@RIBA #smartpracticearchitecture.com/newopps

SMART PRACTICE CONFERENCE 2017TUESDAY 3 OCTOBER, 10AM–5PMM SHED, BRISTOL

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Welcome to your interactive Delegate Resource Pack. We would like to take this opportunity to thank you for attending the RIBA Smart Practice Conference 2017. We hope you had an engaging and inspiring day. This document offers a summary of the insights shared throughout the day and links to recordings of all presentations should you wish to watch them again.

Clicking on this icon below the session summaries will take you to the video recording.

How to use

Welcome: Ben Derbyshire, RIBA PresidentOpening Keynote: Jan Knikker, MVRDV

Instigating New Opportunites: Phil Rose, Clarity LeadershipBusiness Development Workshop: Sarah Park, Holistic

Seeking New Opportunities Abroad: Chris Knight, Department for International Trade (DIT)Seeking New Opportunities Abroad: Peter Clegg, Fielden Clegg Bradley Studios

Seeking New Opportunities Abroad: Keith Brownlie, Brownlie Erst and Marks (BEaM)New Opportunites in Housing and Infrastructure: Cllr. Paul Smith, Bristol City Council, Labour Party

New Opportunites in Housing and Infrastructure: Panel DiscussionNew Opportunites in Focus: developing Filton Airfield: Simon Gathercole, Allies and Morrison

Developing Filton Airfield Panel DiscussionNew Opportunities in Technolgy and Delivery: Simon Bayliss, HTA

Embracing Digital as a Core Growth Srategy: Robert Sargent, Stride TreglownClosing remarks

Presentations

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Sessions

Conference identity on cover by Darkhorse Design, © RIBA.

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WELCOMEBen Derbyshire, RIBA President

• The last 18 months have been a turbulent period

in architecture as the economic, political and

regulatory environment remains in flux; this

conference grew out of the work that the RIBA

has undertaken to support its members in the

wake of the EU referendum.

• A post-Brexit world offers both challenges and

opportunities. We don’t know what the shape of

things are to come, only that little is to remain

the same.

• To continue thriving in this uncertain future

architects need to be enterprising and alert to

new opportunities, whether in the UK or abroad.

• ‘New Opportunities’ is about the positive

potential of change and the tools needed to grasp

these opportunities for your business. These

can range from: embracing the right mindset to

cultivating productive relationships and identifying

emerging markets; all the while staying alert to

the potential of technological change to disrupt

business as usual, and in its wake transform the

architect–client relationship for the better.

• Business development should be embedded

across all levels of practice, with everybody

encouraged and supported in their efforts to help

identify, secure and deliver new opportunities.

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The importance of) being a great employer:

Rotterdam is the ‘silicon valley of architecture’ – firms can draw from top talent, but the talent has plenty of

opportunities to switch to other companies, so firms have to offer a great environment to retain staff.

• Create a great workplace – beautiful, light and

airy. You need to offer spaces that accommodate

different work and social needs.

• Create opportunities for exchange between all

staff, both unstructured (e.g. communal lunch

space) and structured (education and exchange

programmes).

• Get a grip on overtime – well rested and happy

staff are more productive.

• Create clarity around everyone’s expected roles

and responsibilities; share this information with

the whole organisation.

• Learn from others you admire: meet your betters

and find out how they work.

Identifying the right opportunities:

• MVRDV keeps a ‘project wish list’ in order of priority

and shares these strategic goals with the whole

office.

• The priorities are revisited and updated regularly.

• New work comes from multiple sources, including

regular members of staff (see diagram).

• Global engagement is the result of the contraction

of the Dutch economy after 2008.

• Nowadays strategic engagement with the global

market – dedicated regional teams cover specific

language groups and regions.

BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT: HOW TO BE AN OPPORTUNIST IN PRACTICE

Jan Knikker, Partner for DevelopmentMVRDV

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BD

Staff

Direct

CRM Offer Check Contract Team

Flowchart of a tender at MVRDV

Planning

MT

local

Building areas of expertise in response to market

demand:

• MVRDV choose to pursue projects at all scales

and across sectors rather than to specialise.

• To be successful with this strategy, it’s essential

to find good partners with specialist experience.

Working abroad can also offer the opportunity to

build a portfolio of work in new sectors.

