“The Word is Experience”

Following on from the highly pragmatic Q&A session about JLL’s new workspacekindly championed by Elaine O’Connor and Yulliana Porter - Middle East Consultant spoke to Thierry Delvaux, Chief Executive Officer, Middle East and Africa, who explained how the fresh, sustainable working environment portrays a deeplyrooted commitment to the principles

I believe that this is how you achieve that objective. We’re certainly not at the end of the journey yet, but already, I see people from so many different verticals sitting together.

‘The reality is that this will be a two-way street and we have invested significantly for a reason. We think we know that productivity is higher if people are working together from the office. We are running a business, but of course, we also want people to enjoy working in the office. That’s when productivity will be at its best.”

BEYOND ‘OPEN PLAN’

What about staff who don’t always feel comfortable in what is avowedly an ‘open plan’ setting? Thierry continues: “We’ve learnt that a flexible approach is best. It’s not one size fits all, and we fully appreciate that there are people who want pictures of their family on the desk, who always like to sit in the same place, and so on. That’s why, for example, we have cubicles and closed areas where people can go when they want to feel more grounded, work in private, and so on. But there is a limit to that flexibility: at the end of the day, this is an open-plan approach driven by a commitment to the view that results are best when everyone pools their ideas and very much works together. I’d also emphasise that having a commitment to open plan doesn’t mean that you can’t also have areas that are warm, cosy and inviting.

hat was our motivation?”, asks Thierry Delvaux, “in creating a workspace of this style. Well, there were two ultimate goals: Productivity and Culture. These were our goals from Day One. Remember, we are in a sector that is very siloed - project managers, leasing agents, capital markets, valuation advisors, BIM technicians, etc. - everyone is doing their own thing and typically sitting in their own departments, far away from each other. But the question is, how do you put everyone together and make sure that you have a silo-free culture?

“Let me explain a little more about that quest for productivity. As a company, like many businesses all over the world, we responded to the Pandemic by letting everyone try working from home for a while - and we all saw that it wasn’t always so great. We saw that working from the right kind of workspace can be so much more productive. Yes, of course, from an HR point of view, you need to work on the attrition and ensure that the right competitive basics are in place, but you also need to be a leader and inspire your people to come back to the office. When all’s said and done, we are social beings and we can only give the best of our abilities if we work together. It’s a fine line and I think that this is what we’re achieving here.

“Also, although I say ‘open plan’, this is in reality a spatial typography that represents a whole style of working, a whole philosophy. Let me give you an example: when a client visits the office, in a traditional workspace you would be kept in a ‘limbo’ area in reception, where you transition from the lobby into the areas where everyone is working. But here, the moment you arrive, you are actually in the office itself - you are one of us!

“It’s my hope that when clients arrive, they will sit amongst us, right next to the co-working area, for example. It’s intentionally done to show outsiders what we believe is the future of work. Plus with the café we’ve created here, you will be able to enjoy a rich variety of coffees, including Arabic coffee. When you visit this workspace it’s all about the experience - and this is what people will remember most. Experience is the word; it’s all about the senses, the perception, and the journey we take you on once you arrive.

A Yardstick For Other Businesses

Perhaps there are many companies who would like to follow a similar approach? After all, the new offices show that JLL can ‘walk the talk’ when it comes to looking after employees’ wellness and also strongly encourage productivity. But if other businesses want to do likewise, what are the first steps they should follow?

Thierry believes “It’s all about the data. Think of the workspace as a kind of ‘smart city’, where you understand people’s behaviour because there are all these points of contact that let you know the footfall, the journeys, the likely roadblocks, and so on. Once you have that data you know how to give your people the right platform where they can work at their best. Of course, it’s relatively easy for us because, by the very nature of our business, we have so much research and data. I don’t want to sing the praises our industry too much, but the first thing that businesses can do is talk to real estate companies like us in order to get the right advice and input about working trends and what they can best do to capitalise on them. After all, particularly for smaller businesses, for SMEs, that level of data is not always obvious or, indeed, accessible for them.

