CRTKL names Philip Gillard as new Principal for the Middle East
The appointments are said to reaffirm CRTKL’s long-term commitment to the region, having first set up in the 1990s
In a bid to drive growth across the Middle East, CRTKL has strengthened its senior leadership team. The firm has appointed Philip Gillard as its new Principal; he will work alongside Gosia Baron, Stephen Murray and Obada Adra who have been promoted from within the firm to Dubai Office Directors.
Gillard was previously at Gensler for a period of two decades, following which he founded the Gillard Design Studio.
“Philip’s global design experience and local sensibilities enrich CRTKL’s own. The scale and significance of his work with Dubai Holdings, Aldar, Emaar, Qatar Foundation, Al Ain Tourist Authority, Alshaya Group, Dubai Holdings, Deutsche Bank, TAG, Aston Martin, McLaren Formula One, Apple and Siemens to name a few, are highly regarded, and in keeping with the standard of our performance-driven designs,” said Gosia Baron, CRTKL Principal and Operations Leader for Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA).
In May 2022, CallisonRTKL’s Ahmed Ghobara said that three new concepts are driving residential development in Egypt and, in June 2022, it said that wellness and happiness are key for Egyptian workplaces.
Baron added, “Together with our newly appointed Dubai Office Directors, Stephen Murray and Obada Adra, Philip will harness our robust operating model and the skills and spirit of our specialised local team to advance CRTKL’s position in the GCC and lead our continued expansion into Oman, Qatar, and Kuwait.”
The appointments are said to reaffirm CRTKL’s long-term commitment to the Middle East. The firm said it first established a base in the region in the 1990s and has had a hand in the design and delivery of many of the region’s most significant and awarded projects including Dubai Hills Estate, Dubai Hills Mall, Riyadh Front, 360 Mall, Grand Hyatt Kuwait, Central Park at City Walk and Saadiyat Grove.
“CRTKL is paving the way with its design approach, and I feel privileged to be joining a firm that is as committed to quality as it is having a positive impact on its people and planet. CRTKL’s work in the Middle East continues to set the pace and standard for large-scale, mixed-use development. The multidisciplinary team we have here is unparalleled in their understanding of retail, residential and hospitality assets – how they work and succeed individually, but more so how they become a greater sum than their parts when holistically planned and cleverly designed in the context of an inclusive city,” stated Gillard.
In August 2022, the firm said it worked with Cairo Children’s Cancer Hospital Egypt to expand its capacities and facilities.
He concluded, “We have an opportunity to design a more climate positive, equitable and inspiring future and I look forward to being part of a team and a firm that is actually capable of delivering on such an aspiration.”
