Our Managing Director, Jason Burnside, was recently featured in Construction Week's 2026 The Architects’ Hall of Fame. Sharing with them his professional insights and journey from starting as an architect to now a managing partner.
Jason Burnside’s journey into architecture began in his mid-teens, shaped by an early curiosity about how buildings influence human experience. Growing up in Donegal, Ireland, where career paths often leaned towards trades, his interest was sparked by St Aengus Chapel, designed by Liam McCormick. He went on to study at the University of Dundee, graduating in 1996, before beginning his career in London at a small urban design practice. Over five years, he worked across architecture and planning, an experience that proved formative in shaping his understanding of buildings as part of a broader urban fabric rather than isolated entities.
Jason moved to Dubai in 2001 to join Godwin Austen Johnson at a time when the region was undergoing rapid transformation.
"It was early June, 2001, and I found myself in the French Bakery having a chance meeting with Brian Johnson, discussing architecture and life in Dubai. It was a quiet city at that time, and before I arrived, I hadn’t really heard anything about it. As a young architect, the prospect of possibly working here seemed exciting, a chance to live somewhere different for a year or two and enjoy the sun.
And so, in September 2001, I stepped off the plane with just a rucksack, sweltering in the unfamiliar heat as I waited for a taxi to take me to Golden Sands, which would be my new home.
Brian reassured us - a team of ten employees at that time - that we were absolutely in the right place and that Dubai, and the UAE, would find a way to move forward."
Over the past 25 years, Jason has progressed within the firm from architect to Partner and Managing Director, working across the full lifecycle of projects. The rapid expansion of Dubai, the UAE and the MENA during this period has allowed the firm to design a diverse range of projects from Morrocco to India, from hotels to schools, museums to apartment towers.
“I’m often asked what it was like to be named Managing Director. On a personal level, for me, that shift matched my belief that everything we do is about the need to keep on challenging ourselves."
The WB Abu Dhabi by Hilton required the integration of a strong global brand identity within a clear architectural framework that enhances the guest experience. In the residential sector, Serenia Residences and Serenia Living on Palm Jumeirah demonstrate how careful planning and spatial organisation can elevate the quality of living environments. However, a significant portion of his work lies in education, with projects such as Dubai College and Arcadia School contributing directly to learning environments and long-term community development.
Jason’s design philosophy is grounded in clarity, functionality, and context. He emphasises the importance of responding intelligently to climate, culture, and user needs, while ensuring that design concepts translate effectively into built form.
“At Godwin Austen Johnson I’d say that what we feel most comfortable with is an approach that takes on board many ideas and options, and then galvanises them together to create a totally bespoke approach. This is an approach that reflects the context of the project, what the client wants, and the experiences that the people using the building would like to have. As an architectural practice, a lot of what we do is try to imagine how you’ll feel experientially as you enter and journey through that building. It’s about how we can go about creating a space that the user will ultimately feel comfortable in.
In today’s world, it’s also about how we can make that building more sustainable. There is a new awareness among clients that a building takes a huge amount of energy; everyone is now better-placed to ask questions about the relationship between waste and productivity.”
Link to the Construction Week's article:
https://property.constructionweekonline.com/revealed-top-25-architects-redefining-the-middle-easts-skyline/