CW Oman Awards 2018: Atkins outlines impact of big win at 2017 event

Shadha Al Balushi and Masood Raza collect Atkins' trophy for Residential Project of the Year at the Construction Week Oman Awards 2017.

Marco Malpiedi, managing director of Atkins' Oman operation, talks to Construction Week about how winning Construction Week Oman 2017 honours impacted the firm last year.

Atkins won top honours under the Residential Project of the Year category at the Construction Week Oman Awards 2017 for its work on Al Habib Suqoon Garden.

Shadha Al Balushi, assistant project architect at Atkins (pictured; far-left), and Masood Raza, Atkins' principal architect (pictured; far-right), collected the trophy at the ceremony last year.

READ: Two weeks to Construction Week Oman Awards 2018 nominations deadline

The project has been designed to enable residents and community members to live, play, and shop in the development without creating congestion or reducing circulation in the surrounding streets.

One member of Construction Week's panel of judges said that Al Habib Suqoon Garden for its impressive use of space and design, which he said has resulted in great levels of interaction with the local community.

READ: Top five tips to draft a winning Construction Week Oman Awards 2018 nomination

Ahead of the Construction Week Oman Awards 2018 ceremony, which will be held on 12 March in Muscat, Malpiedi outlines how the honours have reshaped Atkins' focus in Oman over the past 12 months. 

How did winning the Construction Week Oman Awards honour impact Atkins’ prospects and performance in 2017? 

At Atkins, we look to add value to our clients’ business. Securing a project for an organisation like Al Habib that covers contracting, development, and real estate in its portfolio of companies is a clear acknowledgement that our value-add is real when it is sought after by a professional company in the industry.

Winning the award shows that we can, and do, provide bespoke services responding to the client’s aspirations and working within business parameters.

How has the size and type of Atkins’ project portfolio changed since it won the award?

Al Habib Suqoon Gardens is smaller than a typical Atkins project; however, we have shown through the success on this project, that our services, respected by professional clients can be applied to projects of any size. The award showcased the value of consultancy services as a function of product versus cost, and not just the latter.

We can, with confidence, discuss our offerings to a broader catchment of clients, particularly in the private sector, and use this project and award as testimony. 

NEXT PAGE: Malpiedi offers his predictions, and reveals Atkins' plans, for Oman in 2018