Expecting the Unexpected: A Global Team Designs an International Airport

Image © Gensler

Last year, I received an opportunity to uproot myself and my family from Washington, D.C. and decamp to Spain, where I joined a team of ex-pats to help renovate and expand a mega airport for a Saudi Arabian client. Five weeks later my very supportive wife and I were each packing our lives into four suitcases and heading off on an international adventure.

A few weeks before, I had finished working on the 35,000-seat La Rinconada baseball stadium, a fast paced and intense project that took 60 Gensler team members from 12 offices to pull off. Now I found myself with a new challenge, a mega airport renovation that would require the expertise of three Gensler teams: one from DC, one from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and the Santander, Spain team that I would be joining. We found ourselves in a design build relationship with many clients, on a project that had myriad moving parts.

It was an incredible and daunting opportunity that would end up teaching me about the important role people play in the design industry and about keeping an open mind when undertaking projects in unfamiliar places. There was a great team of Gensler folks who had been there for six months, paving the path I would walk. I encountered the expected and unexpected, and learned so much from my colleagues.

The Expected

I knew the different cultures contributing to this project would all bring different ways of working and that we would all have to adapt to how people work in Spain. Located in Saudi Arabia, the project team consisted of a German General contractor, Spanish project managers and engineers, a combination of German and American structural engineers and American architects. Many of our partners had not been through a project like this one and needed us to lead the way.

The daily siesta was just another cultural quirk that we had to accept and work with. I found it reassuring that in Santander, Spain the daily siesta is alive and well, as it’s a tradition that has largely faded from major cities like Madrid. Every single day, come 2 pm, roves of Spanish workers would leave the building. They would not return until 4 pm. We quickly learned not to plan meetings during that time. The full siesta never caught on with members of the Gensler team, but on occasion we managed to squeeze in a 20 minute “American Siesta.” That included throwing a football around the courtyard. We even convinced a few locals to join us from time to time.

The Unexpected

At Gensler we often say our studios and teams are our family. Here in Spain it is even truer and more important. There are six of us total, and most of our families and friends are over 3,000 miles away. I was fortunate enough to have my wife come along with me on this journey.

We had to quickly adapt to sharing three cars, to carpooling to work, to grocery shopping and taking weekend trips together. We also shared happy hours, dinners, coffees and lunches. We relied on each other for support and friendship. With so few boundaries, it became hard at times to separate our personal lives from work. Going into a situation like this, you become a bigger part of your coworkers’ lives, and you find ways of supporting each other.

Gaining a global perspective

I had my doubts coming into this adventure. But throughout my periods of uncertainty, I was lucky enough to have friends, family, colleagues and mentors there to support me. Today, I can now look back and say with confidence that I made the right decision.

This project has taught me a lot about aviation. I also learned how to work with a global team and how to work with people from different cultures. It is hard to understand everything a global architecture firm like Gensler faces on a daily basis until you are dropped into the middle of it, and I wouldn’t trade the experience for anything.

Between all the long hours and late night meetings with the east coast, my wife and I got to see a little more of the world. Thanksgiving in Rome, New Years in Paris and countless weekend trips. It wouldn’t be possible without the opportunities here at Gensler and the support of my mentors.

I’m looking forward to the next adventure no matter, wherever in the world, and I find myself better prepared to handle it.

Jared Krieger is a Senior Associate and Studio Director based in Gensler’s Washington, D.C., office. As an architect and a leader of Gensler’s design and delivery team, Jared has successfully lead and delivered a variety of BIM heavy commercial design projects from concept through construction, including GMU Housing 8A, TCC Tysons Tower, and many others. He believes that collaboration, identifying and navigating hurdles in advance, and looking beyond the ordinary are critical to project success. Contact him at jared_Krieger@gensler.com.