| Georgiou Group
Georgiou Group | Georgiou is a leading national building construction, engineering, and property development company. Since the group’s inception almost 40 years ago, they have delivered a long line of highly acclaimed, well-received, and innovative projects across Western Australia, Queensland, and Victoria. A recent example of such a project is the new $18 million landmark building for Armadale City Centre in WA – a four storey office building situated on the corner of Jull Street and Orchard Avenue, which had been in the planning stages since June 2012, and was designed with a number of objectives in mind. The best PEOPLEto wo
| Georgiou Group ork with ..
Georgiou Group |
| Georgiou Group
Georgiou Group | The goal of the complex was to bring an influx of people from the wider region into the City Centre, creating a stimulus for local businesses and generating economic activity. It also aimed to centralise access to services for members of the local community, as well as service the surrounding communities. According to City Views, the City of Armadale Newsletter, the finished product achieves those aims and more, and “sets the tone” for the future plans for the Civic Precinct. AmiraliDehdashti was the Project Manager on the Armadale City Centre. He says Georgiou was the natural choice for the project due to their experience in providing design and construction services for large-scale commercial, retail, and government building projects. The company has delivered a long and growing list of successful and highly-acclaimed projects in that space since forming their commercial building unit in 2008. Included on that list – among numerous other past, current, and future projects – is Tassels Place in Stirling, WA. Tassels Place was a $21.7 million office building designed by internal architects Hassell, and delivered on behalf of internal development company Georgiou Capital. The finished Tassels Place THE SAME PAGE
| Georgiou Group comprises 4000 square metres of parking over two levels, 7800 square metres of commercial office space over four storeys, and six storeys of 700 square metre terrace. Frank Dilizia, General Manager of Building for Georgiou Group, previously described Tassels Place as “one of the highest quality office buildings to be constructed outside West Perth and the CBD.” He also said the building was delivered two and a half months ahead of program – which speaks to Georgiou’s talent for collaboration and efficiency. Those are qualities that clients like the City of Armadale highly value. In general, Georgiou also has a vision to be “the best people to work with,” Amirali adds. That vision guides all their interactions and decisions, and shapes their company culture. “The whole company is on the same page,” he says. “I believe that helps us stand out in the market. I believe it makes us distinctive.” “On most jobs, even before we get the tender documents out and start pricing, we try to be helpful and guide the client,” he explains. “We try to provide advice and lead them to decisions that will save them money while still achieving their desired result. In some cases, we don’t get the job, but that’s still the kind of service we provide.”
Georgiou Group | Georgiou is also guided by four very clear values, called the “STEP values” – Safety, Teamwork, Excellence, and Pride. That means making the safety of their people their first priority, valuing the contributions of every member of their team, consistently demonstrating excellence, and then celebrating their success. By abiding by those key values, Georgiou forms and maintains strong relationships with everyone they work with. The Armadale Landmark Building was incepted as a four-storey office building with a basement car park. It was designed with a 4-Star Green Star rating, a4.5 star NABERS rating, and a net-lettable area of 1370 square metres per floor. The design also included end-of-trip facilities including showers, change rooms, and bicycle storage facilities in the basement car park. According to Amirali, Georgiou was involved in this design from the very early stages, and it was developed in close collaboration with the client team in order to meet all their needs – including their budget and RELATIONSHIPS THATWORK
| Georgiou Group timetable. “Because it was a design and construct, we had the opportunity to start even earlier than on a normal project,” he says. “When we were 70 per cent through the design, we could start the earthworks and foundation work, which was a really strong advantage.” Throughout the process, Amirali says he and his team enjoyed a very strong relationship with the client. “That’s one of my focuses,” he says. “I’m good with people, and I’m good at forming relationships. That’s important, because at the end of the day, you need relationships to make a project work.” Amirali is a civil engineer by trade, and has been in the industry for roughly 20 years. When he joined Georgiou roughly two years ago, he was attracted to the company for many of the same reasons clients are – they have a reputation for delivering quality work in a professional, honest, and ethical way. As Project Manager on the Armadale Landmark Building – his first project with the commercial building unit of the company – Amirali more than lived up to Geor-