• Collaborators and consultants are treated as

direct colleagues and involved from the beginning

• Invest in acquiring specialist expertise that is

marketable, whether it is BIM, LEED or BREEAM.

As early adopters of BIM, MVRDV’s expertise now

generates profits.

• An internal data base is being developed that will

capture lessons from past projects.

• Currently developing an internal data base that

captures lessons from past projects.

Understanding the market / business intelligence:

• Read newspapers to keep abreast of economic

and political news, not only design magazines.

• Draw from the knowledge of your international

staff about the market in their region.

• Use government support to enter foreign markets

and join trade missions where available and

suitable.

Winning work:

• Optimise your tendering process. Monitor and

analyse what works to get good at it and improve

the success rate.

• A ‘modular’ production process creates efficiency

and consistency (urban pack, housing pack, office

pack etc).

• Elaborate box sets are not required or

demanded by the clients. MVRDV focusses on

good visuals and highlighting key messages in a

bold magazine style.

• Images are included even in financial proposals.

Knowing who you are and communicating this

effectively to clients:

• Whatever you are, be proud of it.

• Architecture is for the users. To reach clients it is

important to show buildings in use rather than as

abstract renders.

• MVRDV invest a lot of effort in tailoring visualisa-

tions to consumer preferences, all done in-house

now to match their house style.

• Even a small but consistent time investment

in social media can generate large returns – in

attention, and also income.

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Choosing the right local partners:

• Select partners that have a compatible

philosophy and design approach when looking for

creative collaboration.

• Or select a trustworthy, solid practice that will be

a reliable partner, if not necessarily matching in

creative flair.

• Be open to being approached by potential

partners, keep your doors. open.

Choosing the right local partners:

• Select partners that have a compatible philosophy

and design approach when looking for creative

collaboration

• Or select a trustworthy, solid practice that will be a re-

liable partner, if not necessarily matching in creative

flair

• Be open to being approached by potential partners,

keep your doors open

Jan Knikker, MVRDV presentation

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• Our actions are informed by our beliefs about

ourselves and the world around us.

• Our beliefs do not necessarily reflect objective

realities, but are shaped by past experiences,

upbringing or habit, as well as other influences.

INSTIGATING NEW OPPORTUNITIES

Phil Rose, Managing DirectorClarity Leadership

Phil Rose tested the audience’s beliefs about themselves by pretending to have singled out one person to perform in

front of the others by having marked their seat with a red X. The palpable relief at finding that no seat had, in fact, been

marked, served as the jump off point for a discussion about self-imposed limitations based on unquestioned beliefs. If

we are scared to try our hands at singing, what greater barriers are we apt to put up between us and the unchartered

waters of exploring new business opportunities?

• Humans commonly look for evidence that

reinforces their existing beliefs.

• To break patterns of behaviour or learn new

behaviours, we need to start by challenging our

beliefs rather than our actions.

Developing the right mindset for business development:

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Practical steps towards implementing change:

• Think of a personal goal – what are you looking to

achieve?

• Why is it important?

• What are the measures of success? (in numbers)

• What are the consequences of not achieving it?

• What does success look like? (visualise)

Attitudes driving success or failure:

• Do: take ownership of problems that need solving

• Don’t: ignore issues, deny responsibility, wait for

others to solve them, blame others or focus on

covering up your mistakes

Phil Rose, Clarity Leadership presentation

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• The more specific you can be about your goals,

the better targeted your business development

activities will be.

• Share your goals with the whole practice.

• Create a prospect list based on your strategic

goals, group by short, medium and long-term

goals.

• Map contacts and stakeholders within your

company.

• Set a timeline for growth and specify financial

goals.

• If asked to help drive business development,

BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT WORKSHOP

Sarah Park, Associate DirectorHolistic

Learning outcomes

• Business development requires some strategy,

but keep in mind that ‘people buy people’.

• Acquiring new business should be a shared

responsibility, not just the business owner’s.

• Commit to a certain amount of time (per week

or month) for business development, including

training staff to enable them to share the

responsibility.

Strategy:

• Be clear about what you are trying to achieve

rather than hit random targets: what clients,

sectors, projects and project values are you trying

to win?

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actively enquire with management about their

strategy and how best you can support it.

Monitoring success:

• Track what makes you money - what sectors, type

of projects or clients. A simple Excel sheets will do.

