Aurecon, a global engineering and infrastructure advisory firm,has launched a pioneering approach to engineering in Africa. Known as Afrikan Design Innovation (ADI), the approach focuses on fusing traditional technical skills with design thinking to find new solutions to problems confronting Africa.
Committed to connecting the dots between various global events and developing human-centric solutions, Aurecon believes that ADI has the potential to revolutionise the way engineers approach Africa’s problems.
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“These case studies will provide the blueprint for a movement that will be replicated in projects across Afrika as we collaborate with several continental and global organisations to future-proof Afrika,” says Abbas Jamie, Aurecon’s Director for Innovation and Transformation, Africa.
Instead of having a solution imposed on them, the end-users’ needs, become the nucleus around which a co-design process is driven. This entails applying design thinking to the process.
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“It’s an incontrovertible truth that copy-paste solutions from the West will not work in an Afrikan context. Using design methodologies which view our continent through a uniquely Afrikan lens is the only way we’re going to be able to develop innovative and sustainable solutions to future-proof Afrika,” says Jamie.
A case in point is Afrikanist in Motion, a collaboration which will help inform better infrastructure design and transport planning. Aurecon approached this by partnering with professional photographer, Yasser Booley; the World Design Organisation and WhereIsMyTransport to capture uniquely African transport challenges confronting the majority population.
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In this way, our engineers get a glimpse into the day-to-day lives of public transport commuters from which they glean invaluable insights to inform their design solutions.
About Aurecon
Aurecon brings ideas to life to design a better future. Imagining what is possible, they turn problems into solutions.
They provide advisory, design, delivery and asset management services on projects across a range of markets, in locations worldwide. These services include:
- Digital advisory and infrastructure advisory
- Building design, ground engineering design and infrastructure design
- Programme and project management delivery
- Asset management and geospatial systems
Understanding the value of expertise, they mobilise their global pool of talent to understand and solve the critical and complex problems you face. They seek to unravel complexity, create clarity and invent new value for you.
They use our thinking to provide innovative solutions.
They bring ideas to life by partnering with you and using their innovation and expertise, with technology, to solve your complex problems.
To find out more about what we have been up to visit our newsroom, or take a glimpse into the future on their Just Imagine blog.
Privately owned by employees, Aurecon formed in 2009 when Africon, Connell Wagner and Ninham Shand announced the formation of a new global group.
