PBC Today sat down with Kalliopi Florides, director at Kitall, to discuss the importance of collaboration between engineers, architects, and contractors for project delivery
Construction industry collaboration is vital for projects big and small, with issues often being caused by a lack of co-operation or communication.
These issues can lead to a range of issues, from health and safety issues, to increased costs or delays. Kalliopi Florides, director at Kitall, answers questions on avoiding these issues.
1. Can you tell us about your background and the types of projects you’ve worked on?
I graduated with a Master’s (Hons) in 2012 from Imperial College London and began my career with Waterman Structures, where I worked on major projects, including Google’s UK Headquarters, Victoria Gate Arcades, and the Piccadilly Lights redevelopment. Over eight years, I specialised in designing and delivering complex, multi-million-pound steel and concrete projects, and gained my Chartership at the Institute of Civil Engineers in 2019.
In 2021, I relocated to Vancouver to join Fast + Epp as a senior project manager, where I gained experience in mass timber, seismic design, and tall building projects. My projects included designing and delivering Walmart’s new headquarters in Arkansas and Grosvenor America’s 63 storey residential towers in Vancouver.
I later joined Mercer Mass Timber as part of the senior leadership team, moving into Business Development and Preconstruction. There, I contributed to shaping the company’s strategic direction, was part of the leadership team that integrated a business acquired through bankruptcy, and helped establish systems and protocols to strengthen operations. Alongside this, I also managed my own team, built client relationships, and negotiated contracts valued at more than $40m, which gave me broad exposure to both the commercial and technical sides of the industry.
After four years in Canada, I returned to the UK to become a director at Kitall.
2. Why do you believe collaboration between engineers, architects, and contractors is such a critical factor in successful project delivery?
Projects are ultimately defined by the strength of the team. Clear communication across disciplines, with everyone aligned to the same goal, is essential for success, as well as the enjoyment of working within a functioning, efficient team. On large and complex projects, around 80% of the effort is co-ordination. If teams aren’t unified in working towards a shared outcome, it is to the detriment of the project, which can impact both programme and cost.
Collaboration goes beyond meetings and emails; it’s also about precision in drawings, co-ordination processes, and how information flows between stakeholders at every stage. When teams truly work as one, the result is always a stronger and more successful project.
3. In your experience, what are the most common communication breakdowns that lead to spiralling costs, delays, or unnecessary carbon impact?
One of the biggest issues is poor change management. If design models are updated without a clear identification of what has changed, items are missed and only discovered later, leading to delays and escalating costs. Another is when teams operate in silos, prioritising their own work rather than working collaboratively. That kind of environment makes it much easier for information to be overlooked or poorly implemented.
From a carbon perspective, the biggest challenge arises when engineers are brought in too late; typically, their full involvement begins at RIBA Stage 3, Spatial Coordination, with only high-level input provided beforehand. Decisions on materials, building heights, column grids, and floor build-ups are often locked in before there’s a chance to optimise them. The most carbon-effective solutions emerge when all key contributors are involved early, while the project is still flexible enough to evolve.
4. Can you share an example from a major project where early integration between disciplines helped avoid costly redesigns?
As a senior design engineer, I worked on a £350m shopping centre, with a feature roof designed and manufactured by a specialist contractor in Austria. This introduced an additional level of precision, coordination, and structural analysis, made even more complex by the international collaboration in a pre-Covid world. Early integration was essential to align the architectural vision, roof support requirements, and primary frame design with the MEP and fire strategies. By involving the roof subcontractor from the outset, we ensured that the exact requirements were coordinated across disciplines. Without this, the design would almost certainly have faced delays or missed opportunities to optimise solutions.
The same project also included a complex three-dimensional brick façade that imposed significant horizontal loads on the primary frame. Because the internal floors did not align with the façade spandrels, beams had to withstand large horizontal forces without the benefit of slab restraint. The lack of early co-ordination meant meticulous structural checks were required at multiple discrete locations for every unique panel. This created months of detailed back-and-forth between the architects, engineers, and façade subcontractor. Earlier involvement from the façade contractor would have allowed the architecture and façade design to be better aligned from the start, reducing structural complexity and saving time.
Both examples highlight how early co-ordination, between design teams and manufacturers alike, is critical to avoiding costly redesigns and ensuring projects run efficiently.
5. What practical steps can project leaders take to embed collaboration into the design process from day one?
The most important step is setting the tone from the very beginning. Clients, project managers, and directors all need to create environments where open communication and shared problem-solving are expected. That starts with establishing clear project goals that all disciplines can align around, so every team member understands the bigger picture and their role within it.
Practical tools also play a big part. Using shared models and common data environments ensures that everyone works from the same information, thereby reducing the risk of miscommunication or duplication. Early workshops, collaborative sessions, and joint reviews provide space for different perspectives to be heard and integrated before decisions are finalised.
Finally, project leaders should make co-ordination visible and continuous, not something that happens reactively when issues arise. Regular cross-disciplinary meetings, transparent tracking of design changes, and a culture that values collaboration over silos all help embed collaboration into the project’s DNA.
6. How can digital tools and modern methods of construction support better collaboration across stakeholders?
Digital tools are invaluable because they provide a single source of truth for all project information. Shared models, cloud-based platforms, and common data environments ensure that architects, engineers, contractors, and clients all work from the same information in real-time. This reduces duplication, minimises misunderstandings, and makes it easier to track and manage change.
Modern methods of construction also support collaboration by bringing different disciplines together around a more integrated process. For example, off-site manufacturing requires early coordination between designers, fabricators, and contractors, which naturally encourages joint problem-solving and reduces the likelihood of conflicts later on. Standardisation and repeatable components enable knowledge to be shared more effectively across teams, while digital integration with manufacturers creates a direct link between design intent and delivery. In this way, MMC not only relies on collaboration but also actively fosters it.
7. What lessons can smaller firms learn from the way multi-million-pound schemes manage collaboration?
The scale may differ, but the principles are the same. Large schemes succeed when there is a clear vision, structured co-ordination, and early involvement of all the right people. Smaller firms can apply the same lessons by setting clear communication protocols, encouraging transparency between disciplines, and involving specialist input as early as possible.
Smaller projects also benefit from the natural agility of leaner teams. With fewer layers between disciplines, communication is more direct, decisions are reached faster, and access to key people is easier. This creates an environment where issues can be resolved quickly, and collaboration feels more immediate.
By combining that agility with the structured co-ordination seen on larger schemes, smaller firms can deliver efficient, well-controlled projects that maintain high standards while avoiding unnecessary complexity.
8. Is there anything else you’d like to add?
I believe the industry is at a pivotal point of change. Clients are increasingly focused on outcomes that go beyond cost and programme, such as carbon reduction, long-term adaptability, and social value. To deliver on these ambitions, collaboration is not optional; it is fundamental and should be the basis of every project right from the start.
The earlier we can align disciplines and share knowledge, the better the solutions we can achieve.
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