• Use this information to optimise your business

development strategy.

Where to start:

• Tap into the knowledge and networks of people

you already know - current clients, consultants and

contractors.

• Don’t hesitate to ask for introductions, in real life or

on LinkedIn.

• Hosting yout own events gives you a platform and

makes you seem like a facilitator.

Optimise your media presence:

• Your website is your business card and should

demonstrate your expertise. Potential clients will

look at it.

• On your website, you control the message – use the

opportunity well.

• Use LinkedIn actively as a networking tool

Effective networking:

• Target events with the right clients; this may require

a greater investment.

• Avoid going only to events attended by your peers.

• Get a hold of the delegate list. If you have a

particular interest in any attendees consider

contacting them in advance.

• Know your USP.

• Be personable and don’t put yourself under

pressure to sell.

• Most importantly: follow up with new contacts after

the event! If you don’t, all your previous investment

in time and money is lost.

• When cold contacting anyone, carefully craft your

approach. Consider what their needs are, how you

could help them and what they would want to know.

Sarah Park, Holistic presentation

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• International profile makes you attractive to

talented staff.

Getting started:

• Understand why you are looking to export.

• Understand what you are selling and what makes

you different.

• Get proactive rather than reactive about exporting

and control the process.

• Seek out support and advice from DIT beginning

in the earliest stages; available support changes

throughout the year.

BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT WORKSHOP

Chris Knight, Internationsl Trade AdvisorDepartment for International Trade (DIT), South West

Learning outcomes

Benefits of exporting:

• Your product or services may be more profitable

outside of the UK.

• Reduces reliance on UK market and may offset

seasonal peaks and troughs.

• Exporters tend to be more innovative and

productive.

• The UK market is very competitive; elsewhere ‘old

hat’ skills may still be in demand.

• Other countries may offer greater opportunities

to develop a company’s profile and expertise,

where previous experience is required in the UK.

Lorem Ipsum is simply dummy text of the printing and typesetting industry. Lorem Ipsum has been the industry’s standard dummy text ever since the 1500s, when an unknown printer took a galley of type and scrambled it to make a type specimen book. It has survived not only five centuries, but also the leap into electronic typesetting, remaining essentially unchanged. It was popularised in the 1960s with the release of Letraset sheets containing Lorem Ipsum passages, and more recently with desktop publishing software like Aldus PageMaker including versions of Lorem Ipsum. Lorem Ipsum is simply dummy text of the printing and typesetting industry. Lorem Ipsum has been the industry’s standard dummy text ever since the 1500s, when an unknown p196dummspecimcontaining Lorem Ipsum passages, and more recently with desktop publishing software like Aldus PageMaker including versions of Lorem Ipsum.

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• Web communication and presentation works

differently in different markets. What works here

may not work elsewhere. DIT can advise.

Available support from DIT:

• DIT regional teams are present in 100 countries.

• Local offices can connect aspiring exporters with

their colleagues in regions of interest, who can

provide market insights and local contacts.

• They can help identify potential customers and

partner companies.

• International Trade Advisers are ex-private sector

with first-hand experience of exporting.

• Where upfront investment is required to access

a market, there may be some funding support

available.

• Opportunities to attend export events such as

MIPIM or Ecobuild.

• DIT’s Experience UK Directory is an online directory

of UK companies in the experience economy that

supply museums, visitor attractions, live events,

zoos etc worldwide. The DIT team uses it as a

reference for overseas clients - if you are active in

this sector, seek to get an entry.

Chris Knight, DIT South West - presentation

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Peter Clegg, Senior PartnerFielden Clegg Bradley Studios

Learning outcomes

CBS work abroad:

• Reactive exporters, overseas work is not core to

their business

• Most international work is in Africa and charitable

• FCBS considers the following criteria before

accepting work abroad:

1. Ethical (human rights record/individual trust)

2. Environmental (travel implications/

sustainable design)

3. Inspirational (opportunity for learning/

reputational gain)

4. Financial (payment/legal and tax

environment)

5. Practical (time zone/distance/local

partners)

6. Commercial (global reputation/media

coverage).

