INTERVIEW | AHMET SAFFARINI MIDDLE EAST ... - BIM Engineering

INTERVIEW | AHMET SAFFARINI
30
MIDDLE EAST ARCHITECT | 03.12 | www.designmena.com

AHMET SAFFARINI | INTERVIEW
HOME GROWN
THE INTERVIEW
Oliver Ephgrave meets the CEO of the UAE’s largest local practice, Eng Adnan Saff arini
Although its name may
not be known to many
western architects, Eng
Adnan Saff arini (EAS),
is one of the largest and oldest architecture
companies in the GCC.
With 550 members of staff , including
150 architects, it came third on
our recent architecture Power List,
behind KEO and Atkins. There’s
a good reason for this army of employees
— the company has designed
a staggering amount of buildings,
particularly in Dubai.
Sitting in his offi ce in the company’s
Deira practice, CEO Ahmet
Saff arini reels off a lengthy list of
projects that are either completed or
under construction — many of them
recognisable landmarks.
“We did the Princess Tower and
the Elite Tower in Dubai Marina,
Armada Tower in Jumeirah Lake
Towers, Al Yakub Tower — the clock
tower on Sheikh Zayed Road,” he
says, barely pausing for breath.
When asked how many schemes
the company has completed, he replies:
“We don’t count our projects.”
Saff arini explains the background
of the company: “It was established by
my father, Adnan Saff arini, in Jordan
in 1961. Our family moved to Dubai
in 1967 and he started his own offi ce
here. After that we expanded to all
the other emirates and we now have
seven offi ces.”
The company has branched into
other countries in the GCC and beyond.
“The company is getting bigger
day by day. We have offi ces in Jordan,
Qatar; we’ll soon have one in Saudi
Arabia, and we also have one in Kenya
and Tajikistan. We approach the outside
market, not only the local.”
He elaborates on his role at the
practice. “I’m an architect myself
and the CEO of the company. I have
brothers and they are civil engineers,
so I take charge of the architecture
side and the development of the
company. We have many diff erent
fi elds in the company — architects,
civil engineers, MEP, computer,
supervision, surveying. We have all
the specialisms.”
High rise design is perhaps the
company’s most renowned building
specialism. “We designed the
tallest residential tower in the world
— Princess Tower in Dubai Marina.
It’s very slender in proportion to the
height, which is 414m. We designed
it as a tube building — there were no
columns in the middle, just an outside
and inside shell.
“This meant that the developer
[Tameer] was able to change the size
of the apartments during construction,
according to market demand.”
Saff arini adds that the company
has long been a specialist in high rise
buildings. “In the 90s, we did the
Number One Tower. At the time it
was the highest building on Sheikh
Zayed Road at twenty something
fl oors. It is still famous today.”
Other high rises in the company’s
portfolio include the 380m-tall Elite
Residence, a neighbour to Princess
Tower in Dubai Marina, as well as the
sail-like forms of the Armada Tower
complex in Jumeirah Lakes Towers
and the twin Angsana Hotel & Suites
towers on Sheikh Zayed Road.
Another longstanding area of
expertise is in the villa typology.
He continues: “We do many villas
— this was our starting point, doing
domestic work. Saff arini points at a
space-age Dubai villa, built some 30
years ago. “When we did it, people
said ‘who is going to live in a glass
house?’ This was a change in the style
of Dubai. People started looking at
glass as a material. I think this was a
good example,” he says.
“As consultants, we tried to use
new materials. First it was glass —
although it is energy restrictive, it is
very durable for the weather here.
Then we used paint, then cladding.
Number One Tower used a metallic
coating — it was the fi rst to do so in
Dubai. It was a good exercise.”
From our point of view, the best market is Dubai and Abu
Dhabi and the emirates. We have good rules and regulations
and the infrastructure is almost complete.”
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INTERVIEW | AHMET SAFFARINI
32
Saff arini adds that it’s important
to have niche specialisms, in order
to gain an edge on competitors. “Everybody
can do residential buildings,
even offi ce buildings. In 2012 our
