The Architecture of Greatness

The glare of the sun, the suffocating heat and humidity of Jeddah at highnoon advise one to be sane and away from the outdoors.

Still, as I wiped the

sweat off my face and shaded my forehead with my hand to get a clear view,I was brought to awe at a structure thatwould soon stand as a monument toarchitecture in the Kingdome I live in.

Underneath poles, exposed blocks of cement and shields of plywood were the foundations of the new ZuhairFayez Partnership (ZFP) office, but I amnot about to review this building; norwill I take you through the marvels ofits construction process.

The story I will share is of a journey through the life ofa role model; a man who has set thefoundation for any designer to feel sheor he can succeed to accomplish greatmilestones and build a creative business empire. After twelve enthralling years ofexperience in the United States, Architectand Engineer Zuhair Hamed Fayezset his eyes on an ambitious future in Saudi Arabia.

‘It was 1975 and opportunity was knocking on hisdoor. A wise man wouldseize that opportunity tostart building his ambition:The largest and most respectedarchitectural firm inthe Middle East. Fayez didexactly that.’

The country, at the time, was booming with projects. Fayez, in retrospect, was qualified with two undergraduate degrees,a masters, a doctorate in progress,and three years of practical experience from two US firms. Arch. Zuhair Fayeztook his first project, a home. The rest ishistory constantly in the making.

Today, Arch. Zuhair Fayez’s dream is realized, but not without obstacles.

I was determined on this - not so friendly - summer afternoon to cut through cranes and poles, enter the finished part of his office andfind out what any aspiring entrepreneur in the fields of architecture ordesign would be dying to know: how did he do it? Once, I entered hisfully furbished office, I began to assume the answers, some of which Iwas right to realize, others completely surprised me…

THE AXIS OF FASCINATION ARCHES TOWARDS THE AXIS OF EXECUTION:

Once in his office, I was greeted by the cool comfort of its vast interior space and the warm handshake and regal approach of Arch.

Zuhair Fayez himself. Fayez began by inspecting the cleanliness of his spectacles,adjusting his already perfect posture and offer precise hand gestureswith every point he made. It was hard not to pay attention to his vividly told story about where it all began.

As Fayez spoke, I was immediately taken to a corner of his childhood home, where I would seea small boy collecting planks of wood from fruit crates with a twinkleof excitement in his eye and an ambition to build something out of rawmaterial. This boy would break the fruit crate into pieces, saw them intothe shape he liked and, “Bang, bang, bang with the hammer I would go. Soon enough, those pieces of wood transform into tables, chairsand small houses.

” Fayez expressed as we discussed the birth of his life’s passion, architecture. “Of course, my family were not too thrilledwith the loud noises, so I found an empty room at the far corner of ourhouse to use as my work area.” Clearly, I was no longer worried aboutgetting regular answers to predictable warm up questions. Every statementhe made was engaging and insightful. I soon asked him about hisone true role model,

“My inspiration came from the great master builders of historic Islamic empires.

During the Ottoman Empire, the Master Builder, Sinan Basha would handle projects from France to China while he was based in Istanbul,Turkey. This points to the fact that he was, not only a master builder, butalso a genius at leadership and management in a period of time whenthere were no advanced methods of communication, like we have today.”The hint was obvious: lack of technology is not an excuse.

He continued to describe how people today needed to remind themselves of key qualities. He states, “Will, skill, principles, attention to detail and determination are basicallywhat we need to build success. If a man Like Sinan can do it so can we .

” I was now interested in how he began realizing his passion. What was it like to actually live his dream of being anarchitect? “Well, it was a dream that was almost overlooked. During my last year of studyingstructural engineering at the University of Colorado in Denver, I decided to take a design coursein architecture for non-architects. All of a sudden, my childhood came back to me and so did the passion to design and build. While I graduated as an Engineer, I made it a point to acquire asecond degree in architecture and a masters in urban design, with the help of the dean of collegeof Arch At C.U.Denver; he was my second most inspirational person.”

While Fayez was preparing for his doctorate, he journeyed back to Saudi Arabia. An economic boom was on the rise at which the opportunity to build wide scale housing projects was high.

Luckily, Housing was his focus, and still is his passion. Fayez started to sign on vast projects that required him to create living spaces for large groups of people, “The Challenge is always how tobuild a housing community for people, who essentially do not have a say in how their individualhomes will look or feel like. How do you meet a criteria that is acceptable to all?” Fayez had theknow-how to build things right. His insistence on quality would be one of the most importantfactors in elevating his success against other architects in the Kingdom at that time, “You can’tcharge cheap and get quality, though. Never sell yourself short.

Clients are observant. When you give them a detailed drawing and use the best material they will respect your craft; therefore, dobusiness with you.”

THE TOOLS OF THE TRADE GO BEYOND IDEAS, MODELS AND DRAWING UTENSILS:

Arch. Zuhair Fayez’s aura of success can easily engulf anyone who actually takes the time to ask

him the right questions. One cannot resist the desire to act on ambition and find ways to succeed professionally.

I was learning from him, even before he spoke. This, already articulate individual, was more than ready to explain to me the ins and outs of starting out successfully.

