OzSpurs

When I was a wee lad success for Tottenham was finishing fourth from bottom. Seriously; 50,000 to see a 4-2 victory against Leeds to avoid relegation in 1975 was one of the best atmospheres ever at the Lane. That was a Wednesday night if I recall correctly and back then Saturday games always kicked off at 3pm.

This has as all changed in the era of the Premier League with games now spread across the weekend and played at all times of the day. I suspect that many of our homeland fans are oblivious to the reason for this but those of us who have spread our wings and fled the cosy nest of N17 will be acutely aware – it’s called global reach. And no club reaches globally better than the mighty Spurs.

The intrepid 5 disciples from Sydney did their best to raise awareness of the distant cousins that go by the name of Ozspurs when they were presented to the crowd at the end of last season, courtesy of Under Armour. (And a great trip it was too I understand – not that I’m jealous - Bastards!). Even so, I reckon those observing over their half time Bovril will still not have a clue what it is like to support your team at a distance of 10,562 miles.

They would be amazed to hear that for the recent Chelsea game a bar in not the most salubrious part of Sydney was so full of Spurs fans that late arrivals like myself could barely get through the door. And that the full repertoire of songs was to be heard, including joyously proclaiming the religious allegiance for which the club is known and casting aspersions on the character of our great rival’s manager, suggesting why he might carry a bag of sweets in his pocket.

Recreating the atmosphere of the Lane is great fun and enjoyed by all, including bemused looking passers-by, and often Spurs supporters who are simply passing through Sydney and have discovered the whereabouts of the Triple Ace on the internet. Normally the latter are the most excited of all, “just what I was hoping for” being a common reaction.

There is something quite tribal about football supporters and to experience the unquestioning friendship from members of the great global tribe that follows Tottenham Hotspur is to feel at home wherever you might be. Long may that be the case and long may the most far flung yet passionate overseas Spurs supporters club thrive at its spiritual home in Sydney and across this lucky country that we call home.

#COYS #THFC #Yiddarmy!

In Praise of the Man Hug

People watching is an entertaining pursuit in my part of Sydney. I love the diversity of shapes, sizes, fashions, ethnicities, tats and bodily accoutrements that it reveals. I guess outward appearances reveal how people want to be perceived although sometimes I am not sure whether those with the most striking look are intending to draw attention to themselves or create a facade to hide behind.

Either way it is observation of their behaviours that reveals most about people and two recent such observations have brought to mind a subject that I have been pondering for some time; that of the man hug.

When I was young I don’t recall often seeing men embrace, other than in celebration of a goal. The disinhibiting effect of scoring at football seems to increase the higher the quality of football being played, I certainly didn’t receive much by way of physical congratulation when I scored my one (yes one!) goal for the Pittwater Over 35’s Grade 7 team this year. I suspect my team-mates were too shocked to know how to react. Celebrations in the Premier League on the other hand sometimes resemble some sort of weird fancy dress orgy-on-the-run.

Anyway, back to Glebe. Whilst out for a late Sunday morning breakfast with Tracy recently a young man arrived to sit at a nearby table and was subsequently joined by what I assume to have been his parents. On his arrival the father kissed his son on the head, a genuine and endearing show of affection, indeed a beautiful moment. Tracy asked me if I kiss my son, which on reflection I had to concede that I don’t, although I do hug him when we meet and when we depart. Hugging your son is the easiest man hug, the entry level if you like.

Whilst sat in a traffic jam recently we noticed two families on the pavement who, having spent time together, were setting off in different directions. The young sons from each family were being instructed by their fathers in how to shake hands and then to do that kind of  bump shoulders half-hug thing that seems to have become popular. Both boys were suitably embarrassed although it was not clear whether this was caused by the half-hug or the fact that they didn’t really like each other anyway and were only there in the first place on family duty.

Personally I think the half-hug shoulder bump thing is an acceptable half way house although I do like the way that young men now often seem more than happy to go for the full embrace with their good friends. I don’t know to what extent cultural differences between the stiff upper lippers of my country of origin and the more laid back lifestyle in my adopted country are behind the greater prevalence of the man hug that I now perceive. I hope that the young men of North London are now freely showing their affection for their fellow man with a full on bear hug at every opportunity, but somehow I doubt it.

Louis Armstrong’s take on people watching convinced him that men shaking hands, saying “how do you do” were really saying “I love You”. I hope he is right but if that is what they were really saying then wouldn’t a hug have been more appropriate? As for me, I have become comfortable with giving male friends a hug and I would encourage others to do the same. It breaks down barriers and creates a level of emotional engagement that most men would benefit from. That’s not to say that you can’t still talk about beer and football. Now, let me talk you through my goal…

Seeing Stars (Upon Thars)

Fans of Dr Seuss who have looked past the Cat in the Hat may be familiar with the story of the inept Sneetches and the competitive instincts aroused between those with ‘stars upon thars’ and those whose bellies are not so endowed.

