Kevin Gent

DLR Group 国际运营总监

Kevin Gent是DLR Group国际运营团队的关键成员。在这个职位上，他支持业务发展活动、项目的战略和财务管理，并将自己的经验用于推进合同谈判、项目和员工管理、政府关系等过程。

通过这些专业经验，Kevin在大型复杂国际项目的项目管理和施工管理方面积累了专业知识。Kevin是一位成功的建筑商业领袖，也是一位公认的设计师和规划师。

Education

Master of Architecture

Bachelor of Arts in Architecture

University of Washington

Registration, Accreditations, Affiliations

Architect: WA #4791, NCARB #54567, LEED Accredited Professional BD+C

American Institute of Architects, LEED AP BD+C, U.S. Green Building

Council

AIA, LEED AP BD+C

Principal

International Projects Director

DLR Group's brand commitment is to Elevate the Human the Experience Through Design, and everything we do is about design excellence. It's not just about the output of the design, but also about serving the clients and the people who will use the buildings that we create. As an integrated design firm, we like to bring as much in-house talent and expertise as possible to our projects, making it easier to communicate and collaborate internally toward better design solutions. This is a real advantage for clients. They receive better and more integrated design solutions from us because we can do this. That doesn't mean you can't collaborate with outside consultants, but it's more challenging. And so, working collaboratively with internal teams we are dedicated and aligned to the same vision of what we want to accomplish for our projects, our clients, and as a design firm. We believe that by operating as an integrated design firm, we produce better design work. 

就管理风格而言，我认为需要在现场更直接地支持我们的客户。因为客户希望面对面交谈，如果在世界的另一端为项目工作，就很难取得信任。所以当找到一个充满机会的地方时，我们倾向于建立一个办公室，了解这个地方的文化和人，直接与客户互动，并提供更好的服务。

In terms of management style, I think it is about being present.  Being in the locations where we do our work, so that we can support our clients more directly. Because clients want someone they can talk to face to face, it's hard to gain trust if you're working on a project on the other side of the world. So, when finding a place full of opportunities, we tend to set up an office, get to know the culture and people of the place, interact directly with customers, and provide better service.

What I have learned over my long career is that at fundamental level the design process is the same. Th scale and complexity of the process changes with the size and complexity of the work but at its essence it is fundamentally the same. So, what does this mean?  It is about communication, project understanding, expectations, identifying challenges, and empowering teams.  The primary focus is on communication. Project failures often result from communication failures – within the team, between the design team and the client; or not coordinating with government officials and regulatory departments on a regular basis. One of the most important lessons for me is that whenever I set up any project, I need to first understand the project, and client needs and expectations. Then, make sure the project is set up for regular and frequent communication and collaboration, and that everyone's expectations are known.  Finally, get those expectations aligned so that everyone is moving the same direction.

无论项目规模如何，每个项目都需要每周召开一次会议，每周会议只需要讨论三件事。第一，是否每个人都明白接下来的一周或一个月里自己的任务？第二，阻碍开展工作的挑战或问题是什么？三是信息共享。我发现激励团队努力工作的最有力的方法就是分享尽可能多的信息，这样团队成员会觉得自己是参与解决方案的一部分，而不是被视为生产资源，他们将愿意致力于该项目。

Every project, no matter how big or small, requires a weekly meeting where only three things need to be discussed. First, does everyone understand their tasks for the next week or month? Second, what are the challenges or problems that hinder or prevent the progress of the work? Third, sharing information. I've found that the most powerful way to motivate a team to work hard is to share as much information as possible. Team members will feel like they are part of the solution, and will be willing to commit to the project if they are informed and made to feel a part of the team, rather than being treated as a production resource.

当你从事大项目时，看起来非常复杂。但如果你把它提炼成最基本的东西，它仍然以设计为核心。仍然关于你如何从设计理念和概念出发，开发设计，同时让团队继续前进，交付出色的工作。

When you're working on a big project, it can seem very complicated. But if you distill it back down into the very basics of, it's still about design. It's still about how you go from design ideas and concepts and development a design, while keeping a team moving forward to deliver great work.

