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tables and learns them by heart in
the process of using them. For contractors, a standard
specifications model includes an explanation of the
system. Architecturally speaking, the offices are spread
across three levels. The ground floor is the public level.
Accessible to visitors, it contains the libraries, meet-
ing rooms, some of the models, the canteen, and so
on. The two upper levels contain open-plan offices.
However, separate space is provided for very big
projects that require large teams. For many years we
have operated a one-key system. This simultaneously
guarantees complete confidentiality and total transpar-
ency within the team.
You have spoken about the organisation of the office;
now tell us about your staff.
P.S.
Most of our staff members come to us straight
from university or a higher learning institute. A system
like ours requires them to be very flexible and adapt-
able; you cannot enter the system only halfway or use
it as you see fit. It allows us to respond quickly and
accurately to situations, such as the arrival of a new
project, or the stoppage of another. In addition, we
sometimes need to recruit staff in a very short period
of time. One of the important things they must learn is
our clean desk policy. Everyone’s desk must be cleared
every evening. Disorder is a threat to the smooth run-
ning of projects; everything must be in its place so that
everyone can have access if need be. Contrary to what
one may think, this system is a springboard for creativ-
ity, not a constraint.
The office has a ‘matrix’ organisation. Can you explain
what this means in concrete terms?
D.M.
In addition to the projects he or she is working on,
each member of staff makes a specific area of expertise
– which he or she develops on an ongoing basis – avail-
able to the others. One person may keep the specifica-
tions database up to date, someone else checks that
presentation documents have been returned, another
person collates applicants’ files, manages
it
standards
or collects everything that is published in relation to sus-
tainable construction. This means that, even if someone
is entrusted with a specific task on a specific project, it
is perfectly likely that he or she will also be assigned to
work on other projects.
Although
sai
’s projects are recognisable, one cannot
say that there is a ‘Samyn style’. Why is this?
P.S.
The lack of a formal ‘style’ can be explained by
our use of methodology as a creative source. This
necessarily implies the uniqueness of every project –
each is a sort of prototype that responds to a specific
question or situation. There is no ‘signature’ approach,
no ‘Samyn footprint’. The Samyn style is found in the
approach and in the search for a compromise between
the various elements of the construction process. This
compromise means that we can arrive at a meeting
point between the various degrees of perfection that
the proper functioning of the construction requires. No
technique can be used to its optimum level, because
that optimum would necessarily exclude the optimum
of the whole (which is the goal of the author of the
architectural project and the engineer).
You also have engineers working for you. Does this
allow you to create projects completely in-house,
from
a
to
z
?
D.M.
Not from
a
to
z
, let’s say from
a
to
f
. The engi-
neering training and function of Philippe Samyn and
some members of staff means that we can systemati-
cally create the conceptual part of the engineering
in-house. This is important, because it means that the
project’s coherence cannot be compromised by a third
party that is not up to speed with the entire project,
with its underlying theoretical content and the possible
solutions to the various constraints. For detailed calcu-
lations, and for the description and control of technical
works, we work with the engineers of our subsidiaries.
In addition to consulting engineers specialising in stabil-
ity and special techniques, we often call on specialised
outside engineers for very specific support in terms of
acoustics, structural planning, natural lighting and site
planning.
One of the major difficulties in architecture is being able
to guarantee construction quality. How does
sai
deal
with this?