focus is on sustainable specialised
buildings. We are trying to compete
in the new market.”
A more recent specialism is hospitals,
as Saff arini explains: “We recently
entered the healthcare market
— we did the Saudi German hospital
in Dubai, as well as hospitals in Iraq,
Saudi Arabia, Abu Dhabi and Ajman.
We got accreditation from HAAD
[Health Authority Abu Dhabi]. This
was very limited for consultants — it
was very diffi cult to get.
“There is demand for hospitals. If
you don’t compete and present yourselves
as a specialised consultant then
you won’t get opportunities.”
Another new area of focus for the
company is Building Information
Modelling (BIM). Saff arini explains:
“We had the recession and this is
the time to rearrange your house, to
upgrade. We started using BIM - it
involves investment but in the rush
you will not be able to do it.
“It is diffi cult to do use AutoCAD
on complicated, signature projects.
The second thing is that you fi nd
many mistakes in your drawings due
to the lack of co-ordination - with
BIM the coordination is automatic.
It also helps a lot with detailing and
it speeds up the process. We consider
it to be an advanced type of approach
for us, especially in complicated
buildings.”
“Now we are using BIM for the new
hospitals and we plan to use BIM for
more projects, especially specialised
ones. For our branches outside the
UAE, we were thinking of training
MIDDLE EAST ARCHITECT | 03.12 | www.designmena.com
the staff to use BIM as their software
rather than AutoCAD. I think more
and more companies will use BIM.”
Refreshingly, Saff arini is positively
beaming about the UAE market.
“From our point of view, the best
market is the Emirates. We have
good rules and regulations — the
infrastructure is almost complete. It
is easy to do things and you can bring
in any expertise. I contradict anyone
that says otherwise.”
He continues: “Even with this situation
[the recession], this is the best
market. We have the best landscape,
the best airport, best taxis and an
easy way of life.”
When asked whether the UAE still
off ers opportunities for architects,
he replied: “For sure, new opportunities
are coming up in Dubai and
Abu Dhabi. This type of country will
We had the recession and this is the time to rearrange
your house, to upgrade. We started using BIM - it involves
investment but in the rush you will not be able to do it.”
always have opportunities. Until now
we have been living off the jobs we get
in UAE, not from outside.”
Remarkably, the company’s huge
portfolio was achieved without any
promotion, as the fi rm is “not allowed
to do marketing”.
So what is the secret to EAS’s
success? Saff arini believes it is partly
down to word of mouth. “Jobs come
— everybody knows us. We off er the
complete package.”
He also states that the fi rm is competitive.
“If people go for us then they
don’t have to use other consultants,
and this saves money. One of the good
things we do is trimming the construction
cost. Most of our projects
are completed without a change in the
budget. This is important for clients.
“Secondly, you have to give the
client a good product. You have to
remember that for the client, the
building is their building. If you get
the developer’s trust, he will recommend
you to other people. When you
trust something you will believe in it.
It’s like having a Mercedes Benz car -
you know you can trust it.”

PORTFOLIO:
Eng Adnan Saff arini
PRINCESS TOWER, DUBAI
Offi cially the tallest residential tower in the world, the 107-storey
Princess Tower soars 414m over Dubai Marina. The tower was
built using a concrete tube structural system, with steel fl oor
beams and a metal deck topped with three-inch-thick concrete.
AHMET ROB SAFFARINI WATSON | INTERVIEW
NUMBER ONE TOWER, DUBAI
Number One Tower was one of the fi rst high-rises on Sheikh
Zayed Road, constructed in the early 90s. The project contains
furnished apartments with balconies on the solid element of the
‘number one’ on the façade.
HISAH AL HABTOOR VILLA, DUBAI
Built in the early 1980s, this villa was the fi rst project to
introduce glass as a major façade element in the UAE. The
material was embraced to create a solid-void eff ect.
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