By: Max Crampton-Thomas
2 min read June 2020 —Global design and engineering firm Stantec likes to think beyond traditional traits to focus on building communities, Senior Principal Andrew Burnett told Invest: Miami in an interview. The company goal is to deliver continuity while protecting diversity and creative thinking. Stantec calls it “cultural resilience.”
What recent Stantec landmarks in the Miami-Dade region would you like to share?
Recent landmark projects in full swing include Wynwood Square, a 12-story mixed-use facility that includes apartments and retail space; the 30-story YotelPAD Miami condo and hotel project under construction; and a 43-story Luma tower in Miami’s Worldcenter. And there are a lot of new projects to be announced soon and currently coming on board. Each asset within our portfolio contributes to our growth in the creative services space, beyond architecture and interior design, but also engineering and resilience. We think beyond traditional physical traits and focus on how our vast team builds our communities and what we create so there is continuity in our lives and the spaces we inhabit and to ensure that we protect diversity and creative thinking. We call it cultural resilience.
How has your emphasis on cultural resilience unlocked your success?
From a business perspective, a model that focuses on a single person is inherently limited to that individual. Whereas a business with tremendous expertise and resources in multiple channels, like Stantec, focuses on collaboration and the bandwidth to achieve more. When we empower people and foster collaboration, we are able to affect more positive change, get more involved in opportunities and better affect our clients’ bottom line.
How would you rate local industry efforts on environmental resilience?
There is a significant level of agreement across the industry related to what we are facing and where we need to go. It is only a matter of how and there are varying perspectives to harness. Our government agencies, utilities, partners, clients, insurance agencies and lenders all commonly understand the need to mitigate prevalent risks and maintain our quality of life. There is power in the collective movement and I am optimistic about our future and path.
What opportunities and innovations can we expect from the post-COVID-19 period?
There is a shift of trust and working in a different way. It may pose opportunities to bring in industry experts who normally could not access a project in South Florida. Now, they can have an influence and we can tap into knowledge we may not have been able to tap into before. Companies can even attract a different type of workforce that we could not attract before by operating with new flexibility. Also, we take proximity for granted and do not always make the best use of our time because of it. When it is an amenity or a luxury, you make better use of it.
What will 2020-21 look like for Stantec and Miami-Dade?
We have been quite busy, which is a reflection of the busy private development market. Projects are moving forward and the entire development community is gearing up for when the play button is pressed. In 2009, during the H1N1 outbreak, we established a pandemic committee, granting us an effective way to respond quickly to the pandemic and set up a remote work setting. Fast forward to today: Our productivity levels have allowed us to meet established deadlines and keep projects moving forward, continuing business as usual. Our current outlook for 2021 does not project significant levels of interruption. We want to continue to support that in any way we can.
To learn more, visit:
https://www.stantec.com/en
