By 2050, two-thirds of all humanity — approximately 6.5 billion people — will live in urban environments. Yet the sustainable development of new cities cannot be achieved without significantly revolutionising the way we build and manage our urban spaces. That is one of the major opportunities for the region of NEOM, thanks to the scale and investment in the construction of its large infrastructure projects, including THE LINE, Oxagon, and Trojena.
But that alone is not enough. It is mindset we also need to change.
Yes, the construction industry is adopting new technology at a rapid pace. However, new technologies won’t make a significant impact if old beliefs and practices are not also replaced. This is why we’re building NEOM with partners who seek to develop and adopt a new mindset. These firms – here in Saudi Arabia and internationally – share our vision for the sustainable development of the sector and the chance to reset and reshape our global industry.
There are lessons to be learned from other industries that have developed continuous manufacturing processes with modularisation, allowing for flexible production lines. The car industry is a good example. Each vehicle rolling off an assembly line is different in hundreds of ways, but they are manufactured in a continuous environment. In contrast, designers in our industry are almost universally convinced that their vision is unique. This ripples into the design principles resulting in bespoke building approaches that are then immune to best practices in production techniques.
Which is why at NEOM we are anchoring design on structural kits that seem obvious in retrospect but are difficult to imagine in prospect. To us, structure is structure, while form carries the uniqueness. If we can convert what is currently a bespoke construction process into something that is more productised and continuous, then we can start to improve outputs – both here at NEOM and for future urban projects around the world.
Take another example: sites themselves. We put up with large, unsightly, emission-intensive construction sites as a taken-for-granted assumption about the built environment. At NEOM our sites are the equivalent of keyhole surgery, that will “roll up” and travel as construction takes place. By the time construction is complete the evidence of the construction will have vanished.
This change in mindset allows us to save precious resources such as time, steel, concrete, and overall natural capital. It’s easy to pronounce this intention, but as our teams will attest, challenging to adopt. But change we must.
The complexity and speed at which we are trying to build everything, whether it’s the port facility at Oxagon or large-scale tourism assets like Trojena, means we can’t work conventionally. Time, geography, and location mean we must transcend conventional approaches and innovate to deliver. We must transform the supply chain while scaling major developments that the world has already generated – whether it’s through digital design, environmental social and governance (ESG) commitments, materials decarbonisation or whole-lifecycle digital management.
We’re often asked about what we’re looking for in our partnerships, whether that be investors or contractors. As the reader will gather from the above, the answer is as much about attitude as it is about attributes. Two companies can have similar capabilities. We will choose the one with a constructive, positivist attitude about change. It’s important to emphasize these requirements to those who see themselves as potentially being partners in this ecosystem, working with us and being part of rapid growth in this region. Some will invest, build capacity in-country and all these models are welcome.
There will be ways of engaging and maintaining presence, of contributing ideas and propositions; of responding to requirements. At this early stage we are signalling our intentions, and openness to those who are open to invest in learning more about NEOM – and investing in our challenge of overcoming outdated industry beliefs.
Yes, these are exhilarating times with much to do. And by leveraging the unprecedented opportunity posed to us thanks to the 4th Industrial Revolution, coupled with strong industry collaborations, we will deliver the vision of NEOM that the world awaits.
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