Darren Ross-Dreher is a Technical Director at Gensler, an integrated architecture, design, planning, and consulting firm. He is head judge for the FIS 2021 Contractors Awards and we asked him to talk to SpecFinish about the main challenges (and opportunities) that the fit-out industry is facing.
Firstly says Darren, the challenge is the continuing focus on lowest price rather than best value. He acknowledges that as our future is increasingly unpredictable, we must show leadership in being as sustainable as possible, so that Government does not force our hand with measures that are not reflective of what clients need.
The opportunities he identified lie with technology, including development of better electronic communication and collaboration tools, and flexible furniture solutions that can offer an alternative to hard construction.
