilion project beyond its handover, particularly in regard to the maintenance of its MEP
Natural materials
The pavilion is constructed from natural materials such as bamboo for the woven structure.
Team effort
The pavilion’s successful delivery was due to the teamwork and coordination by all the stakeholders involved. systems, landscaping, lighting and audio-visual elements.
Kerzer, the hospitality operator that is part of ICD’s portfolio, will be responsible for the operation and management of the pavilion, he added.
“It has been a great team effort by all so far and we will continue to work closely for the duration of the EXPO to help facilitate each visitor having a very memorable experience at the ICD visitor pavilion. The feedback to date from ICD and the EXPO team has been positive. The pavilion offers a very different experience to many of the other pavilions at EXPO and as such we are very excited to see the how the pavilion is received by all the guests that will be able to visit it very soon.
“We anticipate that visitors will experience something different and unique and that the use of natural elements will encourage guests to relax and have a sense of wellness and welcoming – transforming the notion of ICD progress and security in Dubai into a physical space of peace and enjoyment at the EXPO,” he concludes.
Land Sterling
Sustainability Principles for a Better Future
MIDDLE EAST Steve Hextall, head of Project Management and Cost Consultancy at Land Sterling, tells Big Project ME that sustainable construction and design is the only way forward for the region’s construction industry
Over the coming years the GCC’s construction sector will come to be defined by three key factors if it wants to grow, experts have said. These key factors are Digitalisation, Innovation, and perhaps most crucially – Sustainability.
The importance of sustainability to the construction industry is evident by the strengthening of green standards by government authorities, and their continued focus on improving and raising the bar when it comes to sustainable construction.
As someone who has spent several years working around the world in international contracting and consultancy firms, Steve Hextall has been able to see first-hand the positive impact of sustainable construction, with his former company, Aspect Project Management able to fill a niche in the market as a client centric specialist consultant.
Following six successful years of operation, Aspect was acquired by Land Sterling in July 2021 and Hextall was appointed as the head of Project Management and Cost Consultancy for the real estate consultant.
As part of his remit, he will look to add project management and cost consultancy expertise to the current Land Sterling service offering, creating a truly 360-degree real estate and building consultancy in the GCC, with sustainability at its core.
He speaks to Big Project ME about the overarching vision for his role, and how Land Sterling will look to move the needle forwards when it comes to sustainability in regional construction.
Why is the ongoing trend towards sustainable construction in the region so important to the future of the sector? Historically the trend in UAE development has been to transfer built assets, but now the new emerging trend is for developers to build, own and operate assets. This has shifted the focus towards the life cycle costing of the building, together with reducing energy usage and consequently the cost of operation.
Occupant and employee wellness is now high on the corporate agenda, so the onus has also fallen on developers to create healthy workplaces and living spaces
How will Land Sterling target this shift in the industry’s focus and what is being done to shift the business’ direction towards sustainability? Land Sterling will continue to promote the design and delivery of sustainable and healthy development projects. We are working with numerous industry leading partners to provide sustainable plant and equipment and building materials that will not only provide a healthy working and living environment but will decrease cost of ownership and increase returns on investment over the life span of the building.
In the education sector specifically, we have promoted sustainability to an extent where it becomes part of the curriculum, and the student body takes ownership and responsibility for the sustainable operation of their campus. Modern technology allows for close monitoring of power and water usage for example, and students can view the performance of their campuses on digital information dashboards. Renewable energy technologies can also be integrated into the school design.
What are some of the sustainable projects in the company’s portfolio and what results did they generate to showcase their viability to clients? Aspect were key partners on the development of Masdar’s Eco Villa project, where we delivered LEED and ESTIDAMA accredited projects in the education, commercial and hospitality sectors. We have partnered with specialist engineering firms who can create ‘digital twins’ of proposed developments in order to simulate and predict the performance of a particular building, allowing any inefficiencies, both in terms of energy usage and occupancy & space utilisation to be designed out.
Aspect was appointed by Masdar as technical consultant for sustainable design, and the team ensured that the villa design met all of its targets in terms of energy and water usage by implementing new energy and water saving technologies as proof of concept.
Using smart metering systems and monitoring sensors the villa was discovered to use 72% less energy and 35% less water than a typical comparably sized villa in Abu Dhabi, displacing an estimated 63 tons of carbon dioxide annually.
Furthermore, Aspect worked with Masdar on its life cycle costing and Return on Investment calculations in order to establish which of the energy efficient technologies were implemented in its current villa development projects and which required further development.
What does the shifting trend towards developers building, owning and operating their assets mean for the future of sustainable design and construction in this region? Why will this lead to our building being built better? Quite simply, developers retaining assets naturally tend to have a longer-term view on life! Life cycle costing, cost of ownership and projected returns on investment play a much more significant role in development decisions. Operational cost and facilities management strategies also come into play and are driving investment decisions more so than previously.
For example, we are increasingly finding that highly energy efficient MEP plant, or more durable interior finishes, that may result in an initial uplift in capital investment expenditure, are becoming more attractive as they represent a longer-term reduction in operating expenditure and maintenance costs. The economics are relatively simple and most savvy developers are now very much tuned into this fact.
Has the pandemic altered the way the industry thinks about sustainability and efficiency of design, construction and operation? Post pandemic the key words are Mobility and Flexibility. The days of working 8am to 6pm are no longer as prevalent, as are the days of fixed desk workspaces. We see a rise in the requirement of co-working spaces that allow employees to redress their work life balance and have more flexibility in their workplaces.
Most companies now incorporate flexible desks and application-based space booking systems that allow employees to ‘plug in’ from any local or remote location. We also see more attention being paid to creating healthy working, living, or studying environments, whether that be thermal comfort, lighting or acoustics, with the incorporation of increased sensors and live monitoring technologies that allow a building to function almost autonomously to create and continually adjust the optimal environment for its occupants.
Land Sterling is working with students to drive awareness about sustainability. Could you elaborate on this? There are a number of ‘green’ schools and campuses in the UAE and there are others that aspire to be “sustainable”. Many schools are indeed developing their own complimentary curricula which almost always includes an element of sustainability, natural resource availability and environmental awareness.
To support these initiatives, Land Sterling, wherever practically possible, will directly engage with the student bodies and faculties in order to obtain input into school designs and generate sustainable ideas and feedback, as who better to inform the design process than the end user?
This instils a feeling of ownership and consequently the students have an increased sense of responsibility as to how their schools are run. Research increasingly shows that schools using sustainability principles help their pupils to develop positive attitudes to their futures as well as their own learning, which means they can attain better results.