“As for JLL, we’re using data to understand the working habits of employees and this is perhaps the first thing that a business should do when it’s looking to reinvent its work environment. Here in this new workspace, for example, we have a live Infogrid analysis of occupancy status, air quality, footfall, and so on, so we are constantly building and reviewing the data we hold and how we can use it to help our teams.”

The Quest For Sustainability

When it comes to sustainability, does the new workspace, located in a LEED Platinum-certified building, help JLL ‘lead by example’?

“For us”, explains Thierry, “sustainability is critical. Remember that about 40% of emissions globally are generated by construction companies. So as a key player and market-maker in the real estate sector, we need to lead the way, turn the page and commit to being based in a fully sustainable building. We are, after all, a Fortune 500 company and it really is about leading by example. The LEED Platinum status of this building was a major factor in our relocating here. For us, it’s critical, because then we can influence our clients to follow us.

“Let’s not underestimate exactly what that Platinum status means: here, in ICD Brookfield Place, we are committed to lower energy consumption and it’s reflected in terms of the number of amenities and facilities that we can use. . It really does mean committing to certain types of behaviour, but we see this as part of our overall commitment.

“The reality is that the companies who come here - whether they are in the Fortune 500 or not - take sustainability very seriously indeed and understand that they have to contribute to its costs. But the fact is that, out there generally in the wider world, most businesses are very slow in catching on to the importance and value of sustainability. For us though, this new workspace, its remit and its location is absolutely how we are going to explain to our clients what the future of work will be like. Everything we do is integrated into one plan and we are ‘walking the walk’.”

THE ROLE OF ESG (ENVIRONMENT, SOCIETY, GOVERNANCE)

Thierry is also quick to explain that the new workspace in fact projects a set of deeper-seated values, each relating to the role of ESG and how JLL aims to champion the values that entails.

“I like to believe”, says Thierry, “that is another facet of our leading by example. As a business, we take the ESG agenda incredibly seriously. Let me give you an example. Last year, in June 2022, we had a global meeting in Copenhagen. It brought together the most senior 100 people in the firm. Now, 99% of the people would have said that we were going to discuss the company figures and performance - but

99% would have been wrong. In fact, all we spoke about was ESG. What are we going to do as a firm to have the right governance in place and lead by example? We discussed this intensively for the entire session. Now, every new office will follow this kind of vision, and the older, longer-established offices will have a structured plan for their own implementation.”

“I mentioned earlier on the importance of Culture. With this new workspace, we really want to immerse people in the culture of the region they are working in. So, for example, when you first arrive here at reception, you are greeted by surfaces with deep orange, warm tones that symbolise the desert - and the sculpted ceilings above the reception desk replicate the ripples of sand dunes. As you walk down the floor, the plastered walls have sculptural elements that appear to be carved in stone, like rock monoliths in the desert. Walk a little further and there are green tones in the carpets and on the ceiling, and green and beige baffles hanging from the ceiling - so here, we’re communicating the feeling of the forest and the impact to the senses of entering an oasis. Meanwhile, if you go to our ‘Agora’ area - where we hold our Town Hall sessions and meetings - there is a rippled metal ceiling, conveying a sense of the ocean and gentle waves reflecting the light.

“Personally, I believe this cultural angle is very important. In my own life, I learned early on that immersing yourself in the local culture is incredibly important if you want to reap the best of what the environment has to offer. Moving from culture to culture has been a key thread across my working life. For example, I was born in Belgium, which is very multicultural; then at 19, I packed my bags and went to live in Tokyo by myself, and learned Japanese; and then on to the USA with my family, before moving across to the Middle East. One of the things I learned was that you have to understand the culture of where you are - and this new workspace is carefully designed to take our clients and visitors on a cultural journey.