I wonder whether the great and the good of the green building movement in Australia have been inspired by this story when developing the ubiquitous range of rating systems now in play. Not for them the American Olympian scale – silver, gold (and platinum even), nor the quintessentially British ‘good’, ‘very good’ and ‘excellent’ (I rather prefer ‘exceedingly good’ but Poms will know that this accolade has been requisitioned by Mr Kipling in praise of his cakes). No, in Australia stars are the thing.

No-one can doubt the extraordinary strides that the Green Building Council of Australia has made in moving the green building agenda forward apace and their Green Stars have undoubtedly aroused the competitive instincts of the country’s property industry. So far, so good. But what happens when the number of star rating systems available reaches a point that confuses all but the most dedicated ESD star gazer?

Consider the case of a hypothetical developer seeking to construct a major mixed use development  – commercial, residential and retail - in Sydney. In a desire to do the right thing by the environment and win accolades for their progressive design credentials (not to mention garnering favour with the planning authorities) this developer wants to commit to getting a few stars under his belt. But what stars are we be talking about? And how many are enough?

Well the commercial element of the scheme would be covered by the Office Design Green Star rating tool (6 stars available), now Version 3, the Office As Built Green Star rating tool (6 stars), also Version 3, and the Office Interiors Version 1.1 (5 stars). The developer may chose to make a NABERS Energy (formerly ABGR) commitment (5 stars) during design and achieve an operational rating once the building is in use (5 stars). Similar NABERS ratings are available for Water, Indoor Environment Quality and Waste (5 stars each). OK, so that’s 42 stars up for grabs for the offices.

Now lets consider the residential component. The Multi Unit Residential Pilot Green Star tool promises the prospect of up to 6 stars when Version 1 is released. The NSW planning authorities require our developer to further demonstrate the environmental credentials of the scheme by achieving the required Basix score in the categories of water, thermal comfort and energy. Sadly no stars available but you do get a certificate which you can put on the wall. Cunningly though, buried within the energy part of the Basix assessment is the need to model the energy performance of each dwelling type. We can use a tool called Accurate to do this, which awards up to 10 stars per dwelling! Let’s not be greedy, we will just call that 10 stars. So the residential component of the development gains us up to a further 16 stars.

With the Green Star Retail Centre tool having just been released a further 6 stars are available for the shopping centre and the (pilot) Mixed Use Tool offers the opportunity for our developer to gain an overall rating for the development as a whole, giving up to 6 more stars.

In all I make that 70 stars available to our environmentally conscious developer. With NABERS in the process of developing their own tools for multi-unit residential and retail centres (water and energy – 5 stars each) that’s another 20 stars in the pipeline and we’re rapidly approaching the 100 star mark. That seems like a target that is just too big to ignore!

It all amounts to work for the burgeoning ESD profession and who could say that’s not a good thing in these employment hungry times? But I can’t help wondering whether we aren’t all going a bit ‘star crazy’.

Now the moral of the story for the Sneetches is that whether or not they have a star adorned belly is at the end of the day not relevant (although the guy selling stars, and star removals, does very well out of the whole exercise). I suspect the same will end up being true of our buildings – when everyone is starred up and no-one knows any more what stars really mean (most don’t already) we will simply end up with good buildings and bad buildings, just as we always have.

Interview for AIRAH (Sorry, all about me)

What is your job title? What are you responsibilities from day to day?

I am a Principal at Arup and leader of our building services team in Sydney. With 60 staff to look after there is a fair amount of management to be done but I also make sure that I stay involved in project work. In addition I lead building services engineering for Arup across the Australasia Region which involves developing business strategy and working with senior colleagues across the region to make sure that we are effectively sharing our skills, knowledge and resources.

What are you passionate about?

Leadership. I worked out early in my career that the easiest way to be successful is to surround yourself with great people and bask in the reflected glory of their achievements! Seriously though I am really passionate about building teams of people with complementary skills and creating an environment in which they can thrive and do great work. Good teams are then self sustaining provided you create a culture of generosity and meritocracy.

What has been your finest professional hour?

At my previous practice in the UK we designed and built our own headquarters. It was a little gem of a building in a rural setting and an early example of innovative sustainable design. Winning the Office Building of the Year at the Building Services Awards for that building when we were up against a range of much larger and higher profile buildings was a pretty special moment.

What important lessons have you learned in your career?

As a consulting engineer I consider that I am providing a professional service to my clients, which to me goes beyond a contractual or commercial arrangement. With the consolidation that has occurred in the consulting engineering market I fear that some of the big players are becoming very corporate in their approach, which I am not comfortable with.

