Me consultant may 2015

015 May 2015

InsIght and analysIs for constructIon specIalIsts On Topic

Understanding what it takes to build a GCC theme park In Practice

What makes for a perfect city skyline Opinion

Addressing the gender balance in construction

BUCKLE UP The WSP | Parsons Brinckerhoff merger promises to be a wild ride

Today, the role of consultant isn’t limited to producing designs. projects from start to end while ensuring

on-time & on-budget delivery.

LACASA’S strength lies in its OPERATIONS TE AM who is able to manage complex projects while maintaining a high level of quality.

M R . A B D U L L A H S U L A I M A N , E X E C U T I V E D I R E C TO R

CONTENTS

May 2015

04 04

news and analysis acrOss the Middle east Online news

CPI’s digital platform for construction news

09

14

On topic On tOpic

Designing theme parks is the GCC is a rollercoaster of a job

09 26

14 14

in practice cOMpany prOfiles, OpiniOns and interviews interview

Tom Bower, Greg Kane and Steve Lankester outline WSP | Parsons Brinckerhoff 's bold new vision

22

prOfile

Mark Grogan, manager of Contracts and Quantity Surveying, reminisces about his two decades in the UAE

26

insiGht

What makes the perfect skyline? ME Consultant finds out

22 32

32 32

On site BUildinG reviews, case stUdies and snapshOts

40

review

ME Consultant reviews the Hyatt Regency Dubai Creek Heights

36

edUcate Me

How Aldar's HQ showcases Kone's PFI solutions

38

cOMpany news

Kier buys out Mouchel in $408m cash deal

40

final wOrd

Jerusha Sequeira on why consultants need to offer more support to their female employees

38 May 2015 Middle East Consultant 3

on ToPIC roundup

Online L AU N C H PA R T N E R

Middle East Consultant’s home on the web MOST POPULAR

1

EDITOR'S CHOICE

READERS' COMMENTS

Construction workers torch building site,

17 cars in UAE strike Protest in Ras Al Khaimah apparently sparked by death of worker after fall from fifth floor

PHOTO GALLERIES

of under-construction building

2

Dutco Balfour Beatty wins $408m Dubai Creek project

Meraas appoints contractor to build waterfront hotels, markets, restaurants and retail outlets

3

Site visit: Volvo CE road machinery on show

FAMCO, local distributor for Volvo Construction Equipment (CE), organised an event for customers in Abu Dhabi.

See photo galleries at: meconstructionnews.com/photos

Migrant workers "forced to run Qatar marathon"

It is certainly a good thing that this website has addressed the issue of the psychological impact of construction work – which is, as you say, a labour-intensive, high-stress environment.

And while I would applaud more focus on this in the Gulf, it is surely worth noting that the availability of easily accessible mental-health services is lacking across the board, not just in construction.

Simon Crompton, comment to the story, ‘Mental health of construction workers needs more thought’

Workers allegedly “press-ganged” into participating, although organisers deny claims of coercion

4

READER POLL Nakheel unveils threeyear plan for Dubai

Are Gulf governments doing enough to ensure fire safety?

projects worth $3.8bn

12% 12%

Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed briefed on developments, which include extensions to Dragon

VIDEO

Mart and Ibn Battuta Mall

5

Dubai property prices drop, rents flat in Q1, says JLL

‘Spiderman’ climbs world’s tallest twisted tower

flat" while sale prices see "marginal

French climber Alain Robert, also known as ‘Spiderman’, scaled Dubai’s Cayan Tower without a safety harness.

decline", consultancy says

See videos at: meconstructionnews.com/videos

Residential rents remain "relatively

Yes: Regulation in place is adequate

Yes: It’s up to the private sector to address

31% 43% No: Better legislation is needed

No: There should be stricter enforcement

Log on for the latest from across the Middle East construction sector. Write to the editor at contact@meconstructionnews.com

4 Middle East Consultant May 2015

#IamWSPPB

I AM WSP PARSONS BRINCKERHOFF

I AM INNOVATIVE TRANSPORT SOLUTIONS

NOOR HAJIR ENGINEER - TRANSPORT PLANNING

www.wspgroup.com I www.pbworld.com

WELCOME

Editor’s note Group GROUP CHAIRMAN AND FOUNDER DOMINIC DE SOUSA GROUP CEO NADEEM HOOD

Eye on the Skyline

T

his month’s feature on what makes a city’s skyline so appealing is one that appealed to the travel buff in me. As someone who’s always keen to grab a backpack and head out the door on an adventure, skylines have always exerted a magnetic attraction.

Although I’ve not been to New York (yet), the city’s skyline is evocative and awe inspiring, no doubt due to the hundreds of movies that feature it. Would Oliver Stone’s Wall Street be as impressive without the towering canyons of Manhattan? Would Martin Scorsese’s classic films have had as much of an impact if they weren’t set in the grim and mean streets of New York? (Pun intended) However, while I’ve always been a fan of mega-cities like London and New York, there’s nothing quite like the combination of natural scenery and man-made architectural wonders to stir the soul.

That’s why my favourite city skyline has to be Rio de Janeiro.

A sprawling city that doesn’t so much exist within its natural habitat, but burst out of it, kicking and screaming for its survival.

With its rugged mountains bunched up against the Atlantic Ocean, you see a city built in one direction – upwards.

With the favelas covering the mountainsides and high-rises line the ocean boulevards, all watched over by Christ the Redeemer, how could anyone not love the sight of this monumental city?

And that’s why we pay tribute to the art of designing a city’s skyline in this issue. With developers to veering more and more towards a uniformity that is expedient and economical, it’s crucial we celebrate what makes a city great.

PUBLISHING DIRECTOR RAZ ISLAM raz.islam@cpimediagroup.com +971 4 375 5471 EDITORIAL DIRECTOR VIJAYA CHERIAN vijaya.cherian@cpimediagroup.com +971 4 375 5713

Editorial EDITOR GAVIN DAVIDS gavin.davids@cpimediagroup.com +971 4 375 5480 SUB EDITOR AELRED DOYLE

Advertising COMMERCIAL DIRECTOR MICHAEL STANSFIELD michael.stansfield@cpimediagroup.com +971 4 375 5497

Marketing MARKETING MANAGER LISA JUSTICE lisa.justice@cpimediagroup.com +971 4 375 5498

Design ART DIRECTOR SIMON COBON

Circulation and Production DISTRIBUTION MANAGER SUNIL KUMAR sunil.kumar@cpimediagroup.com +971 4 375 5476 PRODUCTION MANAGER VIpIN V. VIJAY vipin.vijay@cpimediagroup.com +971 4 375 5713

Digital WEB DEvELOPER MOHAMMAD AwAIS WEB DEvELOPER UMAIR SHAMIM published by

REGISTERED AT IMpZ pO BOX 13700, DUBAI, UAE TEL: +971 4 440 9100 FAX: +971 4 447 2409 WWW.CPIMEDIAGROUP.COM printed by printwell printing press LLC

Gavin Davids, Editor, Middle East Consultant

© Copyright 2015 CpI. All rights reserved while the publishers have made every effort to ensure the accuracy of all information in this magazine, they will not be held responsible for any errors therein.

6 Middle East Consultant May 2015

30+ years in the Gulf

and that’s only the start Present in the Gulf since 1978 and with its modern full-service regional centre in Kingdom of Bahrain since 2000, TECHNAL is more than ever committed and equipped to address the fast-growing potential of the region – over the next 30 years and beyond.

Architectural Aluminium Systems extreme performance

the sky’s the limit

TECHNAL MIDDLE EAST - P. O. Box: 21848, Manama, Kingdom of Bahrain T: +973 1722 5777 - F: +973 1721 7799 - E: technal@technal.com.bh - W: www.technal-me.com

09

speCifiCation Designing theme parks is the GCC is a rollercoaster of a job

On topic C

speCifiCation

thrills and spills With the theme park industry going through an unprecedented boom worldwide, experts tell us more about what goes into creating them

ontrary to popular belief, theme parks are not a product of the 20th century.

The world’s oldest amusement park – Dyrehavsbakken ('The Deer Park Hill'), about 10km north of Copenhagen – has been entertaining families since 1583. California’s Disneyland Park opened in 1955, and is set to welcome millions this summer for its 60th birthday celebrations.

Though theme parks were a bit late in arriving in the Middle East, they are here to stay. The appetite for gigantic playgrounds shows no signs of waning. “The worldwide theme park design industry, with the UAE leading the way in the Middle East, has never been in better health,“ opines Phil Taylor, managing director of leisure consultancy practice Team-Leisure, “The major role that theme parks and themed resorts can play as a destination driver are being increasingly recognised. This is especially true for branded attractions," he adds.

