Danish consulting engineer Ramboll has announced the acquisition of Singaporean consultant Web Structures, which specialises in design and engineering services for high-rise buildings.
The deal will allow Ramboll to expand its to its 4,500 payroll with 120 designers and engineers based in offices in Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Shanghai and London. Web Structures has undertaken more than 650 projects in more than 28 countries since 1996.
Richard Beard, the managing director of Ramboll Buildings, said the deal was "integral to our international growth strategy. With more colleagues based in Singapore, Ramboll can offer integrated services across the built environment".
He picked out its fit with Ramboll Henning Larsen Architects, which the company bought last month.
"We want to strengthen our dialogue with clients in the early stages of projects, raising the sustainability agenda to the forefront," Beard said.
Hossein Rezai, founding director of Web Structures, said his firm had not agreed to the merger for commercial reasons, but because there was a "strategic fit" between the two companies’ ambitions. He added that Ramboll’s environmental credentials "tilted the balance".
"At these times of climate crisis and serious threat to biodiversity, Ramboll’s responsible attitude towards the environment is commendable. We are joining forces to work harder together to achieve these goals through design," Rezai said.
Web Structures’ website describes the company as a pioneer of ‘fusion engineering’, intended to "bring together design sensitivity with cost efficiency to develop engineering solutions where the traditional separation between architectural design aesthetics and structures is erased".
Image: Web Structures’ Equatorial Plaza in Kuala Lumpur (Equatorial Plaza)
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