David vs. Goliath

How smaller architecture firms are keeping themselves competitive in the new Middle East.

They’re the Davids to the industry’s Goliaths. They’re the little guys. If the Fosters, Genslers and HOKs are the super-sized meals, they’re the small fries—just as delicious, just in shorter supply. They’re the firms that go unnoticed until they sneak up and snatch a lucrative contract from the big boys.

Every market has an amalgamation of large, mid-level and smaller architecture firms but in the Middle East—where master plans are larger than life and price tags often creep into the hundreds of millions of US dollars—the smaller firms face a unique set of challenges and, as Middle East Architect found out, employ myriad strategies to adapt and flourish in increasingly uncertain times.

Everyday challenges

The challenges faced by smaller architecture firms operating in the Middle East probably come a dime a dozen. For every challenge mentioned here, it can be assumed that two or three more have been overlooked or left off the list.

Perhaps the most difficult challenge faced is overcoming the stigma that is automatically attached to smaller firms. If I’m Joe Developer and I launch a competition to design a mixed-use community on a large parcel of land, it’s easy to wait for the massive firm with the comprehensive portfolio to submit something.

According to Ahmed Al Ali, executive chairman and co-founder of X-Architects, that ‘wait-for-the-sure-thing’ mentality is very prevalent in the region’s development community. “The big challenge is the perception that small firms don’t deliver as good a product as large firms,” he says. “Most of the large projects are earmarked for large firms with strong profiles.”

One of the most difficult pieces of that challenge, however, isn’t just convincing a developer to choose a small firm over a larger one, it’s making sure that the developer is familiar with the people or work of the small firm in the first place.

“New or solo practitioners lack the prestige and name recognition enjoyed by the more established firms,” explains Suhail MS Thabet, director of architecture for TRACE Design Studios. “[Small firms] have to exert more effort in bidding for and, ultimately, winning projects than the larger reputable competitors.”

Recruitment also tends to be particularly difficult for smaller firms, explains Supriya Fernandes, principal designer and architect at 3 Square. “Attracting and retaining qualified people especially when larger firms are also in the market for the same talent is particularly challenging.”

Attracting and retaining talented professionals doesn’t only come down to a firm’s name or penchant for recruitment, but also the sometimes confusing way labour laws operate in the Middle East.

“Another concern is with recruitment law in this region,” explains Thabet. “Employment law does not seem to recognize the need for temporary high quality staff, which is vital for the survival of practices with uncertain projections of future work.”

Another particularly difficult challenge for smaller firms is the inevitable fear of isolation. Within larger firms, it is quite common to call a standing-room-only design meeting just to brainstorm and inspire creativity. It is not uncommon for colleagues in a larger firm to compare ideas they used in a project in South America or saw at an exhibition in Europe or Asia, and then debate the appropriateness of those ideas for the Middle East.

But, in smaller firms, the potential for in-house collaboration can be fundamentally limited. “Ensuring our designers keep up to date with international design trends is crucial for us to compete with larger firms,” explains Fernandes. “Limited staff reduces the opportunity to share knowledge and seek guidance...but also reduces the opportunity to socialize and network within the industry,” adds Thabet.

Worried about the future?

With the weakened economy and resulting ferocity with which large firms are competing for all types of projects, it stands to reason that some of the region’s smaller firms might be worried about their own longevity or ability to compete.

But, according to many of the region’s smaller firms, the seemingly negative proposition of competing with larger, well-known firms in a conservative market with finite resources can be seen as a positive.

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