Coming up in Dubai is Phase 1 of the Dubai Parks and Resorts project, which comprises three theme parks: Legoland (a theme park made from 60 million Lego bricks, along with 40 interactive rides in six themed areas), Motiongate and Bollywood Parks; Wire World Adventure Park, billed as the largest man-made adventure park in the world; Dubai Safari Project; and IMG Worlds of Adventure.

Of course these stand over several ambitious theme parks shelved during the recession of 2008, including the Jurassic Park-inspired Restless Planet at City of Arabia, Dubailand, designed

by Jack Rouse Associates, which was to feature animatronic dinosaurs.

Still, today’s successful theme parks are more likely than ever to be inspired by Hollywood characters and storylines. Taylor says, “There is a noticeable, ever-increasing trend towards the May 2015 Middle East Consultant 9

on topic THEME PARKS

10 Middle East Consultant March 2015

on topic THEME PARKS

The developers of Dubai Parks and Resorts have left room for considerable expansion, should demand require it.

$2.72bn

Investment in the Dubai Parks and Resorts project use of intellectual property-led attractions, both at an individual attraction level within theme parks and for whole parks.” The 370,000sqm Motiongate Dubai has IP attractions from Sony Pictures and DreamWorks Animation, in addition to the recently announced Lionsgate zone that will feature attractions inspired by the Hunger Games franchise. It will also incorporate a live stage show based on the two most recent films in the company’s worldwide Step Up franchise. all about the story

“The most important thing to be learned from Disney is that you have to tell one story.

Everything you do has to be part of one cohesive story – from the time the guest enters the park, architecture, signage, graphics, costume, language – it has to all hold together as one story,” says Tom Sze, design director in Gensler’s Los Angeles office and a leader of the firm’s Entertainment Practice Area. “Tell one story and tell it well.” A case in point is Walt Disney World, which opened in 1971 and is still the most popular theme park and resort complex in the world.

Sze is an expert in immersive environments, having worked at Walt Disney Imagineering for 15 years prior to joining Gensler 10 years ago.

He has helped design and build several parks for Disney, including Animal Kingdom in Florida, Disney California Adventure Park in California and Hong Kong Disneyland.

Jack Rouse, the now-retired founder of Jack Rouse Associates, says the guiding principle has always been “it’s not about the building at all, but the experience. It’s never about us but about the guest.” This makes business sense as well – when the audience is connected and engaged, the ROI is higher. JRA was the attraction designer and executive producers for all of the attractions, media experiences and rides featured at Ferrari World, developed by Aldar.

Getting those guests to return is crucial to the success of a theme park. Long lines and high ticket prices were eating into Disney World’s popularity and profits a few years ago, as fewer families planned to return. Disney decided to overhaul its digital infrastructure. The ambitious makeover kicked off with a rubber bracelet that Salon.com called "Mickey Mouse’s magic handcuffs". Despite that slightly creepy description and alarms over the invasion of privacy, the new MagicBands introduced this spring have drawn rave reviews from guests. The RIFD chips inside the wristbands allow parents to know where their children are and let guests move seamlessly through the 25,000acre Disney World park. Flashing the wristband allows ticketless admission to attractions and cuts down time spent waiting at the rides. Walt Disney World Resort hotel guests can use their MagicBand as a room key and optional payment system. Everything from meals to rides can be prebooked from home before actually arriving at the

“What makes an attraction successful in every other part of the world – the experience, the look and feel, the quality of the environment and safety – apply just as equally when designing theme parks for the Middle East” Phil Taylor, TEaM-lEisurE May 2015 Middle East Consultant 11

on topiC SPECIFICATION

park – a boon for hassled parents that increases ROI for the operators.

Global feel, loCal ConCerns

While the narratives and themes of today’s family attractions are universal and designed to appeal to a global audience, designers say local culture is a major influence. Theme park designers in China, where 59 parks are being built at the moment, have had to move attractions and change design elements for feng shui reasons. In the Middle East, local culture, demographics and climate are a big influence on the design of attractions.

“A lot of our strategy in designing theme parks for this region is about understanding the local culture and codes – that’s what’s unique about doing a theme park in the UAE,” says Sze. “There are certain cultural requirements that we need to understand, such as providing gender-segregated prayer rooms that blend into the design, which is not needed in other parts of the world. Most importantly, we have to design for the guests who are going to the park. If they are from the Middle East, we have to understand their culture, habits and lifestyles. The guest is the most important person in a theme park. If we don’t make them happy, they won’t return.”

Taylor points out that theme parks here have to be designed to recognise and respect a higher level of modesty than in other parts of the world.

“For example, should a park be designed to facilitate Ladies Only operation at certain times?

Tom Sze says that when designing theme parks in the GCC, particular attention needs to be paid to cultural attitudes in the region.

12 Middle East Consultant May 2015

Designing a theme park based on movie franchises means that the attractions have to be a continuation of the stories in the films.

It’s also important to note that the region is not a homogenous market either, and there can be marked cultural differences between one country and another.”

From an operations point of view, the desert climate is very clearly the most obvious consideration and every aspect of the design, manufacture, construction, landscaping and

Theme parks in the Middle East are increasingly moving towards the indoor model, says Phil Taylor.

operation needs to consider the effect of the extreme heat at certain times of the year. “There are, however, many other cultural and regional design factors that need to be considered,” Taylor adds. “A good example of a regional design factor is that the ratio of peak day attendance to design day attendance in the region tends to be much higher than elsewhere, but that generally annual attendance figures tend to be lower. For example, the peak day attendance can readily be three to four times the design day attendance.”

The extreme summer temperatures in the region are increasingly addressed by putting theme parks indoors, such as in the case of IMG Worlds of Adventure. Taylor says, “This brings challenges of its own, of course, if the attraction isn’t to end up looking and feeling more like an industrial shed than a theme park, but this is most definitely, in my mind, a winning strategy!”

“A good strategy for the design would be not to be intimidated by the cultural differences but to recognise and respect them. When people first work in the region they tend to be struck by the cultural differences they observe, but after a while one recognises that there are actually many more similarities than there are differences. What makes an attraction successful in every other part of the world – the experience, the look and feel,

on topic THEME PARKS

“Everything you do has to be part of one cohesive story – from the time the guest enters the park, architecture, signage, graphics, costume, language – it has to all hold together as one story” ToM szE, GEnslEr the quality of the environment and safety – apply just as equally when designing theme parks for the Middle East.”

Sze’s long years in the industry have taught him that connections pay dividends, especially in the Middle East. “We bagged the Motiongate project when a close friend of mine, a vice president at Meraas [the developers], called me. When we got the Motiongate job, the story had already somewhat been written. We are helping them complete the story. The Middle East is about connection – what we are doing now is going to lead us to future projects in the region.” Gensler is already designing a themed attraction in Doha on the back of Motiongate, as well as working on

the first theme park in Istanbul, part of a 370 acre mixed use development.

What lies ahead

While the leisure and entertainment industry in the UAE is poised for significant growth over the coming years, one of the primary challenges facing the industry at this juncture is the paucity of talent. Theme parks here are being developed by people in offices halfway around the world. Sze believes that this isn’t an impediment. “We have all the expertise. People like myself who understand entertainment and mixed use development are able to put together the best teams for the job.

Gensler has offices throughout the world, so we

have an immediate local presence, and thanks to technology we are able to motivate teams across the world and deliver to the client.”

“Theme parks also require significant staffing resources, from operations and park staff to marketing teams, performers, security, chefs and servers that are well-trained, customer-friendly and share the same vision and values,” says a spokesperson from Dubai Parks and Resorts.

“We are fully committed to ensuring a quality experience for our guests by acquiring, training and retaining the best staff possible.”

What does the future look like for the desiGn of theMed attraCtions?

A Gensler report predicts that the trend is going to be towards integrated, immersive destinations incorporating theme park gates, retail and dining, entertainment and hospitality. Attraction design experts are finding their talents required for projects beyond theme parks. “Family entertainment is something that everyone wants today,” says Sze. “It’s going beyond theme parks to dining venues, museums and retail experiences. In Dubai Mall you have an ice rink, an aquarium and even a museum exhibit – the 150-million-yearold dinosaur skeleton. It’s all blending together.

Everyone wants to be entertained.”