Sources of international project acquisition:

• RIBA competitions

• Exposure through international lectures on

green building

• Various personal contacts and international

staff

• Past international students

• Contractor contact

Lorem Ipsum is simply dummy text of the printing and typesetting industry. Lorem Ipsum has been the industry’s standard dummy text ever since the 1500s, when an unknown printer took a galley of type and scrambled it to make a type specimen book. It has survived not only five centuries, but also the leap into electronic typesetting, remaining essentially unchanged. It was popularised in the 1960s with the release of Letraset sheets containing Lorem Ipsum passages, and more recently with desktop publishing software like Aldus PageMaker including versions of Lorem Ipsum. Lorem Ipsum is simply dummy text of the printing and typesetting industry. Lorem Ipsum has been the industry’s standard dummy text ever since the 1500s, when an unknown p196dummspecimcontaining Lorem Ipsum passages, and more recently with desktop publishing software like Aldus PageMaker including versions of Lorem Ipsum.

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• Prince’s Foundation

• Publication of work demonstrating expertise.

Take-aways:

• Opportunities can arise through international staff

• Consider what you are known for internationally –

it may be different from your UK profile

• Winning a Stirling Prize also lends credibility

abroad

• Within specific sectors, people often communicate

globally

• Publication of your work and specialist expertise

can be an effective marketing tool

• Helps to have people who understand business

practices in a given context.

How to break into new sectors:

• Follow up every single of your contacts

• Make yourself unique in some way and let people

know you have that expertise.

Peter Clegg, Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios - presentation

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Keith Brownlie, DirectorBrownlie Ernst and Marks (BEaM)

Learning outcomes

BEaM business profile:

• Based in the UK and Denmark, but focused entirely

on non-UK markets.

• Works in the Nordic countries, Europe and

English-speaking democracies, because they are

open to talent.

• Rejects UK market due to over regulation and

bureaucracy; company size is valued over ability.

• Business is built on specialist expertise in a less

crowded market place (bridges).

• A more generalist profile typically requires a

much longer time to establish a new business –

acceptable for a young founder but less so when

starting out in middle age.

• Minimise liability and risk in foreign markets by

positioning themselves at the bottom of the

sub-contracting ladder.

Office locations / work model:

• Denmark is a hub for bridge building – availability

of specialist expertise and close to clients around

Scandinavia.

• UK office is based ‘in the middle of nowhere’

(Bridport, Dorset) – with modern data storage and

communications technology this model works.

• Both offices work together as one – no separate

projects.

• Virtual working has been common place in the U.S.

for a long time due to the size of the country.

Lorem Ipsum is simply dummy text of the printing and typesetting industry. Lorem Ipsum has been the industry’s standard dummy text ever since the 1500s, when an unknown printer took a galley of type and scrambled it to make a type specimen book. It has survived not only five centuries, but also the leap into electronic typesetting, remaining essentially unchanged. It was popularised in the 1960s with the release of Letraset sheets containing Lorem Ipsum passages, and more recently with desktop publishing software like Aldus PageMaker including versions of Lorem Ipsum. Lorem Ipsum is simply dummy text of the printing and typesetting industry. Lorem Ipsum has been the industry’s standard dummy text ever since the 1500s, when an unknown p196dummspecimcontaining Lorem Ipsum passages, and more recently with desktop publishing software like Aldus PageMaker including versions of Lorem Ipsum.

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Lessons:

• Leave your ego at home when looking to enter

new markets – you will be an unknown risk factor

to clients.

• Get work through performance.

• Carefully consider business risks in different

countries, e.g. Middle East (frequently excessive

client demands and underpayment) or China (IP).

• Chartered Practice status helps.

• Never take your PI for granted, check it explicitly

applies.

• Reciprocal tax treaties of great importance to avoid

having to pay tax twice.

• Check the rules on withholding tax. Withholding tax

will be painful as it significantly impacts cash flow.

• Exporting creates many rewards. Embrace your

inner ‘citizen of nowhere’, all UK architects have

exportable skills!

Keith Brownlie, BEaM - presentation

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NEW OPPORTUNITIES IN HOUSING AND INFRASTRUCTURE

Paul Smith, Councillor and Cabinet Member for Housing Bristol City Council, Labour Party

Learning outcomes

Political goals for Bristol housing:

• Accommodate rapid population growth

• Build balanced, mixed communities

• Address under provision of affordable housing by

the private sector – deliver 800 new affordable

units per year by 2020

• Improve quality of public realm

• New housing to be thermally efficient.