 I have learned that in our work no single person can achieve much without a team of others with diverse and complementary skills around them - not only other consultants but contractors, sub-contractors, suppliers, tradesmen and so on. Collaboration is the key to success but is often sadly lacking in the way our industry works.

I have also learned the value of acting with integrity and authenticity. Sometimes things don’t go to plan, mistakes are made, and disputes arise. In these circumstances it is important for me to be able to lie in bed and know that I acted honorably and was fair in how I treated others. In my experience taking this approach tends to facilitate solutions and achieve better outcomes in any case.

 Whom do you most admire?

I have always admired Mike Brearley, the former England cricket captain. Actually a pretty mediocre batsman by international standards but held his place in the team purely on his leadership skills and ability to get the best out of those around him, most notably one I.T.Botham.

Professionally I have had the good fortune to work under a number of leaders who I have admired and who have helped mentor me through different stages of my career.

Dream sabbatical?

Joining the Barmy Army for an England tour of the West Indies. I am proud to say that I became an Australian citizen recently but I still draw the line when it comes to cricket!

What is your motto?

I wouldn’t say I have one but I do like Sartre’s “We are our choices” – the idea that we are defined by the choices we make. People sometimes say to me “don’t you feel lucky to live in Australia” and I think, well, lucky to have the opportunity maybe, but I chose to live here.

What has been your greatest personal achievement?

My two children, George and Anna, fine young people and a source of great pride to me.

 What is your favourite book?

Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. It’s about what gives something ‘quality’ and the notion that rationality and romanticism are not mutually exclusive.

Favourite film?

Reign Over Me.  I like films that either make me laugh or make my cry and this one did both, which was a bit embarrassing when I first saw it courtesy of Qantas in-flight entertainment!

Favourite website?

I look at the BBC News site and the Sydney Morning Herald app every day. I also love TED for inspirational videos and Flixster to check out the latest movies.

How would you describe yourself?

I see myself as a building services engineer (ie not mechanical/electrical/hydraulic/ESD, etc.) I was always taught to work from first principles to develop appropriate design strategies so I tend to make sure the fundamentals are right before taking interest in the detail.

Being an engineer I am naturally more logical than emotional although I try hard to understand people and be an effective leader. I am pretty even tempered and considered in what I do and being well on the way to fifty have a fair amount of experience under my belt.

What is success to you?

Personally the concept of success has changed for me over the years. It used to be about climbing the slippery pole of professional achievement, now it is about enjoying every day as it comes and making a positive connection with those around me, be they friends, colleagues, professional peers or clients.

As an organization Arup measures success by the quality of our design work, the satisfaction that our staff derive from working in our firm and the feedback we get from our clients. We know that commercial success follows from getting all of these things right, which is a different model to most commercial organizations who typically put pursuit of the dollar first.

Letter to CIBSE Journal (preGFC)

I am grateful to my old pal ‘Carbon Coach’ Dave Hampton for highlighting the quality of sustainable design that is currently going on in Australia (letters 08/01). He is perhaps only half right though when he states that these successes result from ‘shipping the best the profession has to offer over to Australia and back’.  Designing sustainable buildings in a beautiful country with a booming economy - why go back? Form an orderly queue….

Unsticky Bath

In my University days I had the good fortune to live and study in Bath, a City renowned for its architectural beauty and world heritage status. The University campus itself however was a relatively modern facility, certainly not a contributor to the heritage of the City (at least at that time although, like me, it has aged a bit since then) and some would say not a thing of architectural beauty, or at least not the traditionalists who favour the style of John Wood (senior and junior), the architectural Godfathers of Georgian Bath.

The designers of the original campus buildings had the freedom of a green field site to work with and chose to create a composition of discrete academic buildings, accessed from a large common circulation podium, with the library at the centre and a residential tower at each end. An urban composition foreshadowing the ‘mixed use’ concept so familiar today. This worked well in the daytime when the podium was alive with book laden students scurrying from one building to another, but died at night when the stark qualities of the student union bar paled against the charms of the city nightlife. The campus lacked ‘stickiness’.

I wonder what the designers of today would come up with if the campus had not been created in the 1960’s but was still a green hill top about to be bestowed with a brand new campus by a government keen to dip into the public purse for the benefit of future generations, as unlikely a proposition as this question might seem in the current economic climate.

They might have started by questioning whether a site remote from the attractions of the City itself, be they social or commercial, was the best place to be. Modern universities cannot be an island. For sure the mix of spaces would be different – less rooms with four walls, less raked lecture theatres and definitely less rooms full of hard wired computer terminals housing battery hen students tapping away learning source code (oh Fortran, the hours we spent together…).

Now we understand that the gold lies in the grey areas and overlaps that exist between the faculties and between the university and the wider community. Complex problems need multi-disciplinary thinking and collaborative working; this mirrors the world that graduates will enter and need to be prepared for. Digital native, technology enabled students have information on tap wherever and whenever they choose; facilitating the technology is the easy bit. The challenge in today’s environment is to break down the barriers, be they physical, psychological or indeed political, to facilitate an open source anytime/anywhere approach to learning.