Kevin：领导跨国团队是一项艰苦的工作，但我认为这是值得的。如果不能从各地把最优秀的人才带到项目中，你就失去了为客户开发最佳解决方案的机会。我们在DLR Group做得很好的一件事是跨办公室和跨地区，在全球范围内进行合作。当疫情爆发时，办公场所关闭，每个人都不得不回家工作。这对我们来说并不困难，因为我们已经有了跨办公室远程协作的经验。作为一名国际总监，我现在的部分工作就是确保这一点继续保持。不同的时区可能是一个问题，也可能是一种优势。我们在上海办事处帮助美国项目。通常在工作日结束时与美国团队联系，分享进展，然后他们在上海员工睡觉时上班。我们能够来回传递项目工作，而且非常高效。正如我之前提到的，这依赖于双方强有力的沟通。如果做得好，你可以在任何项目上获得最好的人才，并取得最好的结果。

宝山长滩观景塔——“上港集团十四区07公建地块”于上海宝山区建筑设计项目的近期照片，项目规模为20万平方米的商业综合体（左右滑动查看更多）

Digital technology is changing so fast that we have no choice but to keep up and it is changing the way design is developed and delivered. Tools such as parametric modeling, Dynamo, Rhino, and Grasshopper are becoming more prevalent. We have also moved into research and development and data science, with a couple of data scientists in the company who help us analyze data within the company and then working with research teams to help us better understand our customers. We created the Integrated Practice Forum, which meets regularly to discuss technology, design tools and processes we use, industry innovations, and to make sure we stay coordinated across all disciplines in the firm. There is also a design technology group whose role is to identify, develop and advance new and cutting-edge technologies that are being used in our industry and determine how we integrate those in our company. We also provide training for our employees across many topics to keep up with these trends, with our internal platform called DLR Group Campus.  We cannot afford to have our staff not trained on the latest technologies, tools and processes, otherwise we would be left behind.

因此，这确实给专业人士带来了更大的压力。这不仅是设计的问题，也是工具的问题。另一件有趣的事情是这些工具对设计过程的影响，因为我们创造的每一种工具，每一种媒介都有其局限性。AutoCAD需要一定程度的精度，但缺乏我们用铅笔在纸上实现的创造性流动性。然后Revit提供了在三维中建模和渲染的功能。这使我们能够创建复杂的模型，这些模型非常引人注目，但可能会给你一种虚假的现实感。一个设计可能看起来很真实，但建造起来非常困难或昂贵。这些工具在某种程度上解放了我们，但也带来了挑战。

This puts more pressure on professionals. It's not just a design problem, it's also a tool problem. Another interesting thing is the impact these tools have on the design process, because every tool we create, every medium, has its limitations. AutoCAD, for example, requires a certain degree of precision but lacked the creative fluidity that we could achieve with pencils on paper. Then Revit came along with the ability to model and render in 3D.  This enabled us to create complex models that were very compelling but can give you a false sense of reality.  A design may look real but be very difficult or expensive to build.  These tools freed us in a way, but it also brought challenges.

很长一段时间以来，我一直在研究我们使用的工具如何影响我们的设计过程以及最终想法。作为建筑师，我们创造的是一个必须适应我们生活的结构。它可以富有表现力和趣味性，但必须遵循一些基本规则，如稳定性、耐久性和安全性。因此，回到这对专业人士意味着什么，就是要跟上新兴的设计趋势。我们的服务越来越专业，如声学和照明、调试、能源建模、高性能设计、可持续性和健康。这需要设计专业人员掌握越来越多的知识，他们可以将这些知识应用到项目中，为客户增加价值。

For a long time, I've been looking at how the tools we use influence our design process and what we ultimately conceive. What we create as architects is a structure that we must live in. It can be expressive and interesting, but it must follow some basic rules, such as stability, durability and safety. So going back to what this means for professionals, it's about staying current with emerging design trends. Our  services are becoming more specialized, such as in acoustics and lighting, commissioning, energy modeling, high performance design, sustainability, and wellness. This requires more and more knowledge by design professionals that they can apply to projects to add value for clients.

Kevin：我们在每一个项目上都信守品牌承诺，并保持良好的声誉和形象。这在我们的DNA中根深蒂固，从我到其他领导者，这是我们所有团队成员的共同期望。我们不仅关注排名或奖项，还积极征求并考虑我们的忠实客户的反馈，定期对他们进行调研。在美国，我们使用一种被称为净推荐值（NPS）的标准，各行各业的许多大公司都使用该标准来衡量其客户满意度。我们重视回访客户一些简单的问题，比如，你会把DLR Group介绍给同事吗？你会再次回到DLR Group吗？我们关注这一点，不仅为了赢得奖项，满意的客户会达成多次的合作，而更换一个客户比通过重复的项目留住一个好客户困难得多。

员工的工作感受也很重要，我们会定期调研他们是否得到指导和培训，对自己从事的项目感到兴奋吗？是否看到了成长的机会？因为我们想留住优秀的人才。对我来说，这就是我们如何保持品牌形象的，通过确保我们的工作一直做得很好，确保客户满意、员工满意。

There aren't very many companies in the US who are employee-owned. This was one of the ideas that founders, Dana, Larson and Roubal, had in mind as they prepared to retire and wanted to preserve a legacy for their employees, leaving something that employees could be proud of. We now have more than 1,400 employees, nearly 900 of whom own stock in the company and have the personal motivation to ensure they do the best job for their customers. So along with establishing employee stock ownership, they did set some core values for the company. Those were commitment, creativity, environmental stewardship, fun, integrity, ownership, sharing, and teamwork.