May 2015 Middle East Consultant 13

IN PRACTICE WSP | ParSonS Brinckerhoff

Interview

CREATING

CHAN 14 Middle East Consultant May 2015

IN PRACTICE WSP | ParSonS Brinckerhoff

GE

Following the acquisition of Parsons Brinckerhoff

by WSP Global in the fourth quarter of 2014, ME Consultant sat down with the organisation’s leadership team for Middle East operations to get a sense of how things are going to change May 2015 Middle East Consultant 15

IN PRACTICE WSP | ParSonS Brinckerhoff

N SEptEMbEr 2014, NEwS brokE tHAt wSp

Global, the Toronto-listed engineering consultancy, had agreed a deal to buy Parsons Brinckerhoff, the engineering arm of the UK-based international contractor Balfour Beatty, in a cash deal that amounted to $1.24 billion.

Having initially been acquired in 2009 for $579.2 million

by Balfour Beatty, Parsons Brinckerhoff was at the centre of a dispute between the contractor and Carillion. The two firms had begun discussing a $5.9 billion merger in July 2014, but once it became clear that Carillion was adamant that Parsons Brinckerhoff remain part of that deal for any progress to be made, talks broke down.

With Balfour Beatty determined to sell its engineering arm, the decision came down to WSP Global and Atkins, with both international consultancies vying for ownership of the New York-based firm.

Eventually, the terms of the acquisition were agreed by the boards of directors of both WSP and Balfour Beatty, with Steve Marshall, the executive chairman of the contractor, saying that the sale price "delivered both a significant return on Balfour Beatty’s original investment and a compelling level of value creation for shareholders".

With the $1.24 billion deal finalised in the fourth quarter of last year, Balfour said that it plans to hand $304.9 million over to shareholders, put $129.6 million towards reducing the company’s pension deficit and pay down the build of its net debt – which stood at $555 million at the end of June 2014.

“I think it provides a platform for us, where we can take what we’re doing, take what Parsons Brinckerhoff are doing, and bring those together” The intervening months have been spent bringing the two companies together to thrash out the finer details of what the acquisition will mean for the various departments and employees in both giants.

Given that the deal will make WSP | Parsons Brinckerhoff one of the largest global pure-play professional services firms in its industry, with 32,000 employees and 500 offices across 39 countries, implementing these changes is not going to be an easy task.

In order to get an idea of the scale of the operation, Middle East Consultant spent a day at the firm’s offices in The H Office Tower on Sheikh Zayed Road in Dubai. Speaking to managing director Tom Bower, director Greg Kane and director of Integrated 16 Middle East Consultant May 2015

Project Delivery Steve Lankester, the interviews aim to outline the plans in place and how WSP | Parsons Brinckerhoff is gearing up to meet the challenges ahead in its vitally important Middle East theatre of operations.

“We’ve gone from a global firm of 15,000 people, up to around 32,000 people globally. I think the backdrop for us is that we’re in a sector that’s consolidating and we feel that we, as an organisation, want to be one of those firms that are growing and being a major player globally,” says Tom Bower. “Generally, it’s been a very well-received deal and it’s something that adds great value to the organisation.”

“There’s been a lot written about the complementary nature of the two organisations, and I think, in practice, that is a reality, certainly here in the Middle East. We generally did different skills, and we have some overlap within the transportation infrastructure market segments, but principally the WSP business was in the property and buildings segment, and in the environmental segment.

“We had a transportation infrastructure team, but we didn’t have a power and water team, which is one of the teams that Parsons Brinckerhoff have. They’re involved in some major project and programme management as well, and WSP wasn’t so involved in that,” Bower continues, highlighting how well the two businesses mesh.

“I think it provides a platform for us, where we can take what we’re doing, take what Parsons Brinckerhoff are doing, and bring those together. We were broadly two 750-strong organisations, we’ve come together as one 1,500-strong unit, and have now gone through a development of our structure, which presents a very credible proposition to our client base. We can now do things in the region that we weren’t previously able to do."

Greg Kane, director at WSP | Parsons Brinckerhoff, points out that the combined businesses are quite different to where they were prior to the deal. In order to achieve this, he says that the leadership teams in both companies made a conscious decision to sit down together and create an operating model that worked for both companies.

“We got the two leadership teams together and we had a number of workshops, we got into groups and drew up various operating models and talked about the benefits, and some of the challenges. We coalesced around one operating model – its starting premise is that it is market segment orientated.”

These four market segments are: Property and Building, Transportation Infrastructure, Environment and Sustainability, and Power and Water.

“These four market segments are the way in which we’ll represent ourselves to our clients. You have your market segments, obviously some of your projects will be delivered within just one market segment. Some of our projects will go across all the four market segments. So everything we do, we’ll do at a regional level.

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SPonSoRS

IN PRACTICE WSP | ParSonS Brinckerhoff

(From Left to Right): Tom Bower, Greg Kane and Steve Lankester are convinced that the merging of the two firms will result in better offerings to clients.

Projects list • Dubai Mall Expansion, Dubai • Orbital Highway Contract 1, Qatar • Makkah Public Transport Programme, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia • Doha Metro, Qatar • Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park Phase 1, Dubai • Qatar Rail Strategic Programme Management, Qatar • Rabigh PP2, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia • New York University, Abu Dhabi • Al Mutlaa Housing Project, Kuwait • Seventh Heaven at Al Barari, Dubai • Al Wakrah Bypass Road, Qatar

“[For example,] Properties and Buildings will be led, managed and delivered on a regional basis. We don’t see it being led distinctly by different geographies. If a client is operating in this region, then the standard of service from any of our market segments will be the same, regardless of what geography it’s in, in the region,” Kane asserts.

“We’re not looking to just put the two businesses together and have an add-on, we’ve actually taken the opportunity to redesign the organisation that we want,” Tom Bower adds. “The result of that is that in the four market segments, we cover a huge range of services that this sector requires. We are very much focused on quality – the quality of work that we do, the quality of the way we interact with our clients and the way we interact with our people, as well as the quality of the product that we produce.”

One of the ways the WSP | Parsons Brinckerhoff team intends to achieve the level of quality they desire is through the Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) team. As Bower puts it, this team will help the organisation offer project and programme management skills across the four market sectors. Kane adds that the role foreseen for the IPD team is one that ensures that best practices are followed and deployed on all projects, thereby maintaining a consistent level of quality across the board.

The man tasked with heading up the implementation and development of the IPD team is Steve Lankester, director of Integrated Project Delivery. Outlining his plan for the IPD team, his enthusiasm for the plans being put in place almost mask the scale of the challenge that is facing him and his team. However, he makes it clear that it is something the entire organisation is up for and willing to embrace.

“This is an exciting opportunity for us to look at – for the first time, I would say – how we can offer a consistent and standard approach to project and programme management.

Traditionally, in each of the market segments, we would offer project or programme management services or deliver projects, and they tended to be delivered in a style that reflected that particular market.

“But with the coming together of the two businesses, we’ve got some of the best-in-class project and programme management skills of Parsons Brinckerhoff, and obviously there are good skills within WSP. So the opportunity that we now have is to bring those two together and bring the best of what both companies have to offer,” Lankester says.

“We don’t want to be totally rigid in terms of how we deliver our projects, we want to be agile and responsive to our clients’ needs in the same way that we have always been, but there are clearly opportunities where we can take the best of what’s being delivered, perhaps on one project in one sector, learn from it and then roll [this knowledge] out of that to other parts of the business,” he explains further.

“It’s a bit of a work in progress. I come from the rail and infrastructure business, so I know that very well. The team that I’ve pulled together is actually a mixture, and we’ve got

18 Middle East Consultant May 2015

knowledge and experience in each of the markets. As a team, the most important thing that we need to do now – and it’s happening as we speak – is that we work with each of the individual segments. It’s a change for them as well, and they need to understand how this idea of IPD will fit within each segment.

“We’re engaging with them, both individually and collectively.

I’m running workshops and bringing teams together. I think with any change in an organisation, some people are always not going to be clear on what that might mean. But in my experience, and from what I’ve seen so far, people in both companies are excited about how it’s all coming together,” Lankester emphasises.

Having a team where everyone is pulling in the same direction and embracing the right ideals can only be a benefit, Kane says. With the merger continuing to be a success, the accepted wisdom is that WSP | Parsons Brinckerhoff will grow from here on. To that end, Kane says plans have already been made to ensure the company has an adequate number of staff for what is expected to be a very full order book.

“2013/2014 were very fast-growing years. I think the old WSP grew by about 40% within those two years. In 2015, probably between integration and the marketplace, it has probably consolidated a little bit, at the moment, but it’s still very positive. We’re thinking that with the two businesses coming together this year, a growth of 20% this year [is possible]. The transport infrastructure business is about 350 people. Over the next two or three years, we see that moving closer to 500 people.

