A Quest for Smart Living

The concept of the ‘15-minute city’ is becoming more and more popular. Are you being requested to contribute to projects of this kind?

“This concept has been discussed for a long time yet it is far from coming to some sort of maturity. Its definition is very broad, which poses definitional concerns for those at LWK who are evolving planning outcomes; it’s certainly at the centre of several conversations with our strategic partners and clients particularly in Saudi Arabia, for example. For LWK, accompanying this precept is the enhancement of our public realm, pedestrianisation and other key factors in creating places, neighbourhoods and cities that are environmentally responsive to their context and more specifically user-centric. The region has enormous opportunity to develop such prototypes.

“LWK have been fortunate in the past few years to have engaged with key strategic partners in the Kingdom, to develop interactive cities that promote social, economic and sustainable developments, while fostering contextual, environmentally responsive and dynamic places that offer relevant lifestyles choices that attract families to settle in them. Each proposal is crafted carefully after a comprehensive analysis and studying the ambition of the project and the opportunities the site offers us. LWK seek to capitalise on solutions that will have value add for each project, and ensure a positive commercial outcome for both stakeholders and end-users. This is the feedback we receive and is what sets LWK apart from other practices.”

Are you engaged with any of the current ‘giga-projects’ that we see in KSA, and if so, what particular challenges do they pose?

“The challenges for giga projects are very holistic as they are giga not only due to scale but because of the numerous moving parts that they entail. The key success factor is to keep adequate synergy and efficiency between the moving parts so that one element doesn’t suffer due to an inefficiency in another and cause the project to stall. Our recommendation is to build synthetic and customised platforms that integrate the various disciplines of design, cost, execution, investment, stakeholder management, marketing and all related disciplines. Since the establishment of our Riyadh office in 2020, we have advised and worked on different components of gigaprojects that remain confidential at the moment but are soon to be unveiled.”

Would you say that there is an LWK theme or ‘motif’ that consistently identifies your projects?

“Yes and No - as a creative platform and team, LWK in MENA believe in design and authentic storytelling as an enriching process, with specialists who believe in and deliver research in creating designs that are adaptive and contextual as world-class solutions to the built and natural environment. They also articulate architecture and urbanism as a language that speaks of ‘the place’ and are not ashamed of being commercially successful. This is the common thread that runs through all our work, whether it be a master plan, a mixed-use project, a hospitality destination, or a cultural institution.

“However, is there a particular visual style? No. Our designs always originate in the content because with a good storyline, attention is generated, knowledge anchored, and credibility established. We take film, sound, Mata environments and narration as construction materials of spaces already existing or created by us and seek to conceive exceptional designs that respond to local culture, end-user and client needs. Our Studio Directors are strong proponents of our Region, Arab Culture, and its translation into contextually relevant contemporary design. Into places that react to future influences and conditions yet to be placed upon them, while simultaneously benefiting from these complex interdependencies. We revel in this complexity to deliver projects that are culturally robust, place sensitive, environmentally aware, uplifting and future-shaping.”

What is currently most in demand: villa/townhouse projects or mixed-use apartment complexes?

“This depends largely on location and on the demography of the area and specifics of the end-users. In the Kingdom we are seeing a preponderance of villa/townhouse communities being led by ROSN, Saudi Down Town Company and others, however, in other parts of the GCC there is a trend towards automation-enabled, mixed-use apartment developments, especially for the younger client-base.

Do you believe that this region has its own preferred style, as opposed to other regions? Is this reflected in current client briefs?

“Absolutely, this region is unique and within the unique there are vast cultural and social imperatives that define the preferred style of the region. The other factor that design must respond to is the set of environmental conditions that are very unique to the region, be it the arid nature of sites or the annualised weather conditions. Once again, we are seeing very relevant and contextual briefs originating in Saudi Arabia that respond the vast diversity that exists in the nation, while in other areas we see a little more commonality and perhaps a commerciality as a response perhaps to a broader private development sector.”

Today, more and more engineering companies are becoming multi- disciplinary, and that can mean that they execute design themselves: is this impacting your own work at all?

“Not really, as we are very design-focused and work well with engineers. The aesthetic elements of a true design office is a strength of its own which we are proud of and WE continue to keep the integrity of what I call our unique, unadulterated creativity. Operating as a lean machine and bringing in experts and partners across the journey means we are agile and can respond to economic needs, which is an advantage in the changing market conditions that we face. The idea is to maximise the potential and achieve efficiency which can be delivered through planning and experience, and we have successfully achieved this since our MENASA office was first established in

2018. The approach helped us to scale and expand, and hence we have access to great opportunities across MENA.

“We are often approached and engaged by the multi-disciplinarity outfits you mention, as there seems to be a trend that while sometimes ‘more-is-more’ in some respects (particularly in risk mitigation), they can still have something lacking… This is a message we are increasingly hearing from clients. This does seem to be recognised by these larger multidisciplinary teams, and I believe it’s be encouraged.”

To what extent do we see Sustainability criteria being asked for by clients - and in what areas of projects is it prominent?

“To a greater extent, yes, as the definition of sustainability is fast extending into placemaking and communities with project integrity. There will be interesting redefinitions that will become part and parcel of the next generation of sustainability criteria including AI and smart environment features that save time, energy and effort for end-users. Sustainability is not only a technical term to be fulfilled: it is a benchmark and a standard to be implemented across the design journey and processes. The goal is to fulfill sustainable development and foster environments that would support future generations and respond to essential global requirements.”

Over the last five years, what has been your favorite project?

“A million sq. m. masterplan adjacent to the holy site in Makkah in the Kingdom. A brave undertaking that we completed during the pandemic. Initially launched as a competition against world renowned architects, our team have prepared indepth research of Makkah, its history and nature as well as the future possibilities of regenerating the dynamic urban realm around the mountainous and challenging terrain. All this while responding to the demands of the huge challenges of people flow and management, and the redefining of the area as a destination for millions of global pilgrims annually.”

What do you see as the main challenges facing architects today in terms of constraints on their creativity?

“The project brief is an essential document that reflects both the vision of the project and mandates of the stakeholders. A well written brief is a good starting point for the project and creativity is challenged when the brief is not clear. Having said that the client teams must also be geared up to accept and understand the depth and breadth of architects and their creativity, and their sense of successful designs. The other challenges, of course, are timelines and economics, both of which should allow the flexibility needed for visioning and creativity.”

Micro cities that contain schools, groceries and moreall handily within reach - mean that people can dedicate more time towards matters other than commuting.