Wealth & Finance International - January 2017

33 January 2017 dards. The team have had to deal with challenging programmes but always deliver required services effectively, efficiently and on time.” Phil McDowell, Construction Manager and Project Leader, Kier Opportunities and challenges in 2017 and beyond As we operate under differing jurisdictions throughout the world we face differing regional challenges. To take just one region, the UK; the word on everyone’s lips is Brexit and the effect that this could have on the economy and therefore our business. The fundamental here is really uncertainty and the caution that can spring from this. We have seen many projects delayed, downsized and lost in the past year and the continuing uncertainty will have an effect until we see a clearer political and economic road ahead. However, the lower value of the pound can bring foreign investment; de- valuing of assets can see domestic sales and development as well, and the result of this can be more of the strategic early asset assessments that utilises our skill base at NORR to maximise potential at a time when there is pressure on the authorities to ensure development continues. Challenges for the construction industry The Construction Industry faces a number of challenges and the Ar- chitectural Profession must align itself with the solutions that overcome these. Will Brexit mean that there will be a skills shortage in the UK as some suggest? The lower value of the pound brings higher material costs and therefore greater efficiency in their use. Continuing the drive for greater efficiency, less waste, more offsite construction, safer working environments, greater fiscal certainty, more stringent programming and so on calls for the use of greater levels of technology. It is no longer sufficient for an Architectural student to be able to draw, they must be able to use complex design tools such as Revit that can be used to produce complex Building Information Models (BIM) that in turn can be used to integrate the development and build processes – the challenge for the profession is to embrace this, work with the construction profession and continue to create the type of infra- structure and environment that we can be proud of – no mean feat. I would finish by saying that the architectural profession has much to offer agents, funds, developers and clients – good architecture which we all aspire to, must balance: • Design; • Economics; • Social contribution; • Environmental responsibility; • Personal experience and; What we at NORR call INTELLIGENT ARCHITECTURE Name: Neil Davidson Company: Managing Director – Business Development Email: [email protected] Web Address: www.norr.com Address: Percy House, 8th Floor, Percy Street, Newcastle NE1 4PW Telephone: +44 (0) 191 222 1116