Collaboration and innovation are key to design success

Successful design for different global regions depends on listening to client desires and integrating unique aspects of the culture

In this series, we’ll explore the power of collaboration and co-creation with our clients. These partnerships showcase how we rise to the world’s greatest challenges together.

“Architecture is our most valuable cultural asset.”

That’s David Martin, Stantec’s vice president of Buildings, who has spent a multi-decade career designing such assets.

Think about it. When you travel or visit a new area of the world, what catches your eye? The architecture. It declares what the place is about.

Tasked with complex projects in North America, Europe, and the Middle East, Martin integrates aspects unique to the local environment in his designs.

“You want to design something contemporary but also exclusive to its place,” he says. “So, you know when a building belongs in Dubai, or London, or Philadelphia. Those are culturally disparate areas, and understanding that is critical.”

How does he do that? By listening.

“We don’t meet with clients to tell them what the design is. Our job is to listen and understand what they’re looking for,” Martin says. “They know the area and what’s important to the community. We’re there to help deliver their vision for the project.”

David was able to navigate some very difficult conversations with humor and patience. It helped us enormously.

And that matters to clients.

“David’s wealth of global design experience was a differentiator in wanting to work with him,” says Julia Laidlaw, head of estates planning for the University of Edinburgh. “But also, his ability to listen to different perspectives, present varied options, and build consensus while contending with strong personalities.”

Melding old and new in Scotland

Edinburgh has been Scotland’s capital for more than 600 years. Built on a series of hills, the city’s Old Town medieval architecture is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The streets are spread out in a “fishbone” pattern. Narrow alleyways called “wynds,” and “closes” allow for easier passage between buildings.

Edinburgh is also home to the BioQuarter, a mixed-use district outside the city center that combines innovation, healthcare, and medical research. The original hospital area in Edinburgh was a collection of Victorian-era buildings built in the 19th century.

Incorporating the past and future was part of the university’s vision for the district.

“There was some pushback from residents about losing some of their heritage,” Laidlaw says. “In our conversations with David, we mentioned that we wanted to maintain ‘hooks’ back to Edinburgh city center to keep that link to the region’s history.”

Martin was the design lead for the Institute for Regeneration and Repair South (IRR South). He drew inspiration from the wynds and closes in Old Town Edinburgh for the building’s design.

“There are three primary staircases that allow staff faster access to other areas of the building. Much like a medieval wynd or close,” Martin says. “For example, we designed a two-level, high-tech lab space.

One of those staircases is built right into the lab. Researchers can go up and down the stairs to convene with colleagues without having to walk out of the lab, remove PPE, get an elevator, go up a floor, and then redress.”

It gives the building horizontal and vertical connectivity to create the sense of innovation and progress, matching the mission of the BioQuarter.

Anna Stamp, Julia Laidlaw, and David Martin

Creating connectivity

IRR South is dedicated to tissue repair and generation.

“It’s also connected to the hospital next door and linked to researchers from biomedical and pharmaceutical companies,” Martin says. “This proximity to clinicians, patients, and researchers helps reduce the time required to bring a new drug, therapy, or medical device to market.”

But having different disciplines using the same spaces can create challenges.

“Research and work space is very precious to academics, and change is always difficult,” Laidlaw says. “We’re taking people and their work into a new building and a new space. But David was able to navigate some very difficult conversations with humor and patience. It helped us enormously.”

IRR South was designed for collaboration. The university didn’t want different groups to move into four corners of the building and never talk to each other. The building’s design brought them together naturally.

Truly collaborative

“These projects are complicated. Economies are complicated,” Martin says. “Can you survive difficult problems? Can you be adaptable and work together to find solutions? That, to me, is the hallmark of a successful partnership. And that’s what we had with Julia and her team.”

Laidlaw agrees.

“Group leaders and building leaders changed many times during the design and construction process,” she says. “Everyone has a different approach, a different attitude. At no point did David cling to one solution. He understood the ebb and flow of the way universities work. He navigated those challenges right beside us.”

Martin describes client relationships as an energy-transfer process. Clients give their energy and excitement for the vision, and the design team takes that energy and shapes it to meet the clients’ ambitions.

“My relationship with Julia went beyond client and architect,” he says. “It was just really good friends transferring positive energy and working together to make the project successful.”

Over a decade in the making

The design process for IRR South began in 2012. Martin’s son was 3 years old. Construction was completed in 2023, when his son was 14.

“His formative years took place during the lifecycle of this project,” Martin says. “That puts into perspective how long the process can be but also how important the partnership. You need to maintain momentum to get it over the finish line.”

In the fall of 2025, he met Laidlaw for a photo shoot to commemorate their partnership on IRR South.

It was the first time they had been together since the building opened.

“It was exactly like getting together with an old friend you haven’t seen for a while. We had a lot of laughs, and we picked up the conversation immediately like no time had passed.”

“It really was like reconnecting with a friend,” Laidlaw says. “It was so nice to celebrate our success together. I’ve got nothing but good to say about Stantec. David approached the project with practicality and imagination, and it’s so important to have both.”

With every community, we redefine what’s possible. Through collaboration with our clients, together we will unlock outcomes neither could achieve alone.