Georgiou Group | giou’s reputation. “There may be areas of conflict on a project, but if you’re honest and up-front with everyone, you can work through them,” he explains. “It’s all about getting everyone around the table and on the same page, then coming up with options and solutions that are in everyone’s interest. That’s what we did on Armadale project from day one.” “We wanted to have the client on our side,” he continues. “We wanted them to trust us, and we wanted to show them we were doing everything we could in order to provide them with the final product that they wanted, on time and on budget. We achieved that by having lots of face-to-face chats, workshops, design meetings, and construction meetings, and being transparent with everyone at all times.” Earlier this year, the Western Australian Chapter of the Australian Institute of Building (AIB) announced the winners of the 2015 AIB Professional Excellence in Building Awards. These awards represent the “ultiAWARD RECOGNISED
| Georgiou Group mate personal achievement for a professional builder,” according to Robert Hunt, AIB Chief Executive Officer. “They recognise the contribution and leadership shown by individuals to the successful completion of a construction project, reinforcing the fact that the success of any building firm can be attributed to those responsible for construction projects.” This year, Georgiou Group was announced as the winner of two High Commendations, both in the category for Commercial Construction $10 to $50 million. One of those commendations was presented to Amirali and Georgiou Group for the work they did on the Armadale Landmark Building. “That’s fantastic on all levels,” Amirali says. “For myself, it’s a proud achievement, and I believe it’s the same thing for everyone in the office. It’s also motivation. It makes us want to go out and win another one.” The judging criterion for the AIB Professional Excellence in Building Awards weighs the contribution of individuals and the challenges that they face. A decision to bestow one of the awards is made based upon challenges associated with the complexity of the project in its construction phase. According to Amirali, the Armadale project fit that bill Armadale Open for business! (08) 9394 5000 info@armadale.wa.gov.au www.armadale.wa.gov.au The City of Armadale partnered with Georgiou Group on a landmark strategic project located in the Armadale Strategic Metropolitan Centre. This landmark building demonstrates the quality and scale of potential development in the Armadale City Centre. It sets the tone for future plans for the Civic Precinct and is anticipated to act as a catalyst to investment in the heart of the city. As one of Australia’s fastest growing local governments, a range of development opportunities are currently available: • Residential • Land • Industrial • Commercial • Short Stay Accommodation • Retail Become a part of the growth and economic progress in the region. For further information contact the City’s Economic Development Manager or view the City’s Business Investment Prospectus on the website.
Georgiou Group | from the very beginning, when they experienced some early and persistent difficulties. “By being honest and proactive, however, we kept the client on our side,” he says. “In return, they were very helpful and proactive in return – they made the right decisions and pushed the job forward. That’s how we delivered the job on time and on budget with no contractual issues at all.” In addition to winning an AIB Award for their efforts, Amirali and his team also received recognition from the clients themselves. When the job was concluded, the office received an official letter from the CEO of the City of Armadale expressing appreciation for what Georgiou did as well as a desire to work with them again in the future. “That’s a result of all our hard work,” Amirali says. “It was a team effort, with everyone coming together to contribute their best work to the project.” According to Amirali, that team includes everyone on the project – from the client, to the internal team, all the way to the subcontractors. He says everyone worked hard to understand and respect the needs and responsibilities of everyone else. “At the end of the day, for everyone involved in a project – the client, the subbies, the internal team – it’s all about trust,” Amirali says. “It’s about showing that you care. It’s not ‘do your job and go away.’ It’s about recognising that we all need each other to finish the job, and working together to solve problems.” After overcoming the various challenges on the project – which included a problemwith the water line, and also one of the main subcontractors going under midway through the build – Amirali recalls getting a lot of positive feedback from people from all levels of the company. “A lot of people internally have come up to me and said ‘Well done,’” he says. “I say ‘It’s not me, it’s the whole team.’ It was all about teamwork. All of us were around the table and on the same page. We all contributed, we all proposed solutions, and we all took ownership of the project. And we’re all very proud of the result we achieved.”
| Georgiou Group
Georgiou Group |
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