NDA Group: Developing Thoughtful & Purpose- Driven Spaces that Fuel Long- Term Value

The company specializes in tourism & culture, hotels and resorts, waterfront & marina complexes, mountain & ski developments, as well as sports & well-being projects. With a team of more than 100 professionals, NDA Group provides lead consultant services to guarantee holistic value creation to clients. The integrated services range includes Market & Strategic planning, Consultancy (including Hospitality Operations Efficiency), Landscape, Planning, Architecture, and Interior.

Designing Sustainable Structures

NDA Group aims to promote and maintain a long-term commitment to the sustainable architectural sector. The CEO, Emmanuel Delarue informs, “Our design focuses on green and sustainable elements in all aspects. Firstly, focusing on the materials and where they are sourced from. Secondly, how the project is going to be brought to life with strong energy conservation solutions. The third aspect is the long-term value of building or planning. And the last one is covering energy recycling too. Some clients are often hesitant to spend money initially without a complete understanding of the significant future complications that a ‘pennywise dollar foolish’ approach may create down the line. A cheap and quick solution is good for the pocket but you are going to waste a lot of energy and resources are going to be wasted if the only aim that matters is short-term profit. Think about it, do you want to make a profit for yourself or do you want to build for the future and impact the world?”

The Transitional Phase of Asia’s Infrastructure Space

In a burgeoning market like Asia, the first developmental stage is transforming existing cities, instead of building new ones. Emmanuel mentions, “What we see happening in Europe, Asia, and the Middle East is the creation of cities from nothing or from very small existing ones, before planning big cities. Due to the nature of city planning, cities must be planned for the next 50 years at least. It is not a matter of just a few days or a few years, planning is for the next generations, allowing enough flexibility to constantly adapt to the context, political agendas and of course the demand of citizens. This is what architecture and urban design in Asia should do, and this is what we are doing too. We are bringing the experience of doing things combining collective wisdom with a vision of long-term and positive impact.”

He further adds, “In my opinion, the key to effective sustainability is to apply to big cities the ‘green principles’ existing since ages in old towns design for people first instead of cars or other high tech transportation that not always match the reality of the site. Sustainability is critical when it comes to implementing in an existing city with big buildings and a dense population. The idea here is to tackle the big problems, especially with big cities and huge populations, as in Asia. Small steps are fine, but it is only when one implements the principles in big cities with millions of people, that the real benefits of sustainable practices can exponentially impact a place or a destination”.

The Growth

NDA Group has significantly grown in Asia, especially over the past 10 years, both business development wise and organically in size, office space, and team members. The company has expanded its line of business with a new Hospitality Division, composed with Hotel Operation experts providing marketing consultancy, design, and operations advisory services to operators and developers. NDA Hospitality is also dedicated to helping international operators with their new concept creations and hotel & resort portfolio development.

On the whole, the company plans to consolidate and adapt the brand to an ever-changing and unpredictable world by transforming and innovating its foundations to become a great company to work for, a global one, and a solid brand to do business with.