“Iconic structures” is the topic I am going to choose for my thesis. This topic will discuss many issues that are currently influencing the construction of new buildings. It is therefore relevant now and the results of the findings can inform future projects.
When dealing with iconic buildings, there are a number of resilience issues that have to be dealt with. These issues are best addressed in the project and procurement management. The resilience issues include, use of the building and green features. Many iconic structures the world over have only a single use. It is up to the designer to be creative to ensure that the building remains resilient over time. For example, soccer stadiums can be used to host concerts and public rallies in addition to their designed use.
Many stakeholders do not fully understand the implications of an iconic building. Clients may want to have an iconic building but they are not aware of the other factors, which will affect them after the building is complete. For example, a client may want to use a structure as an office but it ends up attracting more visitors than they had predicted.
The procurement route chosen by the client has an impact on the delivery of iconic structures. Many iconic structures tend to be expensive to construct. The people who fund the project must be made to understand the costs. When using construction management, the Scottish parliament took over the roles it could have outsourced to contractors. Depending on the project, it is possible for one procurement route to be successful in one scenario and unsuccessful in another.
There has been a rapid increase of iconic structures especially in the Middle East. In the world, a few iconic buildings are unique and are used to identify a city. For example, the statue of liberty in New York, the Eiffel tower in Paris and the Sydney opera house in Sydney. An iconic structure is easily identifiable and this is the reason why there are many iconic buildings coming up in the Middle East.
The competencies needed to manage an iconic project are design and timely delivery of the project. A structure must be unique in design and built well in order to be iconic. This needs the manager to be highly creative and adaptive because they are likely to encounter situations that have not been experienced before. Many projects are judged as successes if they are delivered on time. Therefore, the manager has to be able to deliver the project in time.
References
Jencks, C. (2005). The iconic building. New York, NY: Rizzoli.