1.Discipline and dedication:

whilst both can be viewed as two separate steps. Essentially, as Fayez would explain, the two go hand in hand.

“While I was working in the states, I noticed the employees arrived half an hour before time everyday, withoutfail. They would prep themselves, drink their coffee, goover their agendas and once the clock struck eight, itwas diligent dedicated work for the next eight hours ifnot more.” He would go on to explain, “This kind of attitudeand dedication builds discipline. It’s also why studentsin at the petroleum university, for example, rarelystruggle getting jobs.

Everyone knows that their life on campus revolves around discipline and dedication totheir work. This is also a principle I focused on whenestablishing Dar Al-Hekma Collage.” We would soon stumble upon ample examples, which are the unfortunatenorm in companies across Saudi Arabia - undisci plinedgroups of people that seem to be blocking out thededicated few. The result – lower productivity, slowergrowth on a micro/macro scale and, more importantly, alack of trust in an institution’s ability to deliver.

2.Faith and focus:

“What made the previous Islamic Empires thrive was a focus on their objectives which were routed in a solidfaith.” Of course once those empires started to loose fo cusand faith, their reign soon ended. “This example,” hewould add, “applies to any organization. When leadersof a firm or company lose focus on their objectives and start to get tempted with what strays them away fromtheir fundamental rules of ethics, that organization soonfinds itself tumbling down towards failure.”

3.Management and leadership skills:

Like the example given of the Master Builder Sinan, “leadership is a must in any organization. Even as individuals,we need to how learn how we can acquire leadershipand management skills.

Talent alone will not earn you success.” Naturally, I asked him if his organizationprovided management and leadership training, “I emphasizeon providing extensive training courses in suchmatters. How can I promote an employee to a higherlevel of responsibility when he or she cannot manageprojects or people?

Even as an entrepreneur in this business,you have to be able to market yourself, sell yourwork, bring in business and deal with different contractors.Without management and leadership skills, noneof that will be possible.

” He goes on to say that most of such skills can be learnt on the field as one gets their practical experience. The point of being on the groundhelps build this discipline, “From my first project I was on the ground with the construction workers, going everywhereto find the best material, even when it was not available here. I wanted to make sure every detail was to my satisfaction.”

4.Principles of inspiration, quality and following standards:

“One must find inspiration to build strong, successful work. One must also inspire his team in order to get the best out of them, especially when it comes tocreating quality work.

Every designer must be adamant about quality.” I personally, found this point to be true.In my own experience within the communications industry,when leaders of departments or projects don’tconstantly seek ways to inspire their team, the interestin the project deteriorates. With the enthusiasm to creatework, comes a set of rules and standards one mustfollow. “Unfortunately, there are not enough architectsin our country that follow building codes and standards.I’m not surprised at this, because the majority of universityinstructors, here in the kingdom, don’t teach theirstudents enough quality.

They haven’t had practical experience to do so., becasue they were not allowed todo so” What’s even more alarming is that most of theseinstructors have PHD’s. Then again, a PHD in this countryseems to be in abundance and not a good indicatorof abilities. He goes on to explain, “It’s not your degreethat counts; it’s what you do with it. I’ve given lecturesin over thirty universities throughout the United States.Seldom did I find people with a PHD in Architecture - unless, they specialized in research or architectural historyor the like.” Ultimately, Arch. Zuhair Fayez makes ita point to follow internationally set standards. “At ZFP,we’ve devised a book defining those standards and everyoneis responsible for following them.” ZFP has beenawarded ISO 9001, defined as the «Model for quality assurance in design, development, production, installationand servicing.»*

5.Creating Specialized Sections:

“In the past, master builders handled everything from design to planning and actual construction. These days,each part of an organization presents a specializedunit. That has proven to be pivotal in the success of aproject.” Why? “Assigning specialized departments towork on specific parts of the project encourages focus on each part, attention to detail; thus, a successful andcomplete result comes to life.

” Arch. Zuhair Fayez’s Architecturebusiness is split into five key departments: Ar chitectural– Planning – Interior Design – Landscaping –Project management. Each one completes and relies onthe other. Furthering these five rules, Fayez has given a lecture on The Five Parts to Innovative Work.

The lecturecovers the five points mentioned and uses the example of the old master builder as a point of reference.

modTHE MONUMENTS THAT GRACE OUR LAND:

Amidst our discussions of how the masters of the past tackled issues of space, lighting and ventilation, I asked Arch.Zuhair Fayez about his own projects. What does he, as an architect focus on? What was his favorite design? Does hestill, in a large thirty three-year-old organization with over 2500 employers, find time to get involved in the designprocess?

When it comes to his signature or mark on each design, Fayez had this to say, ”My signature in every design is the study of human behavior. All my designs and my architects’ designs must incorporate an understanding of humanbehavior.

During my doctorate studies, I spent two semesters learning nothing but the whys and hows of human beings.” The logic rung true in my mind, since, most of us have to live, work and spend hours occupying the spaceswe dwell in. he goes on to use an example, “you can’t build a tiny window…” he gestures a small box shape with his hands, “… on a large wall. And say: it makes sense.