IN PRACTICE WSP | ParSonS Brinckerhoff

“I think with any change in an organisation, some people are always not going to be clear on what that might mean. But from what I’ve seen so far, people in both companies are excited about how it’s all coming together” "Our Property and Building business is about 450 people.

The large share of it is in the UAE, and we still see that as a market that’s quite strong. We’re consolidating it a little bit, but we’re optimistic that it will grow. One of the areas in Property and Building that Parsons Brinckerhoff was not active in, but certainly has the skills to be, is PM/CM work in the property and building space. We see an opportunity to grow that offering.

WSP only really did design and supervision, whereas Parsons Brinckerhoff has quite a strong pedigree in PM/CM type works, and we’d like to try and deploy some of that in the Property and Building space.”

“We believe that the combination of services and skills that we have will inevitably lead to further growth,” adds Tom Bower.

“I think what’s more important for us is that it’s quality growth.

We’re focused on the quality side, but with growth in that.”

While there is a focus on expansion and growth, the leadership team at WSP | Parsons Brinckerhoff aren’t losing

sight of what they have, which ties into Bower’s philosophy of focusing on quality. All three insist that retention of existing staff (and quality) is a major priority for them, especially with the intense competition in the construction marketplace.

“I’ll be honest with you, we’ve got some very good people within the organisation. Primarily, at the moment, it’s about retention. I do think that as we grow, and we expect to grow, there’s obviously going to be a need to bring in similarly qualified expertise,” says Lankester.

“I think the most important challenge for us, as we go forwards, is to make sure that we get the right culture in our business,” adds Greg Kane. “[It’s important] that we have everyone in our business operating in the same way and with the same mind-set. It’s not about taking one of the business’s culture and superimposing it on the other. It’s about bringing the two together and finding the right mix – one that is positive, can-do and looks after its May 2015 Middle East Consultant 19

IN PRACTICE WSP | ParSonS Brinckerhoff

A Great place to work wSp was listed as one of the top 50 places to work in the UAE for 2014, while in

clients, while its people feel empowered and believe that they can add value.”

With teams scattered around the region, this can be quite difficult, they concede. This is especially true on large-scale projects with 70 to 80 people working on them over the course of three or four years. They can quite easily end up feeling isolated and embedded with the client. This why the development of the IPD team is so important, Lankester points out.

“We’re not looking to just put the two businesses together and have an addon, we’ve actually taken the opportunity to redesign the organisation that we want”

The Leaders the men tasked with heading up the four market segments of wSp | parsons brinckerhoff: property & buildings Dean McGrail, Director – Property and Buildings transportation and Infrastructure Martin Bassett, Director – Transportation & Infrastructure power & water Jeff Larkin, Director – Power & Water Environment & Sustainability Robert Carr, Director – Environment & Sustainability

“Some professionals in our industry are very comfortable with that and can move around from project to project. But for us, we’re not looking for people like that in our business. We want to retain the best staff that we can, and employ the best staff that we can. In the past, that’s been a challenge.

“It’s been a challenge not only to ensure that people feel a part of the business, but it’s also been a challenge to understand the quality and skills that we have. While we may employ X amount of people, and we obviously know who they are, they tend to be managed on a day-to-day basis by people on the project.

“What I want the IPD team to do is to have a much clear understanding of the resources and skill-sets that we have, and be much more engaged with the staff that sit in on these projects. We see that as a real opportunity, as a core unit, to understand those skill-sets that we’ve got, and to understand the knowledge that we’ve got. It’s vast! Once we have that understanding and knowledge, we can be so much more efficient,” he insists.

As the interview draws to a close, Tom Bower points out that WSP has been voted one of the top 50 places to work in the UAE for 2014. This is no coincidence, he says, highlighting the efforts of his leadership team to make staff feel included and respected, no matter their status in the organisation.

“To a degree, that [award] is recognition of the focus that we have on our people, to make sure that the organisation is good fun and that it’s a good place to work. We believe that leads to a high level of motivation for our people, which in turn will lead to great engagement with our clients, which in turn leads to opportunities to develop the business,” he sums up.

“The most important thing is that we have a culture that reflects the things we’ve talked about, but also reflects the high-quality work that we want to do for our clients.”

20 Middle East Consultant May 2015

2015 it was named the 12th best company to work for in the UAE by the Great places to work Institute. ME Consultant spoke to Cahir McGuinness, a deputy commercial manager, to find out why the consultancy is such a good place to be.

How long have you been working with wSp? I have been working with WSP l Parsons Brinckerhoff for two years this coming May. what do you enjoy about working with wSp? The simplest answer is often the most honest answer. The people at WSP l Parsons Brinckerhoff are what makes this company a great place to work, and more so an enjoyable place to work. Despite the Middle East's continued growth over the past two years, the same core values have continued to grow rather than being diluted.

Can you sum up the best bits of the work culture within the organisation?

Within WSP l Parsons Brinckerhoff everyone works hard and it’s sometimes difficult to find that work / leisure balance, but the rewards are evident in the projects we are able to deliver and in how we celebrate our success. WSP l Parsons Brinckerhoff rewards success throughout the year through various events, such as employee awards. I believe these initiatives, which reward employees, help to generate a work culture which is focused and aims to deliver.

How much of a voice do mid-level and lower-level employees have on the way things are done?

Everyone has a voice within the company – for example, via the different working groups which have been set up over the years. The Technical Working Group, Taskforce and Sustainability Operations Group enables anyone to get involved and influence how we, as a business, run.

How do you see yourself progressing within the organisation over the next few years?

With the continued integration with WSP l Parsons Brinckerhoff, the opportunity to learn and develop will surely arise, and with this I hope continued progression, and more so recognition.

22 Middle East Consultant May 2015

IN PRACTICE MARK GROGAN

Profile

“Bringing in contractors early on projects has the advantage of having their knowledge to improve constructability integrated into the design.”

Mark Grogan, manager, contracts and quantity surveying at KEO International Consultants, has a freewheeling chat about his two decades in the UAE

M

ark, you arrived in the UAE several years ago.

What was the construction industry like before the freehold boom?

The freehold boom created a situation where fast turnaround time resulted in lowquality projects.

I arrived in the UAE in December 1993, working on a government scheme to provide low-cost housing for nationals in the Northern Emirates. In August 1994, I moved to Dubai for what was one of the highest-value projects in Dubai at the time, budgeted for $60.98 million – the Trade Centre Interchange at the start of Sheikh Zayed Road – of course this was several years before the freehold boom in Dubai, and it was followed

by Emirates Towers. I also worked on the Jebel Ali Golf course, the first private golf course in Dubai, built in 1997-98. I spent a little over two years in Abu Dhabi – it was the start of the retail revolution, working on the Abu Dhabi Mall, which was also one of the first construction projects let as a design and build contract.

When I joined KEO ten years ago, it was the time of the freehold boom with us working on five towers in JLT and Dubai Marina, which included offices, residential and hotel towers.

So what was the typical construction programme like

then and now?

Looking back to my first project here, the Trade Centre underpass, it was on a reasonable programme stipulated by the client, the Roads Department of Dubai Municipality. With the arrival of the freehold boom, there was a drive by developers to turn things around quickly to maximise profit; this resulted in tight construction programmes. The other problem was a desire to build at a cost to maximise returns. A cost diagram shows a triangle of cost-quality-time; here we had situations that could result in the cheapest contracts to produce lower-quality buildings in the shortest time.

How did KEO fare during the boom and afterwards?

We actually did not do too badly during the recession and after, because we are a multidisciplinary practice. As we cover master planning to commissioning, as business in one division went down this was compensated by work in other divisions increasing. It also helped that our business is spread across the GCC and further afield. Even before the dip in Dubai, projects in Abu Dhabi, Qatar, Bahrain, Sudan and Malaysia were keeping the company busy.

May 2015 Middle East Consultant 23

IN PRACTICE MARK GROGAN

into the design. The building should therefore be built more efficiently, in a shorter time and at more economical cost.

What is your overview of the state of the QS profession?

Have fees and work opportunities increased?

As a quantity surveying professional, can you tell us how the profession has evolved in the region since you started?

In Dubai, things have changed for the better. For instance, the Roads Department of Dubai Municipality in 1995 directed that the Civil Engineering Standard Method of Measurement should be used to prepare the commercial tender documents for infrastructure works. This is an internationally recognised UK document that contractors welcomed with open arms, as it gives clear guidance on the pricing of items of work. More recently, Abu Dhabi and Muscat are now adopting the same standards as well.

However, on the building side, we are still using a document written in 1979 and unchanged since then. This was written for undeveloped areas around the world, which Dubai most certainly is not – you are seeing buildings here that are as complex as any in the world. Yet we still have a situation where, in terms of controlling cost, giving the client accurate cost information is difficult because we are using a document that does not really lend itself to today’s market. These are QS principles and not rules, which means they can be interpreted in different ways.

