What’s in a name?

With that title, I clearly had to begin with the most famous sonnet Juliet ever spoke to her Romeo in the timeless Shakespearean tragedy. “That which we call a rose / By any other name would smell as sweet.” While roses continue to smell like roses whether you’re a Montague or a Capulet, in the brand-happy Middle Eastern building industry, things are a little different.

In this month’s feature article It’s All About the Name, Jamie Stewart waxes cynical about whether or not facilities bearing the hippest, hottest, most recognisable names are, in fact, living up to their pre-launch mantras. Designed and branded to set benchmarks in luxury, style, technology, architecture or environmentally-friendliness, if I’m a celebrity, I’ve got to wonder whether or not my PR team is using my name to promote things that are too good to be true. And, if I’m an FM, I’ve got to wonder if my clients’ optimism is just a clever use of timely banter.

Tiger Woods is building his first golf course in Dubai. Coming from the world’s greatest golfer, perhaps it makes sense for him to venture into designing courses. Jack Nicklaus, Greg Norman, Ernie Els and Arnold Palmer all did it so a precedent exists and it’s a golfer designing a golf course. Fair enough.

But, Michael Schumacher, Boris Becker, Niki Lauda and Pele have all launched what will most likely be very average projects donning—at least in their day—very big names. I just don’t see what developers hope to gain other than a flash-in-the-pan media frenzy.

Just as Juliet asked about Romeo—Were he not Romeo called, would he retain that dear perfection without the title?—I ask developers. What shortcomings does that big name conceal? How mundane would your project be if you took away its branding? Perhaps most importantly, when your tower fails to produce the inflated ROI you projected because of its brand, at who will you point the finger of blame? FMs?

To be fair, Tiger Woods probably knows a bit about golf courses and he’ll probably do a suitable job of designing his first one. But, someone please explain to me, considering all of this ‘branded architecture’ promises to include their eponymous brands in the design—what does a tennis player, a footballer and a couple of F1 drivers know about architecture, construction or engineering?

FMs beware; efficient building performance is about sound design principles from concept to delivery and when amateurs are asked to consult, the result will be amateurish. Designing an F1 track? Gimme Schumacher or Lauda. A tennis court? I’ll take Becker. A football pitch? Pele’s my guy. But a building? In that case, much like Juliet, ‘tis but a name that is my enemy.

Jeffrey Roberts is the editor of facilities management Middle East.

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