Some level of logic and visual acceptance have to factor,especially if you want the people walking into your designed space to accept it.”

The point about human behavior led to how human beings feel comfortable in an occupied space. Thus, he went

on to say,“ Lighting, ventilation and space are all key focuses in any design my designers or I create.

Once again, if you go back to historical examples in old Arabian and Islamic architecture, you’ll find that natural lighting relied onreflections and candles at night.

In terms of ventilation, every room in a house was kept cool without an air condition,which also requires an understanding of space and material.” Arch. Zuhair Fayez talks about never giving a visualdead end. “I strongly believe in giving the eye a tour first.” From the moment you enter a building, you can see in alldirections, immediately knowing where to go.

” An example of such structures is the King Khalid University in Abha that will accommodate 55,000 students. He describes it as having, “beautiful environmental harmony.” He continuedto emphasize, “ We took advantage of the good climate that exists there to provide natural ventilation throughout thecampus area.” Parts of the university are already open. However, the entire project will take, approximately, three years to finish.

When it comes to his favorite project, Arch. Zuhair Fayez enthusiastically responded, “My house, of course!” Second to that, “Armco Mosque in theEastern province. Of course, like all dream projects, this one came with a fewobstacles. The initial design had a courtyard that had to be removed to make space for added worshipers.

” Fayez also wanted a specific stain glassmaker for the calligraphy on the windows, but had to settle with another option. Fayez stressed a crucial point about working on this project, “We had to fightto get what we wanted and there were a few compromises in the end.” Inother words, passion and persistence will help you pull through in the end. “All in all, The Armco mosque was a magnificent modern structure that Iam very proud of. Its beauty is in its simplicity.” He added that many of hisprojects were equally enjoyable, especially when he was able to design themthe way he wanted to – not always a luxury, but most certainly a perk for anexperienced professional.

It goes without saying that Arch. Zuhair Fayez still involves himself in his firm’s projects. Although, he does not get involved as much as he use toor would like to, but the passion can still be seen clearly in his tone, man nerismsand his new office that will be complete by the end of the year.

An example of one important milestone project he personally worked on from scratch was, the Armco Oil Museum. He was the only local amongst a list ofinternationally acclaimed architects to enter a competition to design the museum.“The limitations were many, especially when it came to presentation.The only item that could be submitted was a sheets of drawing of dipicting the design.” With this drawing, he won the competition. The Oil Museummarked the beginning of many important projects to follow.

THE NOT SO PERFECT PICTURE:

For every successful individual comes a list of obstacles. Aside from the common issues of dealing with client demands, Arch. Zuhair Fayez furiouslypoints out the problem with copying ideas and the pride that some copycatstake in such cases, “I’ve never seen a place like this, where people, not onlycopy your ideas, but are proud to let you know about it. I’ve had an incidentwith a client, earlier in my career, come up to me and admit how much he loved my designs by showing me his copy of my work.

” As a listener to thisstory, I could not help but join in on my own expression of bewilderment. Another, more crucial problem he sees is, Environmental planning .

The examples he gave were extensive, from the poorly managed roads, to the lack of recycling centers to the “monstrous buildings blocking the Cornich.”

He stated the problem as, “One that requires joint social responsibility. We can’t just wait for the government to change the way things are. We have to work to improve our habits and principles. So start from an early age withyour children. Teach them to recycle.” As far as the cities aesthetic goes,“Architects should think of their city as a symphony with varying notes that,together, create a harmonious piece.” With all this, Fayez remains an optimist,believing in a bright future; but he is also a realist, “that bright futurecan never come if we don’t move and get ourselves act.”

MAKING A DIFFERENCE IS FUNDAMENTAL TO CHANGE:

A successful businessman and mentor, such as Arch. Zuhair Fayez,often finds himself at a point where he needs to share his knowledge, build acommunity and “act on change.

” Earlier this year, Arch. Zuhair Fayez began expanding the reach of learning for aspiring female architects by instituting, along with UC Denver, aa study abroad program for Dar Al-Hekma College.

“The process was natural. As a member of the board for the school of architecture at UC Denver, my job is to provide them with global exposure.They were very active in wanting to extend their architecture programs abroad. As they viewed all the Kingdome’s universities with architecture programs,I introduced them to our inte riordesign program at Dar Al- Hekma.They had one look at the students’work and were impressed to see that,as interior designers, their work rivaledthat of the architecture students from other universities. As one of the foundersand board members at Dar Al-HekmaCollege, part of my mission wasto create opportunities for develop mentat the college.” Dar Al-Hekma’sarchitecture department and semesterabroad program will commence in thefall of 2009.

PERSPECTIVE:

Two words played in my mind as I walked out of our interview session:

dedication and commitment. Successful individuals, such as Arch. ZuhairFayez, spend their lives constantly evolving, learning and educating.

Onecannot question an individual who hastruly worked hard for every bit of creditgained. The lesson I’ve walked a waywith is: To earn credit requires respect;respect is acquired with wisdom; gainingwisdom takes experience; experiencecan only be gained with patience,practice, persistence and time.