First Principles

Richard Smith
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However, Smith cautions that this does not mean “getting up into our Ivory Tower and telling clients what to do. It is not that easy; there is a real world out there. There is a specific process of working to raise a client’s awareness and understanding of the issues. We need the client to understand in the early stages that more time might be needed for additional iteration, but it is a difficult issue because clients so often want things done so quickly.”

What happens if a client eschews ‘green’ design because the perceived cost is too high? “There are shades of green, and there is no standard definition. At the beginning of a project we will produce a definition of sustainability for that particular client.

“If it is 5% better than ‘business as usual’, it has some carbon critical value. If it is 70% better, then it is an utterly amazing project. Most projects lie somewhere between the two. The key is to get the team totally on the same page with regard to the definition of sustainability for a specific project.”

Smith explains that carbon critical design comprises a gamut of measures, some of which will not cost the client any extra at all, and which will even save money in the long term. “We start with passive design, which means shadowing, insulation, putting in a smaller air-conditioning system, making better use of daylighting, and so on. We also eliminate systems where they are not really necessary, such as a hot-water supply in a washroom, or ventilating car parks mechanically that will ventilate naturally.

“A car park consumes about 40% of an office building’s total energy requirement, requiring a high level of lighting and ventilation in a traditional design solution. So all these things are being revisited. You are never really sure what the solution is going to be if you go back to first principles. It is surprising us all,” says Smith.

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Iris Bay is a 170-m-high, 32-storey tower on the south west corner of Dubai’s burgeoning business district near Sheikh Zayed Road. Atkins has been commissioned as lead consultant for architecture, structural, mechanical and electrical engineering design and project management for the entire development.

P17 Tower

Located in a prominent site in the vicinity of Emirates Towers and DIFC, Atkins has been commissioned to provide complete design services. The layered planes of this 80-storey building will move dynamically sideways to produce a challenging, gravity-defying form. The tower constantly changes its appearance with the movement of people and the sun. The sheer verticality of these layers is intersected by a volume of space above the building’s lower third portion.

Atkins in the Middle East

According to Atkins 2009 Annual Report, the Middle East business delivered further significant growth in revenue and operating profit (up 82% to £17,3 million.) Trading conditions worsened in the second half of the year. With the cancellation of projects, Atkins also experienced a significant slowdown in payments by clients.

Despite the slowdown, a number of projects were completed, including the 360-m-tall Al Mas Tower, housing the region’s first diamond exchange, and the 306-m-high Address Hotel. Atkins’ policy of diversifying its business away from building design towards infrastructure has mitigated the impact of the downturn being experienced in the property market.

The company has also been able to protect key resources by redeploying them in less affected areas such as Abu Dhabi and Oman. Despite the continued slowdown in the third quarter, £45 million worth of new work was secured in the fourth quarter. Work in hand represents 53% of budgeted revenue for 2009/10 (2008: 51%).