Middle East & Africa Archives

Kevin Simpson

With 15 years of experience as a Landscape Architect and Urban Designer, Kevin brings extensive expertise from across Europe, Asia Pacific, and the Middle East. As an Associate at Cracknell, he leads teams on major projects from the company’s global portfolio. His strengths include public realm and urban design, park design, integrating nature-based solutions, and detailed documentation, with a particular focus on creating vibrant urban destinations and streetscapes. A recognised public realm specialist with a background in ecology, Kevin is passionate about designing human-centred, sustainable environments that enhance community well-being and deliver innovative, context-sensitive solutions.

Helen Burnside

Helen is an Associate – Commercial Coordinator with over 20 years of experience in bid management, planning, and landscape design across the Middle East and UK. At Cracknell, she plays a key operational role; streamlining proposal preparation and optimising the workflow within the commercial team. She develops efficient processes that support the company’s business plan and ensure the work-winning strategy aligns with the company’s international growth objectives.

Her early career in the UK planning system equipped her with a solid foundation in urban planning, statutory guidance, sustainable practices, and strategic governance – principles she continues to apply today. Her experience enables her to conduct detailed analysis, interpret RFP requirements, maintain strong client relationships, and identify opportunities that deliver maximum value.

Helen is also highly skilled in project coordination, landscape policy, and the preparation of technical landscape reports and design guidelines. She is passionate about integrating best practice research, governmental policy, and community needs to deliver optimal outcomes.

Jubail Island Abu Dhabi

This waterfront residential community is set within the immediate context of sensitive intertidal mangroves and coastal landscapes. Restriction to a limited irrigation water budget and use of native plants in selected key areas only, helped to create a low-impact development. A network of streets, footpaths, dedicated cycle tracks & public open spaces create a healthy, walkable neighbourhood with a wide range of activities, encouraging residents to be outdoors.

The masterplan maximises the island’s natural beauty by providing strong visual connection to the surrounding landscapes, offering residents peaceful access to nature. Safeguarding the delicate ecosystem, access to the protected mangrove areas is limited to specific zones only. The natural sights & sounds lend the community a unique identity & help to raise awareness of the importance of the mangroves.

SUDS principles for stormwater drainage utilised streetside swales, gravel beds and grasses, natural sand play areas and hoggin paths which successfully protected the housing from water ingress during the severe UAE flood event of April 2024.

Photography by Alessandro Merati © Cracknell

Wadi Hanifah

A 7 km2 mixed-use historic, culture and lifestyle destination, Diriyah will express the Kingdom’s historic and cultural heart, showcasing and celebrating Saudi Arabia’s long history through heritage, hospitality, education, retail and dining experiences for residents, tourists and frequent visitors.

The design builds upon the existing Wadi terrain, long a sought-after destination in this arid region. Built elements follow a Najdi architectural style evoking authentic Saudi Arabian environments, offering a variety of premium guest experiences include hotels, integrated resorts, branded residences and venues for entertainment and diverse outdoor activities.

Photography by Alessandro Merati © Cracknell

Jaddeth Isip

Jaddeth has 21 years of experience as a design professional across many sectors in the Middle East and Asia. As an Associate Structural Engineer, he guides Cracknell’s engineering design strategies on stability, buildability, sustainability, safety and he also oversees the design of large-scale projects across Cracknell’s global portfolio.

Jaddeth sees the role of Engineering as the key to determining modern cities and creating high quality integrated sustainable structures that improve the livability of our built environment. As an engineer at Cracknell, his goal is always to turn multifaceted challenges into safe and long-term solutions.

Marwa Ahmed

Marwa has 15 years’ experience as a project management professional in the Middle East and Asia. As a Senior Project Manager at Cracknell, she has a focal role in planning, executing, and overseeing projects, ensuring constraints are resolved in order to meet project goals and deadlines.

Marwa is committed to monitoring projects that transform business operations and strategies, viewing the role of Project Managers as crucial in steering projects to successful completion and ensuring they deliver tangible improvements to business performance and stakeholder satisfaction.

Jacquis Tolsma

Jacquis oversees production support services at Cracknell, promoting collaboration across its global studios to ensure seamless operational flow. By driving fiscal discipline through effective cross-functional communication, data analytics, and continuous efficiency improvements, Jacquis is passionate about ensuring we deliver great design for our clients. Leading Cracknell’s innovation efforts, Jacquis works closely with a team of computational designers, software developers, and technology enthusiasts to stay ahead of emerging trends, all while fostering a culture of learning across Cracknell.

Jerecho Borja

Jerecho is an Associate Architect Designer with over 20 years of international experience in architecture, landscape architecture, and urban design across Asia and the Middle East. His expertise combines a strong architectural foundation with a passion for architectural illustration and 3D visualisation, bringing both technical accuracy and creative vision to every project.

Jerecho leads a diverse team of design architects, graphic designers, and 3D visualisers, driving the development of innovative design solutions. He specialises in advanced visualisation techniques, creating high-quality 3D models, flythroughs, and renderings for design reviews, client presentations, and marketing materials.

Dedicated to pushing boundaries, Jerecho leverages cutting-edge technologies to ensure Cracknell remains at the forefront of the industry.

Michael Pili

Michael is an Associate Landscape Designer with 15 years’ experience across multiple sectors in the MENA region. Michael grew up around the family lighting business which gave him his first work experience designing interior and exterior luminaires. This ignited a lifelong passion for lighting design that is reflected in Michael’s dedication to research in the field and in his learning of specialist lighting and rendering software. The opportunity to collaborate with specialists has given him valuable knowledge in niche landscape areas such as façade, sports court, and roadway lighting.

Naim Uddin Ahmad

Naim has been working in irrigation design and supervision for 17 years. He is capable of designing, executing, supervising and maintaining all types of irrigation and drainage systems. He is also well versed with computer aided designing, hydraulic modelling with WATERGEMS/EPANET, shape file creating with QGIS/ARCGIS and drafting with AutoCAD and packages of MS office.

Older posts