Although they give guidelines, these are not as defined as the rules in a Standard Method/Rules of Measurements.

Tell us more about the evolution of the contractor's role.

Grogan says that there needs to be an update in the guidelines and documentation governing quantity surveyors in the UAE.

It has definitely evolved – but then again, it depends on the client. On the Atlantis resort, one of the early projects I worked on with KEO, the client, an international hotel operator, realised that the building was unique and he brought the contractors in very early on the project. We have seen contractors brought in early on other projects, but it is an exception rather than the rule. In Abu Dhabi, design and build procurement is now being implemented but has teething problems, as it is a new concept to the construction companies.

Bringing in contractors early on projects has the advantage of having their knowledge to improve constructability integrated

24 Middle East Consultant May 2015

Let’s face it – the profession is not one that attracts many people.

Construction careers do not rate highly to some people. We have a very limited market from which we can hire QS staff. At the moment, there is a shortage of qualified quantity surveyors.

While the UK and countries such as Sri Lanka, South Africa and Australia follow recognised courses of education, there are few institutes and these are often over-subscribed. If you are a 30- to 35-year-old QS professional now, you can almost name your price.

All the GCC countries need people, but at the same time not everyone wants to come to the Middle East.

Quantity surveying is like project management, in that it can cover a multitude of responsibilities. An RICS qualification in the UAE is not recognised by the labour laws in the UAE, while a degree is (though in Oman they recognise that RICS qualification is equivalent to a degree). The UAE labour code has a category of a "construction costs calculator". The RICS now has a MENA region office in Dubai’s Knowledge Village to promote the profession, so in the future the RICS qualification will be recognised.

Of all the projects you have been associated with, which have been the most memorable?

That is a difficult question to answer. Each project has its own challenges. One I worked on in Oman, a major redevelopment when it is finished, was master planned in 2007 and is memorable because of the time it has taken. The Trade Centre Interchange was built between 1994 and 1997 and it still works. If you look at the bigger picture, it was part of a farsighted plan by Dubai Municipality. The Qatayat Road interchange was under construction by Al Futtaim Wimpey (Carillion), the Wafi interchange was being built by Balfour Beatty, and Deira City Centre interchange was being built at around the same time. All these projects happened within the same span of four to five years.

Quantity surveyors are increasingly involved in value engineering, which many architects regard as a process that cheapens their design. What is your take on this?

Value engineering is another much misused and abused word. It is delivering the best value into a project, which is not necessarily about saving costs. In value engineering, you look at lifecycle costs.

Put something cheap now and you pay for it later. We have one client who looks at lifecycle costs, because it is easier for him to get budget approval for lifecycle cost – but that is an international client. A lot of clients, particularly those who are building to sell (speculative projects), only look at the initial capital cost. When specifications are changed to simply reduce construction costs, it is not value engineering.

IN PRACTICE SKYLINES

Insight

a city’s the story sKyLiNe 26 Middle East Consultant May 2015

IN PRACTICE SKYLINES

ceMeNtiNg pLace iN history: of the Whether poetically entwined with natural landscape, or bullishly cascading towards the horizon, great city skylines give us beauty and innovation and divide opinion May 2015 Middle East Consultant 27

IN PRACTICE SKYLINES

U

p close, cities can be defined by many characteristics. One could comment on the atmosphere of the city, its inhabitants, its culinary influences, its diversity or sense of community. The multiple elements of a city are what make it unique, what make it memorable. however, it couLd be said the true

defining factor of a city is found from a distance. Seen on approach, or left on departure. One cannot encapsulate a city’s entire personality from within its streets or backroads.

No. To define the character of the city in question, one must go wider, one must look at the broader context. As vital as the sports teams that represent them, or the foods that categorise them, arguably a city’s skyline grows to be the most iconic part of any major metropolis.

New York, Rio de Janeiro, Hong Kong, London. The list goes on. Memorable skylines, some built over decades, some sprung up in a few short years. In fact, skylines come to define a city so much that they can have a massive influence on art and popular culture. They can even have a negative effect.

Take Christopher Nolan’s final instalment of the Dark Knight trilogy. Having set the first two chapters in Chicago, the Windy City temporarily masquerading as the famous Gotham, Nolan moved to New York for the story’s conclusion.

“It’s not one important element, but a combination working together. Height is not enough, density not enough, dramatic architecture still not enough” CHrIstopHer seymour, ArCAdIs The result was disappointing. No matter how much the viewer wanted to believe they were spending three hours in the fictional world of Gotham, surrounding by crime, superheroes, evil dictators and destruction, they were in fact having a very recognisable tour of the Big Apple. You couldn’t escape it.

Those beautiful sweeping location shots that set the tone for so many fantastic pieces of cinema have helped people 28 Middle East Consultant May 2015

from across the world to appreciate the design, planning and technical capabilities that go into creating a striking skyline.

But design is also about subjectivity, and debating over the ideal skyline, or knowing where to take inspiration from when looking to create one’s own skyline, is a personal challenge as much as it is a literal one. Not only that, but it’s a combination of factors. A combination of architects, ages, themes and visions. Add to that the element of natural landscape, and ending up with a consistent and attractive skyline becomes difficult.

“It’s not one important element, but a combination working together,” says Christopher Seymour, client development and strategic pursuits director at Arcadis. “Height is not enough, density not enough, dramatic architecture still not enough.

For example, some of the lower skylines still resonate as worldclass, such as Istanbul, simply due to the combination of factors working together.”

Others also do it well. Hong Kong is notable for this.

The sweeping valley overlooking the water, cradled by the skyscrapers that surround it. A seamless integration. A soughtafter blend of mother nature and machinery. The city boasts almost 7,800 buildings.

“Hong Kong is my favourite,” admits Zyad Ben Cheikh, senior concept architect at LACASA. “The density is rather astonishing.”

Another dynamic city that continues to grow in stature and beauty is our very own Dubai. Illustrious architect Frank Gehry once said, “98% of what gets built today is s**t.” Perhaps he'd rethink that with regards to the Middle East, particularly in the case of Dubai Marina, which is fast becoming one of the most famous skylines in the world, thanks largely to its collection of record-breaking residential buildings. The world’s tallest residential building resides in the centre, while its destroyer, soon to take the title, continues to climb above it, literally, from across the street. On top of that, Cayan Tower on the far end twists 90 degrees.

“I believe Dubai will stand the test of time,” Ben Cheikh adds. “Some areas demonstrate brilliant urban planning. Take

iN practice ASSOCIATIONS

captains of the city Famous buildings that represent famous cities

30 st Mary axe, aKa the gherKiN – LoNdoN, uK Opened in 2003, the Gherkin is instrumental in the London skyline.

chrysLer buiLdiNg – New yorK city, usa The famous art deco building stood as the world’s tallest building for 11 months until its close neighbour, the Empire State Building, was erected just a few blocks away. Opened in 1930.

the Marina, for example. It’s all in tune with one design, so it’s very beautiful in its entirety. Other areas, where they haven’t followed a particular style can look not so good. Jumeirah Lakes Towers, for example.”

The eclectic mix of Dubai’s architecture is something quite striking in itself – look upon any area of the city and you’ll see inspiration drawn from many cultures, ages and ideas.

Interestingly, Dubai’s skylines follow a geographically baffling ruler-straight shoreline. That symmetry is admired and longed for in architecture at times. Another stellar example is New York’s grid system, later adopted by Melbourne, Australia. The grid system is highly convenient for travellers and residents on ground level, but as well as that, it also offers a delightful block system on which to build skyscrapers – and New York has a couple.

“you have to move past the aesthetics of it all.

Architecture isn’t just about the visual” rICHArd Fenne, Woods BAGot

sydNey opera house – sydNey, austraLia As iconic, unique and enthralling today as it was during its construction in the 1950s. Arguably the most recognisable structure in Australia. It opened in 1973.

the burj KhaLifa – dubai, uae Currently the world’s tallest building. A true triumph of architecture that stands 829.8 metres high. Opened in 2010.

New York’s Mid-Manhattan and Lower Manhattan area has grown dense and thick over the years, gaining the nickname the Concrete Jungle. Undeterred by any natural landscape, New York is an example of a skyline that has built itself into a dominant position.

New York’s history is a rich one. The first notable skyscraper, 40 storeys tall, was the Singer Building. It was demolished in the late 1960s to make way for the US Steel Building. However, it was the first in a line of memorable buildings constructed at that time.

The city’s resilience has played a large part in its construction.