所有权意味着作为DLR集团的一员，我们希望人们感受到更深层次的责任感和家庭感。我们每年获得的部分利润归我们的员工所有，公司的每一位员工，无论他们是否拥有股票，我们都会将其中的一部分作为他们退休的贡献。我们还将部分利润再投资于员工，用于培训、员工发展、工具和创新。我们投资的是我们的未来。

Ownership means that as a member of DLR Group, we want people to feel a deeper sense of responsibility and family. Some of the profits we make each year go back to our employees, and every employee in the company, whether they own stock or not, we give a portion of that as a contribution to their retirement. We also use some of our profits to reinvest in our staff for training, staff development, tools, and innovations.  We invest in our future.

环境管理对我们来说也很重要。我们是《建筑2030倡议》的最早签署者之一，该倡议旨在通过实现2030年所有新建筑的碳中和目标，致力于碳中和。因此，我们每年都会跟踪和监控我们与其他大公司在实现这一目标方面的进展情况。

Environmental stewardship. I mentioned that one, that's a big one for us. We are one of the original signatories of the Architecture 2030 initiative, which is about a commitment to carbon neutrality by achieving the goal of carbon neutrality for all new buildings by 2030. Therefore, we track and monitor how well we're doing on that goal every year with other big companies.

Kevin：我们需要忠于自己，在我看来，保持创新和领先是通过我们为项目带来的独特价值和优势。我认为，如果你试图追逐眼前的一切，就像在进行一场逐底竞赛。我们从不想成为那种类型的公司。我们的目标始终是为我们的客户和项目增加价值，并通过我们的工作质量而不仅仅是通过我们的工作数量来赚取报酬。

上海市第一妇婴保健院 - 国际医疗部，1500平方米室内设计项目（左右滑动查看更多）

Q8：DLR 未来在中国的策略。

Future strategy in China.

We have been slowly building our brand in China around significant competitions, large projects and completed work.  With more completed work in China today, we are now expanding our PR efforts to share our expertise and capabilities in the region.  Our focus has been and will continue in Cultural projects, Mixed Use projects, and Education projects. I also see opportunities in leisure hospitality and the evolution of workplace spaces.  We are also developing stronger ties to our Middle East office to leverage the talent and resources in both locations.  Lastly, we are expanding our services in the region in Master Planning and specialty services, such as Lab Planning.  Through all of these I see us carefully growing with high quality staff who can best serve the select projects and clients we pursue.

现在，我们在中国有很多项目机会，但我们还不是一个家喻户晓的名字。我们在全球排名第九，是美国顶尖的公司之一。我们涉及多个领域，在全球许多行业排名中居第一或第二。我们取得了巨大的成功，但大部分成功都在美国，所以我们在国际上不太出名。因此，我工作的一部分就是帮助宣传，这就是为什么我真的很高兴能和你进行这次对话。

Now, we have a lot of project opportunities in China, but we're not a household name yet. We're ranked 9th in the world and are one of the top firms in the US. We work across many sectors, and we're ranked either one or two in a number of our sectors globally.  We've had great success, but until recently most of our success has been in the United States se we are less well known internationally. Therefore, it is part of my job is to help get the word out, which is why I'm really happy to have this conversation with you.

Q9：对中国建筑业的看法以及未来展望。

What is your opinion on China's construction industry and your expectations for the future.

I recently had to write a report to our Board of Directors on my views and recommendations on China and Asia. Everything I've seen suggests that the industry is back on track. All forecasters are predicting an 8% growth in the construction industry, which is very robust. The targeted and forecasted GDP for China this year is 5%.  While this is down from previous years, it is still a significant percentage given the size of the Chinese economy.  I believe there are many opportunities in China, although it is important to understand the Chinese market because it is not easy to win work and be successful.

环顾上海，我看到了一个充满活力的大都市，运转良好。到处都是起重机，施工正在进行。中国是一个重要的经济体，所以我们只想找到方式做出贡献，并有机会成为其中的一部分。所以，我很乐观。我知道这是一个挑战，但我对中国建筑业的未来持乐观态度。

When I looked around Shanghai I see a large and vibrant city that is functioning well.  There are construction cranes everywhere, construction is happening. China is an important economy and so we just want find ways to contribute and have our opportunity to be part of it.  So, I'm optimistic.  I know it's a challenge, but I'm optimistic about the future of China's construction industry.