“I want people to see that JLL takes its mission very seriously - and we’re committed to making best practice the backbone of how we interact with the market and our own highly valued employees.” re we now seeing a completely new profile and approach in terms of Entertainment projects, whether in terms of their scale and scope, or the role they have for national prestige and PR? How does this impact the way that Cundall interacts with the client and key stakeholders?

We are absolutely seeing a new approach and level of entertainment projects in the region. The ambitions and plans we are seeing in Saudi Arabia are pushing all boundaries in the entertainment space. The sheer scale of the plans, as outlined in Saudi Vision 2030, are even more ambitious when you consider the starting point. Pre-2018 none of these plans existed so the delivery needs a completely different approach.

Demand from the local KSA market has peaked and the pressure to get these attractions out there means the entire supply chain has to adapt to deal with volume the industry has not previously experienced. This then means we need to come up with innovative ways to ensure we can all deliver the right product.

The most significant impact we have seen in dealing with our stakeholders is the level of collaboration and knowledge sharing expected to enable these dreams to become a reality, and this is a style of engagement we always strongly advocate at Cundall. The willingness in the client space to collaborate has also been extremely refreshing as everyone is embarking on this journey together, and the goals can only be fulfilled if we are all willing to learn from each other and be flexible in our approaches.

Entertainment is all about creating experiences and in Saudi Arabia, creating such experiences is putting the nation on the world tourism map.

We are working very closely with Saudi Entertainment Ventures (SEVEN), for example, who are investing over SAR 50 billion on their attraction roll out in 21 entertainment destinations across 14 cities which includes their Discovery and Play-Doh attractions. This is delivery on a huge scale with consultants and vendors all across the globe, that is only possible with a level of collaboration that matches the vision.

In KSA, the development of innovative rides, cultural and historical attractions, mega sporting events and cinemas is driving the growth of the sector. How are these projects changing the face of the kingdom’s entertainment sector?

Firstly, and this is very important to note, it’s not just changing the face of the Kingdom’s entertainment sector but changing the face of the Kingdom full stop.

KSA is now recognised as a genuine world leader in the entertainment space and is already competing on a global stage. The goal is for KSA to be a legitimate premium destination and the committed projects and pipeline, with more than $13 billion in investment by SEVEN alone, is completely transforming the sector. You only need to look at the incredible growth rates and projections to get a true picture of what is evolving in front of our eyes.

Since there is a brewing appetite for leisure and entertainment projects in the kingdom, how have they been approached differently from a design perspective?

As I alluded to earlier, the starting point was something of a blank canvas for the entertainment offering in the Kingdom, and the key to excellence in the design of these projects was to understand this new market. When embarking on the designs of these destinations and attractions, it has been fundamental to understand what the local market wanted (and may want in the future) as there was no real previous experience to draw on.

Of course, with the creation of such destinations as with other leading global entertainment markets there is an expectation of attracting external visitors. Although, here in KSA, the primary driver is to provide these world-class facilities to the local population who have not experienced them before in the local context.

Considering this, the approach could not necessarily be about finding a specific gap in the market. It is about delivering experiences that are groundbreaking while also creating something that is responding directly to the demand that existed in KSA in a very appropriate and authentic way.

Entertainment is all about creating experiences and in Saudi Arabia, creating such experiences is putting the nation on the world tourism map. What kind of challenges tag along when working on such projects in the kingdom?

Entertainment is all about the experience and through design you can never forget that. It is so emotive and personal, and understanding the experience is one of the challenges in KSA but it is also a great creative opportunity to be inventive.

As I mentioned before, it was only since 2018 that we have seen cinemas and the Seasons which really opened the door for what experiences can look like and what the market really wanted. The key is understanding that what works elsewhere in the world does not necessarily translate across to here without needing to be tested for relevance and ensuring it is applicable to social expectations and other factors.

