Digital Construction

Okana adds new partners in UK, Dubai and Ukraine

New Okana partners gather at Okana's forum — The integration of the four new partners and their teams started at the recent Okana Forum 2024

Global built environment consultancy Okana has taken on four new partner organisations in the UK, Dubai and Ukraine.

Formerly known as BIM Academy, Okana launched in the summer. As well as BIM Academy’s established services, Okana offers more advisory services, including place-shaping, economics and management strategy. At the Okana launch, managing director Graham Kelly told BIMplus the business was looking for new partners.

The first of the four new partners is London-based Future Places Studio, an established research, content and placemaking studio that is using insights, data and trends to shape future vision, strategy and engagement activity across the built environment.

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Future Places Studio established a working relationship with Okana six months ago. Founding director Jack Sallabank said: “Transitioning to the partnership was the next logical step. Collaborating with Okana has allowed us to further establish our market-leading research in the UK and Europe. We have strong ambitions that we intend to realise with Okana as we continue to expand our place-shaping reach.”

The second UK consultancy to become an Okana partner is Growth Incorporated, run by founders Helen Puddefoot and Tony Danker. The former said: “We are business growth and policy specialists, and working with Okana really helps us support clients who care deeply about place and how to grow the places where they live and work.”

Meanwhile, LDesign is an award-winning Ukrainian landscape architecture company that creates and implements complex landscape designs for urban spaces, social and private businesses, as well as local and national government clients. Founder and chief executive Iurii Baigot said: “By integrating local and regional expertise with the global connectivity of a leading growth specialist such as Okana, we aim to deliver impactful solutions together. Okana possesses an exceptional track record of success and we plan to emulate this success in Ukraine.”

Passion for better places

With a presence in Barcelona and Dubai, the fourth new partner is Urban Co.labs, which is a collaboration of international experts in the fields of urban design, public art and data science. Its vision is to merge the worlds of urbanism, art and technology to create community-focused, sustainable solutions for cities and the public spaces.

Leyla Saadi, Urban Col.labs founder, said: “This partnership with Okana supports our passions of creating better places, reducing waste and promoting social equality through design. These are areas evident in Okana’s past successes in urban design and development, and I am excited to see what the future brings.”

Kelly added: “Welcoming four new partners marks a significant milestone in our continued global expansion. One of our key drivers is delivering tangible results for our clients and continuing to strengthen our expertise with a community of best-in-class partners.”

The integration of the four new partners and their teams started at the recent Okana Forum 2024, which brought together Okana’s global network of partners for three days in the Austrian Alps.

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