BSBG Vietnam hosts international design standards workshop

Words by BSBG Media Team, Monday 13 August 2018

BSBG Senior Design Architect Piers van Zandvliet visited the Ho Chi Minh City office in Vietnam to hold the first in a series of design workshops, as an integral component of BSBG’s commitment to maintaining an international set of design standards. The workshop comprised project presentations, Q&A sessions and a design brief for a brand new residential project. Two of BSBG Vietnam’s architects, Tam Nguyen and Dat Tran, worked on a design each for the façade of the residential building under the guidance of Piers, with the final two options presented to BSBG Managing Partner Alistair McMillan.

BSBG Vietnam brings the group's reputation for the highest standards of multi-disciplinary architecture to the Asian market for the first time. The group is committed to implementing the same standards internationally with which it has made its name in the MENA region over more than 40 years, adopting a strategic approach to a global expansion which relies upon collaboration and interaction between the Headquarters in the hub of Dubai, and a global network of offices. The global strategy will see a series of design and delivery workshops hosted by leading figures across the group, the result of which will be an international team working to reinforce the BSBG standards on projects across borders.

During the workshop, which was dedicated to concept development, Piers provided training and guidance on the established concept design methodology adopted by the group, within a live BSBG project scope. “This workshop was developed as a result of recent collaborations between Dubai and Vietnam,” Piers explains. “There is a fantastic talent pool in Vietnam, and it’s important that this talent is developed. We see the cultivation of the existing capabilities as paramount to building an integrated, international team.”

Piers continues: “The trip was planned to help reinforce the global standard for project planning, modelling and the work we do at the inception of design. This was the purpose. It gave me an opportunity to work with the Vietnamese architects on a design component for a new development, and a chance to develop skills, explore new techniques and underline the BSBG standards within a project context.”

Passion for design

During the façade design workshop, Piers was able to provide invaluable insight into the drivers of the project and the design intent in one-on-one sessions. “There is an energy and creative spark that comes from in-person dialogue and interaction,” he told us. “The passion for design that exists within Vietnam is very apparent. I was able to manage the project workflow in real time, and the result has not only given us a great finished product, but the workshop as a whole has also energised the BSBG Concept Team and proved invaluable in streamlining the process of design further across the group, reinforcing the standard in line with the expectations we have.”

At the end of the workshop, the teams presented their concepts to the rest of the office; the final piece of the jigsaw in terms of the architectural design process. In just one week, an intelligent façade design, complete with renders, was achieved.

International design standards

With a number of similar workshops planned across the business, BSBG Managing Partner Alistair McMillan is keen to continue the development of a set of international standards throughout the group. “This exercise is part of a process that will position BSBG advantageously as we continue our international expansion,” he tells us. “BSBG sets extremely high standards, and I accept only the very best in every area of our business. There is a challenge when you have a number of global offices to ensure these same standards are understood and implemented across the board. It’s important that we are united in our work as a global team, and also that we are tapping into our global talent pool, not only for the benefits of BSBG, but for the benefit of the individual. We want to challenge our staff, and we want to extract the best level of quality from them.”

BSBG’s reputation for design and delivery, founded upon the three pillars of architecture, interior design and engineering, is the result of standards that have been cultivated over the course of more than 40 years. During this time the most efficient working practices have been honed, developed and continually reviewed to ensure an optimum level of performance and delivery is consistently achieved in a variety of markets.

“The aim for the group through our expansion is to establish BSBG as we have in the MENA region, across Europe and Asia,” Alistair explains. “Our reputation for design, Lead Consultancy and BIM expertise has been acquired over the course of more than 40 years from our Dubai Headquarters. We’ve seen there is a global demand for our multi-disciplinary architectural approach, and we are now looking to establish our reputation in new territories. This series of workshops contributes to ensuring consistency in our working practices and reinforcing our standards internationally, as well as developing our global talent pool.”

BSBG Media Team

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