The AI optimist running construction in the City of London

Ola Obadara FCIOB oversees one of the most diverse and exciting construction portfolios in the UK. As group director for property projects at the City of London Corporation, her work encompasses projects ranging from municipal buildings to new-build social housing, schools, green spaces and famous bridges. At any one time, she has responsibility for between 40 and 50 capital projects.

“We are a quite unique organisation,” Obadara says. “A lot of people think the City is just the square mile, but we look after green spaces like Hampstead Heath and Epping Forest. We’ve got the Barbican Arts Centre, the Guildhall School of Music… and the City’s bridges through the City Bridge Foundation.

“It’s an absolutely lovely portfolio and I’m quite privileged to be able to deliver these projects.”

Obadara will be CIOB’s next president in 2027 and is one of the institute’s client champions. Through this network, she hopes to pass on ideas and best practice to other clients, along with her “passion” for embracing technology and AI.

At her office in the Guildhall, Obadara heads the City of London Corporation’s Property Projects Group, reporting to the City Surveyor, a post whose origins date back to 1478.

“The first City Surveyor was Edward Stone, and we’ve had some notable figures over the centuries,” she says. “Robert Hooke was appointed after the Great Fire of London in 1666 and played a major role in rebuilding the City. Horace Jones designed the Guildhall and the markets. The role has a distinguished history.”

Obadara says her work is “mainly on the development side” and she describes her role as “the construction lead for the City of London Corporation”.  

“My remit covers demolition, refurbishment and new-build projects,” she explains. “The Property Projects Group is a multidisciplinary construction team, and we deliver the City’s capital build programmes.”

Obadara’s diary includes regular meetings with contractors, consultants, planners, developers, her own team and internal clients, for example, the City of London Police. Governance is another significant part of the role. 

“The City of London Corporation has 125 elected members, and at least once a week I’m presenting reports or project updates to committees or project boards,” she says. 

Obadara also meets regularly with senior executives in the contractors and consultants delivering City projects. “I think it’s really important to build that relationship at that senior level, in case there are any blockers at site level or design level.

“I still love going out on site,” she adds. “I started my career in a site cabin when I was working as an architectural assistant. Whenever I get the opportunity to visit projects and appreciate the amount of effort that’s going into delivering them, that’s the best part of my day.”

Outside observers might think the Square Mile has unique construction challenges, but Obadara says the City has similar pressures to other clients.

“We’re not immune to statutory body delays – we recently had hold-ups due to the Building Safety Regulator – and we’re also affected by construction inflation, labour shortages and material shortages,” she says.

Working in one of the world’s busiest commercial districts inevitably creates logistical challenges, but Obadara thinks contractors generally do a decent job. The Corporation has its own Considerate Constructors Scheme and awards, with Bam, Erith, Getjar, Mace and Skanska among the 2026 gold winners.

“We recognise contractors who exceed our City code of conduct for how they manage safety, planning, stakeholder management, site environment and cleanliness,” Obadara says.

The Corporation is pushing sustainability through a circular economy working group and works with the Romulus initiative, which connects neighbouring authorities and other recycling networks to maximise the reuse of construction materials.

“It’s like an eBay for construction materials,” Obadara explains. “Contractors can source reclaimed products that can be reused on their projects.”

One high profile example involves reclaimed granite from the Embankment, which has been reused for a seating installation at St Paul’s Cathedral.

Obadara’s major interest area is technology and she describes herself as an “AI optimist”. 

“As clients, we’re at the top of the project hierarchy, defining success and aligning outcomes, but where I think we really need to focus is collaboration around research, technology and the adoption of AI,” she says.

“It’s a fantastic opportunity for construction professionals to improve what we do and how we deliver. For clients, that means shorter programmes and reduced costs.

“I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say AI and technology will be one of the most transformative developments in construction since computers first came along.”

She recently attended the Construction Humanoids Conference and left wondering whether the industry is asking the right question.

“I’m not saying there’s no place for humanoid robots on construction sites,” she says. “I think they’ll do a fantastic job scanning, programming and snagging. But not every robot in construction has to be humanoid.

“I use a dishwasher as the example. When the dishwasher was invented, nobody built a humanoid robot to stand there washing and drying dishes. Somebody invented an entirely different system for washing dishes. 

“Rather than trying to replicate how labour works on site by replacing people with humanoid robots, we should take a step back and rethink how we build around the technology that’s available.”

Obadara says her own AI use extends to Copilot at present. 

“If I’m trying to find the last time a particular type of building was designed or constructed, or what something cost, I could spend hours searching for that information. Copilot can gather it really succinctly,” she says.

But she sees the possibilities of AI as almost “limitless”. 

“Is it going to be used for putting tenders together? You can, for example, scan drawings and pull out a bill of quantities. Will it be used for assessing tenders, if you’re a client?”

Does she think there are ethical concerns if contractors begin submitting AI-generated tenders? 

“Things are moving rapidly, but I think the answer is no,” Obadara replies. “Most people are using large language models simply to search for information.”

But there is a challenge for clients, she believes, in ensuring they are not left behind by technology.

“That’s why collaboration with contractors and consultants is so important,” Obadara says. “We’re trying to keep pace with AI and construction innovation, but I’m not sure we fully understand yet how best to deploy it. We need to help each other understand how we adapt to this new technology.”