Rice Daubney and Woods Bagot have recently teamed up to deliver major Defence projects in Australia.

The joint venture will undertake masterplanning, architecture and interior design services for Defence projects over $100 million. Graeme Smith, princpal at Rice Daubney

The JV has already been appointed two projects — Defence’s Logistic Transformation Program in NSW and VIC and the Squadron Headquarters, Hangers and Synthetic Training Facility project in NSW and WA.

Architecture & Design spoke to Graeme Smith, principal at Rice Daubney, and Robert Cahill, principal at Woods Bagot about the JV.Robert Cahill, principal at Woods Bagot

Why did you decide to go down this path?With the increased capacity and depth afforded by coming together, the joint venture objective is to target major Defence projects across the Australian region. The immediate benefit provides a greater access to key resources such as specialist staff and technology.

Our experience is complimentary and with varied foci. Coming together provided an opportunity to combine expertise across Ordnance, air planning for both fixed and rotary winged aircraft, education and training, workplace, logistics, accommodation and other specialist facilities to provide a fully integrated team with thorough knowledge and expertise across all relevant aspects of Defence projects.

Another reason why we decided to go down this path is because often Defence projects require to be delivered in a very short timeframe. The combined resources of the two groups make this achievable with greater certainty and at much lower risk. Also our practices have much in common in respect to approach and methodology in regard to project delivery.

There is a reduction in risk and increased certainty for quality in delivery through amelioration of delay, contribution from specialists in the field, consistent and complete project content delivering enhanced quality.

How did the partnership come about? Has anything like this been done before for major projects?Both practices saw the advantage in collaboratively working rather than competing on major projects. Both Woods Bagot and Rice Daubney have regularly worked in collaboration with other major design practices on major facilities such as in health projects, convention centres, retail projects, but never before in the area of defence.

Did either of you have discussions with other firms about potentially partnering with them?Neither Woods Bagot or Rice Daubney saw the need given the significant and obvious advantages of the proposal and the natural fit between the two firms.

How do you plan to approach the collaboration? Will one firm be responsible for certain aspects of projects or will it be 100 per cent collaboration for the entire process, including design ideas?Each project is looked at with a fresh pair of eyes and it will be a case-by-case basis, depending on the scope, nature of the project and required services. The advantage of working within the JV means we have a wider pool of resources, skills and experience to draw from to suit project needs of each circumstance.

Our approach provides for equal overall contribution from each firm to the project and resources are allocated evenly across all levels of the team, from senior to junior staff. Resources are not allocated from each firm to separate portions of the project but equally from each firm to support across project components.

The partnership will be for major Defence projects — how will you choose which projects you will collaborate on?The Rice Daubney and Woods Bagot Defence team predominantly focuses on major projects above $100 million.

The collaboration will be built on an openness and trust. Do you believe architects are generally open about their work with each other or do they fiercely protect their ideas and work?As architectural firms our shared vision and focus is to create and leave a legacy for our clients, creating the optimal design solution that befits their business and operational needs. With this in mind, our collaboration has little time for other issues to ‘get in the way’.

Do you think more partnerships like this will happen in the industry?JVs are not something new to hit the business market, yet for architectural firms the JV between Woods Bagot and Rice Daubney is unique. With increased capacity, the JV’s objective is to target major defence projects across the Australian region, boasting a greater access to resources such as specialist staff and technology — as a sole entity this may not have been successful simply due to the scale and complexity Defence projects demand.

Stephanie McDonald

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