Implementation strategy:

• Match new housing development to transport

infrastructure, within and outside the city

boundaries

• Infrastructure to be reconfigured to allow better

land use

• Not only private sector, but also City Council has

‘land banked’ – make better use of publicly owned

land

• Use land much more efficiently by increasing

density

• Council to set up its own housing company and

develop sites with joint venture partners

• Hierarchy of preferred providers when releasing

Council land:

- Council housing and Housing Company

- Registered Provider (Homes West) and

community-led organisations

- SME builders and developers

• Housing estates to be diversified/gentrified

• Council HA delivers low energy housing.

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NEW OPPORTUNITIES IN HOUSING AND INFRASTRUCTURE PANEL DISCUSSIONIsabel Allen, Design Director, HAB Housing; Isabel Dedring, Global Transport Lead, Arup;Paul Smith, Councillor and Cabinet Member for Housing at Bristol City Council, Labour Party; Chair: Melissa Mean, Head of Arts at Knowle West Media Centre

Role of infrastructure for better deveolpment:

(Isabel Dedring, Global Transport Lead, Arup)

• Housing and infrastructure development in the

UK operates in silos.

• In London, the opportunity areas were not

growing because of lacking infrastructure until all

parties talked to each other.

• The crisis of housing and infrastructure and lack

of funding is a great opportunity to forge closer

collaboration – both need each other.

• Land ownership is not needed for integrated

schemes.

• Very few people have the expertise to

structure deals in the built environment sector –

commercial opportunity for those who do.

• How to create an equitable outcome in the

infrastructure world is not understood at all. That’s

why integration is so important.

The case for better housing:

(Isabel Allen, Design Director, HAB Housing)

• HAB aims for high-quality developments and public

space that will remain attractive.

• Housing developments should be so attractive that

people want to buy into them rather than try to

prevent them.

• Custom build is not a solution to the housing crisis, it

is never cheaper than standard developer housing

• But it creates a better dynamic with residents and is

less adversarial.

• Invaluable commercial advantage to know about

user behaviour and preferences, maintenance issues

through previous work with affordable housing

providers.

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What can architects do to facilitate development?

• Architects can help educate their clients that

planning permission by the city council is

contingent on quality.

• Cities are different; developers should think about

what they can do for (Bristol).

• Community consultation is a very imprecise

business, much is done on a hunch. More effective

to start with a blank piece of paper rather than

with ready-made concepts.

• Collect questions and complaints and incorporate

them into proposals in some way.

• More often than not projects happen because of

politics, rather than despite of it. Architects should

engage in the political process rather than reject it.

Paul Smith, Bristol City Council - presentation

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NEW OPPORTUNITIES IN FOCUS: DEVELOPINGFILTON AIRFIELDSimon Gathercole, Partner, Allies and Morrison

Masterplanning Filton

• Filton has developed over time into a centre of

excellence for aero-engineering and innovation.

The masterplan aims to support the growth of

the existing commercial/industrial cluster.

• An extensive site, it currently divides

localities and communities. Allies and Morrison’s

masterplan seeks to create connections and to

regenerate the wider area.

• The new development should have an urban

character and involve many stakeholders.

• Humanising the scale of the site is the challenge.

Design codes are to be developed to provide

robust guide throughout the entire development

cycle.

• Every project seeks to balance flexibility and

control. Focus here will be on streets and

infrastructure, no intention to hamper

architectural design.

• Interest in multifunctional spaces and structures.

The developer’s perspective

• YTL Land and Property UK, subsidiary of the

Malaysian developers YTL Corporation, specialise in

large scale development and regeneration and offer a

track record of past projects of comparable scale.

• They take great interest in quality landscaping,

provision of sports infrastructure and community

building – schools, intergeneration living, good public

transport and reduced car use.

• The ultimate ambition is to make it a car-free

destination, if feasible given the scale and

commercial element.

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• How can housing be redesigned to help

accommodate car free living?

• Integrated transport hubs, car sharing

programmes and automation may help achieve

the vision of a car free near future.

• Lower provision of affordable housing due to

NEW OPPORTUNITIES IN TECHNOLOGY AND DELIVRY

funding of infrastructure, variable rate of 17–25%

across the site.

