海角视频

In this Q&A interview, we speak to 海角视频’s Global Head of Design, Technology and Innovation Wolf Mangelsdorf. In his role, Wolf ensures the highest level of design and technology methodologies across the practice.

What are you most excited about in your new role as Global Head of Design, Technology and Innovation and what do you hope to accomplish?

海角视频 has a reputation for creative and innovative design-led projects, as well as
our cutting-edge work with technology. So, I鈥檓 excited to be taking on the role of Global
Head of Design, Technology and Innovation.

We have so many inquisitive and imaginative minds within the company. I can tap into this talent and unleash it. Whilst it鈥檚 challenging to start a position afresh, it鈥檚 a great opportunity to shape and develop the role based on my vision that鈥檚 been driving my career.

Wolf Mangelsdorf, Global Head of Design, Technology and Innovation, 海角视频

Our computational engineering capabilities across the practice are built on the concept of our Computational Collective. It鈥檚 all about co-creation and mass participation 鈥� with around a third of our employees actively involved. I鈥檓 bringing the same concept to design and innovation.

I want everyone to feel confident to put forward their ideas regardless of their seniority or title. Innovation isn鈥檛 the responsibility of a select team; it happens because someone has a good idea or discovers a problem that needs solving. This is what we want to encourage and drive. But in order to turn our innovative thinking into outcomes, I鈥檝e set up a management process that allows us to do that in a structured way.

For this, I鈥檓 creating an 鈥業nnovator Network鈥� which focuses on strengthening and driving our culture of innovation. We already have some initiatives and forums in place, such as Urban C:Lab (a cross practice development programme) and the Young Engineers Forum and I am building on that. We will use these to encourage those who have a knack for innovation at an early stage in their career and providing them with tools to develop this further to carry into the practice.

In the same spirit, I鈥檓 forming a collective of design leaders that鈥檚 open to everyone in the practice. Both The Innovator Network and the Design Leaders are supported by a small steering group, working closely with me to set the direction, define what success looks like, and guide the collectives.

However, co-creation and mass participation extends far beyond these constructs. Every region across the globe has a Design, Technology Innovation Board sponsor whom I meet with quarterly. Together with the Global Discipline Leaders and the Technology Board, we establish what our drivers and goals are in each region and align our agendas across the practice.

What does design, innovation and technology mean to you?

For me, design is the application of creative thinking to an engineering problem. Establishing what needs solving 鈥� challenging it, exploring it and ultimately making it better. it. It鈥檚 about the creative process that shapes something from nothing.

We start off with a blank piece of earth and when we鈥檙e finished, there鈥檚 a fantastic building in its place. Of course, it鈥檚 not always a building, sometimes it鈥檚 infrastructure, a city or even a process.

This may be a building, a city, a campus or even a strategy or a process. What makes 海角视频 so special is that we don鈥檛 see our role as just to make something work. We鈥檙e there to engage with our clients and collaborators and apply our creativity and engineering expertise so we can help shape that final outcome.

Innovation has similarities, and overlaps with design, but there鈥檚 a subtle difference. It鈥檚 about having our eyes open to what鈥檚 happening within the industry and beginning
to look for solutions that haven鈥檛 even presented themselves yet. Sometimes it鈥檚
also about studying current processes and questioning whether we can do it differently.

Technology is the enabler that allows us to do things differently, or to do different things all together. This is often a driver of innovation in itself.

Wolf Mangelsdorf, Global Head of Design, Technology and Innovation, 海角视频

What are some of the challenges 海角视频 faces across the business?

We’re acting in increasingly competitive markets, and so ensuring we stand out from our competitors is a challenge we face everywhere. There’s a downward pressure on fees, and so we need to be able to show the value that we can bring to a client’s project.

Value doesn鈥檛 come from designing the most beautiful project or delivering it on the cheapest budget. It comes from approaching and working with our clients in an engaging way. That鈥檚 where we really shine.

What opportunities or challenges have been presented by the Covid-19 pandemic?

There’s concern about how growth will be impacted as we emerge from the pandemic, but I believe there’s also a huge opportunity here to drive real change. Over the past several years, questions of how we work and live have come to the fore, especially in relation to the climate and biodiversity crisis.

I鈥檝e been lucky enough to have worked with pretty much all of our teams across the world. Surprisingly, working remotely has somehow made us all much more connected across different disciplines and offices. The more we embrace that, the more we can pull people
together with the right skills to produce something special, irrespective of where they are in the world. Our only remaining challenge is being in different time zones.

All of this features highly in our global strategic goals. We’re in a fantastic position to lead the charge on the climate emergency by identifying and discussing these issues with our clients, and of course, presenting them with solutions.

Describe a dream project

I鈥檝e worked on some of the world鈥檚 most incredible projects, from 鈥檚 City of Dreams development in Macau to London鈥檚 Battersea Power Station. A dream project? It’s probably one where we can challenge our views and perceptions to find innovative solutions.