The course I studied at Bath pioneered multi-disciplinary education in building design through the Joint School of Architecture and Building Engineering. Much of what we learnt focused on passive design; the use of sun, light, heat and air flow, harnessed through an appreciation of architecture to produce spaces that delight and engage whilst using these natural resources to create comfortable, low energy environments. In fact, just the sort of spaces that we need to be creating to engender collaborative working and stickiness in today’s campus environment.

From Competition to Collaboration

I’m a sports fan. When Gareth Bale finishes a dazzling run with another goal for Tottenham Hotspur, or Brett Stewart runs in a try for Manly at Fortress Brookvale, I’m up out of my seat punching the air. I understand the lure of competition; it’s a primal need met, the thrill of the chase, and the satisfaction of the win. Sport is competition and competition, for me should be about sport.

In business though I’m not so sure. I certainly feel that thrill when positioning for a project; getting on the bid list, preparing a proposal, presenting expertise at interview and the buzz of getting that call to say “you’re on”. So far, so good. But quickly the doubts start to creep in – did we under-price the job? Can we meet the client’s expectations and still turn a profit? Margins are tight, fees are low.

When the folly of rampant capitalism and unchecked commercial competition came to hit us all in the face in 2008 it brought about a global shock that you would have thought would have made us stop in our tracks and look for a better way (except of course that it had all happened before and the lessons remained unlearnt ). The aftershocks have continued and even in the relatively sheltered economic conditions that Australia has enjoyed the construction industry has seen a series of failures of significant builders and sub-contractors. Consultants have soldiered on through even tighter fee competition that is fuelling a commercialisation of our profession and leaving staff and clients alike increasingly underwhelmed.

But there is a better way. It’s called collaboration.

As a Principal at Arup I am pretty convinced that I can call upon the expertise of the finest collection of engineers and specialists that any global organisation has assembled. Our record stands for itself. But I also know that we don’t have a monopoly on the best ideas. Whisper it quietly but… there may be some things that other consultants do better than us. And for sure there are some projects that are just too large, complex and high risk for us to take on ourselves. In these circumstances we collaborate with our peers.

As a building services engineer I know how reliant we are on the expertise of the whole supply chain to get our designs turned into reality. I don’t want to have to pretend that my opinions the best just because “I’m the consultant“ and spend my energies arguing with the sub-contractor even though their views are perfectly valid. And let’s be honest sub-contractors know a lot more about the practical challenges of actually installing and commissioning systems than consultants.

Projects should be a collaboration between Clients, Consultants, Main Contractors, Sub-contractors and Suppliers. The process should be designed such that each party adds maximum value whilst respecting the necessity of a fair commercial return for all concerned. This has to create a better outcome for the client than a series of dumb price driven competitive processes to get everyone on board at the tightest possible margins followed by arguments over cost-cutting and variations.

I am currently working on a project where an informed client procured a consultant team considered best for the job and had appointed a Main Contractor before the DA had even been submitted. We had access to key sub-contractors during the design process and benefited from their value engineering input as we developed the design. They are now undertaking design finalisation on a D&C basis, hand in hand with our engineers and with the objective not of points scoring or cheapening the scheme for commercial advantage but  of creating the best outcome for the client in a collaborative manner. Not only do I genuinely believe that the client will get a better result from this process but it has been one of the most enjoyable projects I can remember being involved in.

Clients in the private sector have choices in how they set up their projects and the gains are there to be had if they are bold enough to do things differently. In the public sector the spectre of probity acts as a deterrent and we need even braver and more visionary leadership to break the mould and demonstrate how collaborative processes can be achieved using fair and transparent procurement.

For our economy to thrive it needs a stable and secure construction industry operating efficiently and delivering a quality product. By demonstrating collaborative behaviours throughout the supply chain we have the opportunity to show that there is a better way and to thereby encourage our clients to believe that simple competitive tendering of services, be it in consulting or in contracting, is not the best way to achieve a successful and enjoyable project.

Doing so may be easier said than done however. In the world of work, and certainly in the construction industry, we like to live in our heads, making rational decisions that we believe will create the best outcomes in a measured and logical manner. In reality we are driven as much by our emotions and in a competitive environment we tend towards the alpha male (or female) emotions of fear and anger. Collaborative processes on the other hand require us to adopt a more emotionally intelligent approach involving generosity, support, mutual respect, even being prepared to expose our weaknesses and vulnerabilities in pursuit of a better experience and result for all. A humanistic approach we might call it.

Andrew Pettifer is a Building Services Engineer, Arup Principal and Tottenham Hotspur Supporter. Twitter @andrewpettifer