Built environment consultancy Okana has added new partners to its global network, expanding its presence to Dubai and Ukraine
Okana was created in 2024 to build on the success of BIM Academy – an international digital consultancy for the built environment founded by Ryder Architecture and Ryder Alliance, a global network delivering collaborative projects around the world.
The new partners will support its technological development by combining place-shaping and economics to drive new efficiencies across the built environment, it said.
Complex landscape design for urban spaces
The first new partner is LDesign, an award-winning Ukrainian landscape architecture company, which specialises in creating and implementing complex landscape designs for urban spaces, social and private businesses, and local and national governments.
Founder and CEO 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 possess an exceptional track record of success and we plan to emulate this success in Ukraine.”
Merging urbanising, art and technology
The second new partner is Urban Co.labs. Based in Barcelona and Dubai, it brings together international experts in urban design, public art and data science to merge the worlds of urbanism, art and technology in order to create community-focused, sustainable solutions for cities and their public spaces.
Leyla Saadi, the founder of Urban Col.labs, is an urbanist and storyteller committed to the betterment of life in cities and creating inspiring public spaces empowered by data: “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.”
Okana has also added two UK-based partners to its network with Future Places Studio, a research, content and placemaking studio shaping the future of the built environment, and placemaking consultancy Growth Incorporated.
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 in the Austrian Alps.
This three-day event was a chance for the partner community to collaborate and align their values and strategies alongside Okana’s wider goal of shaping a better tomorrow.
Graham Kelly, managing director at Okana, said: “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.”