That is where the entertainment developers are making absolute strides in articulating a KSA vision. The blend of world-leading entertainment executives and expertise, that have delivered projects across the globe, coupled with the skill and ambition of the local market is really developing schemes that just work here.

Where ambition is a facilitator, it can also cause challenges with the sheer volume of to market projects and shortages that might come with it.

The challenge of supply and demand or skills shortages is not unique to the entertainment sector in KSA, however they do pose very specific challenges. Since the sector itself is so unique and everything is taking place in the Kingdom for the first time, it is not just a matter of replicating what we’ve seen elsewhere. This sector is evolving so rapidly. Take for example event spaces, arenas, theme parks, water parks

Lee French, Partner & Operations Director MENA, Cundall.

and virtual reality (VR) experiences – they are all very specific and happening in huge volumes.

This can cause shortages in creatives, specialists and contractors with the required abilities. An example here is looking at something very specialist such as the theming contractors which require very skilled fabrication and installation.

Another real roadblock is the potential shortages that arise with mass production and delivery, which drives up costs.

But ultimately, the collaboration between global and local experts offers unique perspectives for resolving challenges and means we are able to look at things differently – particularly when considering the impact in the design, standardisation etc. At Cundall, we have experienced complete innovation in the procurement and fabrication space, whereby developers and clients set up hybrid models and create their own fabrication streams.

I believe that the key to tackling all of the nuances and complexities is careful consideration, from the project intent through to the build, and realising that we are all going to be stretched thin, so we must look at how we can tackle things together. True collaboration is what we are seeing and that allows us to view challenges differently.

What have been the most significant factors that are making these projects stand out in a Saudi market that is witnessing an influx of such projects?

How can they be differentiated from the huge raft of PR generically surrounding the giga-projects, for example?

As the entertainment industry is all about experiences, if projects hit the right note then the visitors will promote it themselves! We have talked about bringing certain experiences to market for the very first time so there will always be the initial novelty effect, but the big challenge is longevity.

The key to harnessing that longer term interest and driving the attraction is to come to market with concepts that have huge draws and have uniqueness. It’s also key to develop products that are flexible and can adapt over time.

In terms of the draws, we have already seen many integrated into the entertainment landscape in the Kingdom. We have seen it in the boxing events, Formula 1 and the many global partnerships that have been created in the attraction space such as SEVEN’s license agreements with the likes of Warner Bros. Discovery, Hasbro for its Play-Doh and Transformers brands, as well as Clip ‘n Climb. All very topical, but also proven to stand the test of time.

Technology and immersion have a big role to play in staying relevant and being at the cutting edge. When technology is integrated correctly it allows for greater flexibility in being able to adapt or develop fresh attractions and events in future and this is a key consideration in the design and planning of projects, ensuring they are future ready. It’s particularly key in KSA when the roll-out is on such a huge scale, to provide opportunities to alter or move with market demands and sector advancements.

What about Sustainability - and how does the client value this? Does it play a key part in the components, overall design and procurement for Entertainment facilities? (Particularly relevant since Cundall just won a Sustainable-category award at the ME Consultant Awards, for The Storm Coaster).

Whatever the sector, sustainability needs to be at the forefront of design and planning. The entertainment sector in KSA makes a major contribution to the overall transformation vision, and so also the sustainability of projects plays a key role in the bigger picture of being net zero by 2060.

Cundall have made our own commitment that by 2030 all of our projects will be zero carbon. As part of that commitment, we are already working with clients and producing pathways for their projects.

In our experience, clients absolutely value sustainability and realise that time is running out to achieve the necessary stepchange. The massive scale of projects in KSA provides a tremendous platform to do things right the first time, rather than need to retrofit or upgrade for sustainability at some future date. The entertainment projects share this imperative, although they provide specific challenges including identifying appropriate material choices, locations, renewable energy installation and meeting the technical requirement of delivering stunning experiences while being responsible with water, energy and other resources.