Surviving the First World War, New York continued to benefit from a high influx of immigrants, and by the 1930s had almost seven million inhabitants. It was then, and even during the Great Depression, that New York really excelled itself and erected the world’s tallest building, only to beat its own record less than a year later.

The Chrysler Building came first, at 77 storeys tall, topped by the famous Empire State Building, standing at 102 storeys – similar to the speed of Dubai’s construction boom which has seen some of the world’s tallest buildings constructed in a short space of time.

As New York’s population continued to climb, its skyline did the same. In the 1970s, now a thick and recognisable city May 2015 Middle East Consultant 29

iN practice SKYLINES

what's your favourite city skyline?

ME Consultant asks the experts what makes the perfect skyline for them

with more than seven million people inside, the World Trade Centre, or Twin Towers, were built. They remained the world’s tallest buildings until they fell under tragic circumstances during the terror attack of 2001.

In 2006, the city laid foundations in the exact spot where the previous buildings stood, and three years later opened One World Trade Centre. Standing at 104 storeys tall, it’s the highest building in the Western Hemisphere and owes its name to the northern Twin Tower which once stood in its place.

From whatever angle you look at it, New York boasts a beautiful and rich skyline, with a history to match.

More thaN a view

Characterising the makeup of a city goes far beyond the look of its skyline from a distance, however. Sometimes one can see defining moments in history when scaling the horizon.

“It has to be London, for me,” declares Richard Fenne, a senior associate at Woods Bagot.

“When I was living in North London, I’d stand on Primrose Hill and look 270 degrees and see so much history.”

It’s that relationship between the architecture and the history that makes a city great, Fenne believes.

And plenty of those moments in history, particularly where famous skylines are concerned, are doused in controversy.

As Fenne describes, the Eiffel Tower was seen as a massive eyesore on the Parisian skyline. It was going to be hauled down. “But just imagine Paris today without it,” he says.

“These famous structures and buildings always seem to have a good story behind them.” He notes the Taj Mahal is similar in this sense. It was commissioned in 1632 as a tomb for the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan’s third wife.

“religiously inspired architecture is so highly charged. It’s nothing to do with your religion, but those structures are just so inspiring” rICHArd Fenne, Woods BAGot “It was a vanity project. There’s plenty of examples,” he says. “If I began sketching out the Sydney Opera House, you’d instantly recognise it and associate it with Australia.”

Fenne sees Dubai as the latest city to cement its place in 30 Middle East Consultant May 2015

richard feNNe, woods bagot “I think I’d like to take an experience. A quarter. Something that has evolved with the culture of a city. Something that you can’t just recreate. The souks of Marrakesh or the old quarter of Barcelona. I’d stroll through those in the morning. Then on to the Therme Baths of Val, in Switzerland. That’s essentially what malls are for now. Places to go and socialise. Then I’d have the Coliseum, perhaps. For that stadium grandeur. Then at the end of the day, I’d retire to my penthouse in the Barbican. Can you make that happen?”

christopher seyMour, arcadis “Hong Kong does it for me. The blend of dramatic scenery in the background and a jammed in ‘no inch to spare’ feel around what is a very dense, but well cultivated garden of towers. The post-modernism blends well with the more recent high-rise where every architectural experiment in size and shape exists as a testament to the no-holds-barred era from when they were built. The multilayers at street level gives the feeling of an urban rainforest, and all of it finished off with the apron overflowing into the harbour.”

Zyad beN cheiKh, Lacasa “It’s about practicality for me. I need a good airport, and for me, I choose Kuala Lumpur International. A lot of airports are rather grey and uninspiring, however, KUL is surrounded by nearby forestation which is blended into the airport itself.

So, you get mixes of greens and earthy colours inside. Moreover, it’s built in a grid system which makes expansion extremely simple. After that, I’d want something iconic. I’d likely choose the Shanghai Tower by Gensler. Its twisted design is beautiful, and it’s also built with sustainability in mind.”

IN PRACTICE SKYLINES

“I believe dubai will stand the test of time. some areas demonstrate brilliant urban planning. take the marina, for example. It’s all in tune with one design, so it’s very beautiful in its entirety” ZyAd Ben CHeIkH, LACAsA

history with an architectural moment. “The vision of the Burj Khalifa captures the vision of the city,” he says. “It set out to build the tallest building in the world, in sand, and it did.

Right in that moment it wrote its name in history.”

Fenne’s passion for good architecture is contagious. He flicks through a book of the UAE’s construction history. In the 1970s, the city was flat and empty. He points to a picture of the World Trade Centre building.

“This is still my favourite,” he admits. “It was ahead of its time in terms of modernity, and built in a way that protects it from its environment. It’s aged so well. Will we be able to say the same for the Burj Khalifa?”

It’s the ruins of a city which can make it special, too. As Fenne mentions, how will a building, or a collection of buildings, look and feel when they’re no longer in use?

Rome is a prime example of how beautifully ruins can define a city. The famous Coliseum stands with such grandeur and pride, an instantly recognisable feature in Italy’s capital.

The world is covered in architectural moments of brilliance and inspiration. Many of these buildings were built to last centuries, and for reasons so endearing. Perhaps that is a debate that designers, architects and developers are no longer having with each other.

Can one really compare some of today’s modern buildings,

sold as hotels or residential apartments, with religious buildings of old?

“Religiously inspired architecture is so highly charged. It’s nothing to do with your religion, but those structures are just so inspiring,” Fenne explains.

Perhaps it’s the fact that some are riddled in myth and history. The atmosphere felt inside Abu Dhabi’s Grand Mosque isn’t something one can recreate simply by rebuilding the shape of the structure.

“You have to move past the aesthetics of it all. Architecture isn’t just about the visual,” Fenne claims. buiLdiNg a Legacy

The Gulf is an interesting example for the birth of modern skylines. Dubai boasts some incredible horizons. Doha, in Qatar, continues to grow. Jeddah, Saudi Arabia also. The debate here is whether or not they will stand the test of time, or how they’ll look once they’re out of use.

Some of the most ambitious and wildly inspiring projects are currently underway, some in their infancy of use. But picture the Dubai skyline in 200 years. It’s almost impossible to predict what its condition will be.

Do we build for tomorrow anymore, or do we simply build for today?

Dubai Marina is fast becoming an iconic skyline around the world thanks to its extravagant architecture and design.

May 2015 Middle East Consultant 31

ON SITE Hyatt Regency Dubai cReek HeigHts

Review

Worth the Wait

Middle East Consultant toured the Hyatt Regency Dubai Creek Heights ahead of its much-awaited launch in March 2015

I

n February oF this year, hh sheikh

The team DeVeLoPer Wasl Asset Management Group ContraCtor Al Basti & Muktha LLC arChiteCture, struCtures, MeP RMJM

Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE, inaugurated the Hyatt Regency Dubai Creek Heights, completing a project that had been in development for more than half a decade.

Developed by Wasl Asset Management Group, the project consists of a five-star luxury hotel with 464 rooms and 405 luxury units in two 43-storey towers. Situated near Dubai Creek in Dubai Healthcare City, the collaboration with Hyatt, the global hospitality company, marks the entry of Wasl Asset Management into Dubai’s freehold real estate sector.

The third aspect of the project is the Hyatt Regency Dubai Creek Heights Conference Centre, which is located on the podium and is a specially designed area that can host major events on an entire floor, or individual private meetings in smaller meeting suites.

Ahead of its March opening, ME Consultant was invited to get a first-hand look at the latest addition to Dubai’s ever-growing hospitality sector. The hotel consists of 76 suites, a Regency Club Lounge, a spa, gymnasium and fitness studios, and conference and event facilities, says Mathieu Greppo, general manager of the Hyatt Regency Dubai Creek Heights.

While the city is no stranger to hotels or mega-projects, what does stand out about this project is its location, a fact that Greppo is quick to acknowledge during the tour.

“There are so many projects happening in Dubai, very often in the beach area. I think that this part of town [Dubai Creek] has been forgotten a little bit. Deira is probably the area that has been most forgotten, but now I think they’re starting to do some work there,” he points out. “We’re somewhere in between, and this Healthcare City area is developing quite well, so there is a need for

32 Middle East Consultant May 2015

this hotel. The fact that it’s a mixed-use project, with a residential side, is going to bring huge added value to the area.” Greppo says that he expects to see 65% occupancy in the first year, and adds that he’s being conservative.

“I’m quite an optimist. Many people ask the same questions – ‘Do you believe that this city needs so many rooms?’ ‘Is this project only for Expo 2020?’ I don’t think so. [The plans for] Expo 2020 came much after. Dubai was not waiting for Expo 2020 to build their hotels. Look at the current situation of the world, there are more and more people wanting to come to Dubai. It’s a safe place.