• There’ll be many opportunities for (local)

architects, whether through competitions or direct

appointments.

DEVELOPING FILTON AIRFIELD PANEL DISCUSSION

Simon Gathercole, Partner, Allies and MorrisonJason Collard, Managing Director, Studio HIVEChair: Melissa Mean, Head of Arts at Knowle West Media Centre

Simon Gathercole, Allies and Morrison - presentation

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NEW OPPORTUNITIES IN TECHNOLOGY AND DELIVERYSimon Bayliss, Managing Partner, HTA on modular construction

Getting started with modular construction

• HTA’s first forays into modular started early (1988)

and were not successful at the time.

• Working for Housing Associations, e.g. Peabody,

allowed them to further explore modular

development.

• Getting to where HTA are today involved a long

learning process, many small improvements over

time, learning from mistakes and not giving up.

• Initiatives such as the Design for Manufacture

competition helped drive uptake in the industry.

Exploiting the potential of modular

• To fully exploit the potential of modular, take care to

develop technical expertise from the beginning.

• Building a good working relationship with the

manufacturer is of great advantage – they will

prefer to continue working with the architects who

understand the product.

• The ‘pre-manufactured value’ is the key indicator to

consider in modular/prefab. The greater and more

complex the prefab unit, the higher the value (from

frame systems to ready-made apartment units).

• Greatest savings are to be made in delivery time due

to the shortened construction phase. A recent HTA

student housing development took half as long as an

earlier ‘traditional’ project.

• Benefits include early lock down of design decisions.

No incentives to request late changes.

• Recent modular projects delivered highly sustainable

outcomes, even a ‘positive performance gap’.

• Significant benefits in inner city locations - tidy site

and speedy construction.

Modular and the role of architects

• Share of modular projects in HTA’s balance sheet

rising consistently.

• Considered the future of housing, potentially of all

construction.

• Modular cannot do without architects; they are very

much needed for successful projects.

Simon Baylis, HTA - presentation

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EMBRACING DIGITAL AS CORE GROWTH STRATEGYRobert Sargent, Director, Stride Treglown

Embracing digital as core growth strategy:

• Stride Treglown were early adopters of digital

technology, driven by Robert Sagent’s personal

passion.

• The subsequent commitment to digital as a core

business strategy is reflected in Sargent’s

promotion from digital lead to director overseeing

Stride Treglown’s marketing strategy.

• He is driving the commercial emphasis on

advanced digital working processes such as BIM

and VR.

• Spotting early on the potential of VR for

transforming the client-architect relationship, Stride

Treglown invested in what was at the time

expensive equipment.

• Rigorous data analysis is now being embedded in all

of their projects, most recently on user behaviour.

The business benefits of VR:

• Crucially important for the end user to understand

the space. 3D and interactive walk-throughs present

a sea change for the client architect relationship, ‘the

plan is dead’.

• Benefits also the collaboration with other project

consultants, not all understand plans well either.

• Coupled with project data analysis the

technology becomes a powerful tool to help the

architect respond effectively to their client needs.

Getting started on VR:

• Many cheap software tools are available nowadays,

for desktop as well as mobile computing.

• VR hardware is starting to be geared more towards

smartphone application and away from unwieldy

desktop kits.

• Workflows are increasingly seamless – software

such as Enscape allows ‘live’ VR rendering of Revit

drawings.

• Augmented reality has huge potential as it allows

interaction with the real world, 360 degree enabled

headsets like Meta in particular.

Conclusion:

To get started on VR, all you need is a smartphone and

basic VR goggles to plug the phone into.Simon Baylis, HTA - presentation

Robert Sargent, Stride Treglown - presentation

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CLOSING REMARKSCaroline Buckingham, RIBA Vice President of Practice

Make the best use of new opportunities:

• Be yourself and play to your strengths

• Decide where to draw the line

• Explore disruptive delivery models

Be collaborative:

• Work with trusted partners

• Talk your partners’ language

• Engage end users in the process

Be smart and strategic:

• Understand what works for your practice

• Rationalise time taken for bids

• Target networking and marketing spend

• Understand and work with politics

PresentationsAll presentations from the day can be accessed via Box:https://riba.box.com/s/6j1xpkkoc2qfccz9931yhlsaul0e5i4x