The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) is tailoring its trusted Plan of Work framework for Saudi Arabia
In conversation with Valerie Vaughan-Dick, CEO, Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA)
You are helping shape the Royal Institute of British Architects’ (RIBA) regional Plan of Work framework for Saudi Arabia. What prompted the need to adapt the traditional model, and what are the most significant differences between delivering projects in the UK and across the region that the framework must reflect?
RIBA’s presence in Saudi Arabia has increased over the past few years, in accordance with the number of members we have operating in the region. Through our discussions with members and other key stakeholders, we became aware of challenges surrounding the development process that we wanted to assist with.
In the UK, the RIBA Plan of Work is a guidance document that has been widely used by architecture and associated built-environment professions since the 1960s, and as a result the construction industry in the UK has matured alongside it.
This is not the case in Saudi Arabia, where we see professionals from all over the world working on projects within the kingdom but continuing to follow construction processes they have become used to in their own countries.
On one hand, it’s great that robust systems are being implemented, however, on the other, this can become confusing across multiple projects, with multiple stakeholders, where handover points and reporting lines become blurred.
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) RIBA Plan of Work aims to fix this by offering the construction ecosystem within the country a standalone process document that has been developed based on the nuances of the kingdom and the projects being delivered.
Projects across the Middle East increasingly combine infrastructure, real estate and technology platforms within a single programme. How does an adapted framework accommodate that level of integration – and how do procurement cultures in the region influence stage definitions and deliverables, particularly in Saudi Arabia?
We are fortunate that over 60 years ago, our predecessors set out a framework that has been robust enough to stay relevant. As new processes and technological changes have taken place, we have had to carefully manage this and, almost 15 years ago, we restructured the Plan of Work to enable it to better adapt to changing global procurement practices.
In this new guide, we have focused on ensuring its applicability beyond the individual building project to the largest programmes of work in the region.
We take a master-planning approach to the eight work stages that enable many individual projects to be carried out within the large programme, with infrastructure running as a spine throughout the process.
The stage definitions are fundamentally the same in this guide as in the UK equivalent, so those who are familiar with it will not need to pick up something new, but we have identified key roles – such as the architect of record and the design guardian, and how these differ from the more established lead designer and lead consultant roles –
as well as key deliverables and information requirements that are unique to Saudi Arabia.
From building information modelling and integrated data environments through to digital twins and interoperability, how is the digital transformation reshaping how the Plan of Work should function – and how future-proof do developments across the Gulf need to be in this regard?
What is really exciting about the construction industry in Saudi Arabia is that the potential for industrialised construction really drives efficiency gains through continuous improvement across programmes of work. While the idea of this is not new, we have never seen it at the scale allowed by the kingdom’s ambitious vision.
There is great opportunity for investment in new processes and technically advanced delivery mechanisms in early projects that will allow for learning to improve the next projects, and for economies of scale to be mobilised, leading to much closer engagement with the supply chain as part of the project planning – rather than at the last minute, when construction products or larger assemblies need to be ordered.
Digital progress has of course been the key enabler in this changing industry, with professionals now supported by a plethora of artificial intelligence-enabled tools. While these have no impact on the Plan of Work structure, the services of professionals are changing rapidly, and we believe that being able to rely on a robust structure with appropriate deliverables and sign-off procedures will ensure that competent professionals are still the ultimate decision makers, not the tools themselves.
How can the framework help manage risk and governance on major programmes without stifling innovation – and are clients across the region showing appetite for greater standardisation, or is flexibility ultimately more important to them?
The aim of the KSA RIBA Plan of Work is to provide the construction sector with a consistent framework that can be referred to as a risk mitigation measure.
We have seen in markets such as the UK that having a consistent and widely adopted standard that people can work to has been of significant benefit to both government and private-sector projects.
With regards to innovation, the Plan of Work is not there to act as an inhibitor to innovation. On the contrary, the more clarity stakeholders across all aspects of the design and construction ecosystem have, the more scope they have to innovate at the concept or design commencement stages.
Our belief is that the appetite for clarity across Saudi Arabia is exactly what is being sought after by the various professions undertaking projects.
How can the framework actively support localisation goals and meaningful knowledge transfer to Saudi professionals, rather than simply being an imported model with local branding?
This is something that RIBA really prides itself on achieving, both within the kingdom and beyond. As a chartered institute, RIBA is committed to not only qualifying architects, but also to supporting them – and other built-environment professionals – on their lifelong continuous professional development (CPD) journeys.
As evidenced by our recent and inaugural delivery of our Design Leadership Programme, delivered alongside the Architecture & Design Commission, RIBA is committed to upskilling Saudi nationals to help them achieve their vision for the future.
In essence, RIBA is committed to supporting the professionals working in Saudi Arabia, be they nationals or expatriates from around the globe.
In this regard, I am pleased to announce that following the launch of the KSA RIBA Plan of Work, we will also be launching a localised training programme on the Overlay in June. Not only will this be a fantastic product for organisations to use as an onboarding tool, it will also be a vital product for architecture and construction professionals at every level to undertake as an upskilling exercise and CPD.
If we revisit this conversation in five years, what changes do you expect to see in how architecture and engineering teams collaborate across the region?
I truly believe that a joined-up approach to architecture, engineering and the built environment is essential. Consistency across projects is key, and operating in a collaborative manner will help governments and developers obtain tangible projects that are delivered on time, within budget and at a quality that all parties agree on.
A good way to picture this is to compare it to football and the World Cup. A rather “on point” topic given the pending stadiums scheduled for delivery in Saudi Arabia for 2034. As you know, the game of football is played in countries across the world, from Brazil to Australia. This is great, and if each country wanted, they could quite easily play an inter-country game in accordance with their own set of rules. Would it make football any less popular if this were the case? The answer is no, probably not. The fans would still attend, and tickets and shirt sales would still take place. The problem would only arise when the game reaches the World Cup. Inconsistent rules across varying countries would result in chaos, and most likely the World Cup would cease to exist. By standardising the rules, all participants playing the game are starting from a “level playing field”. The players know what they can and can’t do, and the fans know what to expect.
The build environment is in some respects the same as a game of football … the more transparency and consistency we can help bring to the built environment profession, the better and more stable that profession will be. The KSA Overlay to the RIBA Plan of Work is the start of this and I am very much looking forward to revisiting this conversation in five years’ time to see how things have changed.
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