You can enjoy life and tourism is ongoing. There’s no reason why it shouldn’t continue year-on-year.”

Work on the 220,000sqm project actually began in 2006 before it was interrupted by the financial crisis that hit Dubai.

It only resumed operations in 2010, with interior design work only finalised in 2011. The company tasked with bringing the project to fruition was local contractor Al Basti & Muktha LLC (ABM), a civil engineering and building construction firm based in Dubai. Mazhar Munshi, senior project manager for ABM, reveals that construction only restarted in May 2012, with an initial completion date of November 2013.

“Although we were there right from the beginning, it only restarted in May 2012, and we were supposed to finish in November 2013. But because of the changes that kept happening – the design getting changed and everything –we got an extension until August 2014. Then there were still design changes happening, and so we were given until the end of the year to finish the project. We eventually got an extension of time until January 2015,” he explains.

This was clearly a fairly complicated project to pull together.

While there were a number of delays and changes to plans,

on site Hyatt REgEnCy Dubai CREEk HEigHts

May 2015 Middle East Consultant 33

ON SITE Hyatt Regency Dubai cReek HeigHts

Throughout the construction process, there were a number of design changes taking place, which hampered the speed of build.

construction work still had to continue, creating a situation where Munshi and his team were forced to continuously be on their toes and alive to evolving requirements.

“There were a number of challenges – first of all, the volume and size of the project. That was one challenge. The other was the changes. There were design changes happening, while construction was also taking place. One of the biggest lessons we learnt was to avoid too many changes,” the project manager says somewhat ruefully. “Go as per the original design, plan things properly, allocate your resources accordingly, then do a follow-up and finish the work.”

Given the state of flux, how did the team cope with the stress and workload of what was already a challenging project? Through cooperation and coordination, Munshi answers, explaining that planning and management of the site was a large part of the job for the project management team.

“Proper planning and arrangement and a strong follow-up helped us to get a result and to overcome the challenges. We used to have technical design workshops. For example, with the finalisation of the false ceilings, we used to have the architects, the interior design contractors and consultants, the MEP contractor, all of them in the workshops. We used to sit down all together, have a brainstorming session and agree on the way forward.

“There was an element of crisis management about the project. Basically, there’s a crisis about you finishing a particular bit of work on time, and you realise that you don’t have enough

34 Middle East Consultant May 2015

resources, so it’s just about arranging that and getting it done.

The sequence of construction is affected. We had to do a lot of modifications and body work, and to do that, you have to go out of sequence. It depends on the type of work, on the volume of work that you have to do at the last moment, that’s when you do crisis management.”

Although Hyatt weren’t involved in the early stages of the project, they did have an agreement with the owners of the project, Wasl Asset Management Group, about the standards and specifications required for the finished building. Known as Hyatt Technical Services, the agreement ensured that all the minimum specifications would be in place.

“Because engineering and design require minimum standards, we ensure that they are followed. The manuals are given to the owners, who give them to the contractors. At a later stage, we appeared, with a project manager who had been hired 18 months to two years before the opening of the hotel. That person really starts to get more into the details, and he would check all of the requirements," Greppo says.

“That’s in terms of MEP, that the power and water treatment plants are in accordance with our requirements, all of these things are followed by the Hyatt project manager,” he clarifies.

“The general contractor, you have to remember, has no contract with Hyatt, he has a contract with the developer, so we can’t just go in and say, ‘We want this and this and this.’ While we do have some input, you also have to find the right balance between influencing the general contractor when it’s needed, while not having any contractual links. This is very crucial. You have to be very careful.”

Usually, all standards and specifications for a hospitality project are communicated to the developer by the operator, prior to construction.

“When it comes to major things like fire and life safety, we usually get all the plans two or three years in advance and we give our standards. And then, when we’re at the final stage, we check to ensure that this has been followed,” Greppo adds.

Once plans and designs were finalised, the contractor mobilised 2,500 men over the second half of 2013 and all of 2014, in an effort to get the project completed on time amidst the many challenges they faced.

The team worked on a 24-hour schedule in three shifts, pruning numbers as they approached the handover date. A small team from ABM will stay on-site for a year after the handover as part of the defect liability commitment.

“Another challenge we faced was that the laydown areas were very limited. We had to get the materials in at night, and we had to take materials to the places they were supposed to go to. That was a major challenge,” points out Munshi. “We weren’t allowed to make any noise pollution at night as well.”

Given that some 140,000 cubic metres of concrete was poured on-site, and around 25,000 tonnes of steel used, this was clearly not going to be easy for the team to achieve. To work their way

ON SITE Hyatt Regency Dubai cReek HeigHts

The contractor had to follow minimum standards laid out by Hyatt during the building of the hotel.

“There is a need for this hotel. The fact that it’s a mixed-use project, with a resident side, is going to bring huge added value to the area” MaTThew Greppo, General ManaGer, hyaTT reGency dubai creek heiGhTs around this, they used the four hoists attached to each tower to move materials up and down the site, the project manager says.

In addition, construction lifts were also used to move materials and the labour force about internally. During the day, things were a little easier, as each of the 43-storey towers had two tower cranes attached, which allowed the smooth transfer of building materials.

When ME Consultant visited the towers, work was almost complete on the site, with final interior work underway. Greppo explains that the final segment of the project involved his team going through the hotel and snagging any discrepancies from Hyatt’s specifications or standards.

“The beauty of this project is that the interior designers actually did the snagging for us. They came and snagged what the contractors were doing. This was their stage – they were in

control. What they wanted was what was in the renderings. We then come in as an operator and we snagged the ready product.

“We go more into things like the wallpaper being torn or the skirting coming off the wall. We don’t go in too deep, that’s not us.

“Our scope is that we get a turnkey agreement from our project manager, who has been on board for two years during the construction process – this will be the person who’ll hand over the building to us as the operations team. But as we come in quite early, we can assist the project manager in snagging all the areas. Once we’re happy and satisfied with the work done, then it’s officially handed over from the owner to the operator,” Greppo concludes, bringing to a close the tour of this long gestating project that has certainly been worth the wait.

In detail hoteL rooMs 464 LuXury aPartMents 405 ConCrete PoureD 140,000m3 steeLWork 25,000 tonnes Labour ForCe 2500 on-site CoMPLetion January 2015

May 2015 Middle East Consultant 35

on site KONE

Educate ME E

Serenity in Flow Aldar’s headquarters in Abu Dhabi showcase the benefits of Kone’s People Flow Intelligence solutions 36 Middle East Consultant May 2015

ver since the construction of the Burj Al Arab in Dubai proved that you could marry outlandish design and innovative construction methods, developers in the GCC have been keen to turn their projects into eye-catching icons of architecture. This has resulted in a plethora of skyscrapers and buildings that seem to defy the laws of gravity and physics, making the region a hub for architecture and design.

However, as innovative as these designs are, they often face considerable issues when it comes to moving people in, out and around the buildings.

For a long time, it wasn’t possible to have an elevator that could rise up a 50-floor building in a continuous flow. There were often stops along the way, and passengers had to switch elevators or ride up escalators to get to their destinations.

Of course, that was never going to be a permanent solution to the problem. Nowhere was this more clearly demonstrated than with the Aldar headquarters in Abu Dhabi. Its distinctive shape meant that traditional access control systems would not be of much use on the project.

This is where Kone has stepped in with their People Flow Intelligence Solutions (PFI), a range of flexible solutions designed with the changing needs of the modern construction industry in mind.

Its four solutions (Kone Access Solutions, Kone Destination Solutions, Kone Information Solutions and Kone Monitoring Solutions) aim to smooth the journey for passengers, from entrance into a building to destination, says Kim Langstrom, head of Access Control and Integrated Solutions Sales.

While traditional methods of access (elevators, escalators and automatic doors) do still play an important role in moderating and directing the flow of people through a building, Langstrom tells ME Consultant that PFI is ideal for buildings that seek to be different.

How PFI waS uSEd In aldar’S abu dHabI HEadquartErS

“Aldar’s HQ was one of the first projects where we used PFI [in the region]. The Aldar building, it’s quite specific because of its shape. Usually buildings in the Middle East, they’re high-rises and they’re quite slim and tall. But this is not a typical building, it’s only got

on site KONE

23 floors, but it’s very wide. So that means that the population on every floor is quite high, and of course, that means the requirement of its elevator systems is much higher than in a typical high-rise,” he explains.

“Although it’s not directly related to People Flow Intelligence, before the building was built, we did a very extensive traffic analysis so that we could understand how many people would be occupying every floor, and after that, we could optimise the elevators.

“It’s funny to say this, and it always surprises people, but you’d think that an elevator company would want to build as many elevator systems as possible. But actually, for a building like Aldar HQ, we probably built 20% less elevators [than would normally be required]. However, the elevators are more efficient and intelligent because of the People Flow Intelligence included. We optimised the elevator use with different technology."

Ramachandran Narayan from Kone Middle East, project manager for the Aldar HQ project, adds that during the pre-tendering phase of the project, the team conducted several People Flow studies to find the best solution to suit the building’s functionality.

Using Kone Polaris, one of the company’s destination solutions, building occupants can enter

their destination on a touchscreen keypad before entering the elevator. Polaris is also integrated into the turnstile access control system, adding to the security of the entire building.

“This is a turnstile with full elevator access integration. We’ve thought about access control and design [when it comes to the turnstile]. Architects don’t really like the look and feel of the old-fashioned metallic turnstiles, so we’ve got a very clean and nice design which is fully integrated into our access control systems and our elevators,” Langstrom says.

“Basically, how it works is that when you come through your turnstile, you swipe your card and the elevator call is made directly to the elevator. This is a functionality that improves traffic, because the walking time from the turnstile to the elevator is now part of your elevator waiting time and that makes it much more efficient,” he explains.

“With the destination control system described, we have a touchscreen panel. You make a call and you get the call. And on the destination control side, there is also another feature that we call the ‘remote call’. That is a mobile phone application for VIPs, or people with special needs.

“Instead of walking to the panel to make the call, you can use your phone to make the call when you

enter the building. If you are a VIP who wants to have a dedicated elevator to your floor, then the system will dedicate an elevator only for you and no one else.

If you’re a disabled person, the door opening times will be longer. You can actually personalise your ride with the mobile phone application." workIng wItH tHE buIldIng ManagEMEnt SyStEMS

“With the Aldar project, we have all the basic things, but with the Kone Monitoring Solutions, that tied into the Building Management Systems,” Langstrom says.

The Kone E-Link enables remote monitoring and configuration for all the elevators and escalators in the building, from a single location. This solution allows for the monitoring of equipment in real time, and the control and shut-down of equipment remotely, while it records and stores data for future analysis. It also reviews equipment use statistics and availability.

This data can then be shared with the building operator’s BMS solutions, allowing the operator to "have one operating system to operate and move people by himself in the building”, Langstrom concludes.

“For a building like Aldar HQ, we probably built 20% less elevators [than would normally be required].

However, the elevators are more efficient and intelligent because of the People Flow Intelligence included” May 2015 Middle East Consultant 37

on site roundup

Project update Eagle Hills signs on for $3bn Belgrade megaproject Abu Dhabi-based Eagle Hills, led by

hotels, office buildings and apartments

Emaar founder Mohamed Alabbar,

for 14,000 people, Reuters reported.

commence in September.

Some have reportedly objected

has clinched a deal to build a massive

Belgrade Waterfront will span

to the cost and scale of the project,

waterfront development in the Serbian

1.8 million sqm and be 68% owned

and have claimed it was approved

capital of Belgrade. The developer

by Eagle Hills, with the rest held by

without proper planning. The Serbian

plans to spend $3 billion on the

the Serbian government, according

government, however, says that

Belgrade Waterfront development,

to Bloomberg. Construction

it will draw in billions of euros in

which will include Serbia’s largest mall,

works on the project are set to

investment and create 20,000 jobs.

Kier set to buy Mouchel in $408m cash deal Mouchel, the international infrastructure and business group, is set to be acquired

by UK-based construction firm Kier, in a $408 million cash deal for the company's entire issued share capital. Kier is expected to fund the acquisition by raising additional equity, and the transaction will require approval from its shareholders. The process is expected to take approximately five weeks, meaning the acquisition is expected to be completed in June 2015.

“Kier and Mouchel are an excellent fit,” said Grant Rumbles, Mouchel’s chief executive, who will stand down once the transaction 38 Middle East Consultant May 2015

is completed. “This deal is testimony to the successful turnaround of Mouchel following its 2012 restructuring. Refocusing the business on its core strengths and targeting profitable growth has brought us to a position where our order book is now more than $4.31bn.”

The takeover will see the companies enhance their range of facilities management and business-process outsourcing services to local authority clients, as well as those in the water and regulated industries market.

Haydn Mursell, CEO of Kier, will be appointed chief executive of the expanded group once the takeover is complete.

on site roundup

Bridge to $1.6bn Bluewaters Island gets green light from Dubai RTA

BIM use stIll lackIng In gulf, consultants say Building information modelling (BIM) is not being used to its full potential in the Gulf region and is sometimes employed purely to satisfy contractual obligations, consultants say.

“What we’re sadly seeing in some contracts is that BIM is just being used as a bolt-on,” said Robert Jackson, director of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) Middle East and North Africa. “In some cases, the BIM system on a project is simply being populated with data retrospectively to satisfy contract requirements. In such cases, none of the parties are getting the true value of BIM.” Steven Batchelor, operations director at Faithful + Gould in Abu Dhabi, said the reason BIM uptake has been slow so far might have to do with the financial crisis. “If there hadn’t been a recession, everybody would be embracing it. But as they’re all slightly coming out of their shells again, it is taking a while to foster.”

A contract has been awarded to build a futuristic bridge to the Bluewaters Island in Dubai, according to the emirate’s Roads and Transpor t Authority (RTA). The main bridge to the $1.6 billion Bluewaters Island will repor tedly include lanes dedicated to a driverless car system.

The RTA said that a contract had been awarded for the bridge project, which it will under take alongside the state-owned Meraas Holding at a cost of$130 million.

The Bluewaters Island project will feature the Dubai Eye – a 210m Ferris wheel set to be the largest in the world – a boutique f ive-

star hotel, and retail, residential and enter tainment zones.

Mattar Al Tayer, chairman and executive director of the RTA , said construction works to link the island to the mainland had already star ted. “The entrance of the island comprises a main bridge with two lanes in each direction stretching 1400m in length and 25m in width. It also includes the construction of two lanes of 5.5m in width designated for an automated personal rapid transit system to ease the mobility of visitors from and to the metro station [Nakheel Harbour & Tower] on the Sheikh Zayed Road."

May 2015 Middle East Consultant 39

ON SITE jErusha sEQuEIra

Final word

Jerusha Sequeira is the chief reporter for ME Construction News and Middle East Consultant

A balancing act

Consultants looking to boost gender balance in their workforce need to offer more support to female employees A look around any construction site – in the UAE, GCC or pretty much the world – reveals an undeniable fact about the workforce: regardless of how culturally diverse, the workers are almost all male.

While women have made great strides in several historically male-dominated professions, the construction industry doesn’t have the greatest track record for tapping into female talent.

That’s not to say there isn’t a significant number of women in the field. From architects to civil engineers and project managers, many female professionals have excelled in demanding roles. But across the board, in interviews with women working in construction, what has emerged with startling clarity is that there needs to be more support for women in the industry.

Traditional gender roles that persist in the region mean women still have to balance the demands of the household against workplace responsibilities – not an easy task in an industry like construction. Additionally, many women in construction have to battle with perceptions that they are not as capable or competent as their male counterparts, often leading to their having to work twice as hard to prove themselves to colleagues and clients.

One company working to tackle this is Atkins, which launched a Women’s Business Network in the Middle East last year. The network, which 40 Middle East Consultant May 2015

now has 460 members, is open to all female employees of Atkins and its project and costmanagement arm Faithful+Gould.

“What we're trying to do here is to break the barriers so that women can reach their full potential,” says Jinsy Sunith, HR advisor at Atkins, based in the UAE, adding that to help women cope better in the workplace, the WBN has introduced a number of projects and initiatives, including coaching and mentoring schemes, workshops and networking events.

What Atkins also appears to be doing right is the implementation of a more family-friendly work culture, where employees can adjust their work timings to better juggle the responsibilities of home and the workplace. This is perhaps the easiest place to start for companies looking for more gender balance in their workforce.

For companies looking to do more, what women in the field have told me about their experiences is that they simply wouldn’t have been able to succeed without the guidance of mentors and belief of their employers, both male and female, in their abilities. Creating a supportive culture that recognises all employees and helps them succeed is what companies should really be looking at in the long term, to create a happier workforce.

The first step towards making this happen is simply showing female employees the company cares about their contributions and advancement. Initiatives like the WBN are a good starting point. As Becky Robinson, business change leader at Atkins, says about the network: “It’s actually given me the belief that the business cares about the development of women into senior positions over a period of time.”

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