Meet the Dubai girl shortlisted for prestigious international prize instituted by King Charles III

There are worldviews and then there’s Gen-Z’s view of the world. Every generation comes with its own challenges. The one Gen-Z finds itself in the midst of is the climate crisis. They have inherited a world where nature is registering its protest (think heatwaves, forest fires, depleting ozone layer). In such a scenario, sustainability becomes an important issue, and our young are unafraid to take matters into their own hands.

Dubai resident Aanya Arora is not just another Gen-Z doing her bit to make a difference when it comes to the dialogue on sustainability. The architecture graduate from Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) has made it to the finals of the prestigious Terra Carta Design Lab grant that was instituted by King Charles III and legendary designer Sir Jonathan Ive.

The venture that catapulted Aanya and her former classmate Michael J. Farris to the finals is Surplus, “a digital marketplace that maximises lifespan of materials, resulting in boosting local economies, lowering construction and renovation costs, and creating meaningful connections”. “Post-Covid, construction suppliers are charging hefty restocking fees, up to 15 per cent, or not buying back materials at all,” says Aanya. “This results in perfectly good materials sitting in warehouses, contractors’ lots or going to landfill. Working with subcontractors, coordinating transportation and inefficient communication reduces profit. Contractors need this material off their lot and are often willing to sell at a 30 per cent lower price than the purchase price.”

Surplus will connect buyers with sellers of surplus materials. Aanya adds that the platform will allow contractors to search for materials by size, type and location in real-time. “Our number one goal is to make purchasing surplus building materials just as simple as buying new ones,” she says. “We host active construction sites on our platform, where contractors and project managers would be able to see an itemised list of materials at each job site. Buyers can simply pick a time they want their material dropped off and our third-party transportation company will complete the task in the desired time frame.”

Aanya adds that the world produces 2.2 billion tons of construction waste annually, 75 per cent of which has the potential to be reused or recycled. Contractors, subcontractors, and tradesmen have plenty of surplus construction materials, from pallets of bricks to excess drywall, which either end up in dumpsters or go through inefficient restocking flows.

She admits that her primary hurdle will be in shifting the mindset of builders and contractors across the globe when it comes to making them understand the importance of managing construction waste. “For a long time, sending surplus materials to landfills has been the standard and most convenient practice in the industry. Convincing stakeholders to adopt a new approach has required a considerable effort in raising awareness about the environmental impact of construction waste and promoting the benefits of a more sustainable solution.”

The idea for Surplus is rooted in Michael and Aanya’s respective backgrounds. Michael grew up in Laguna Beach, California, while Aanya was only one-year-old when she came to Dubai and grew up here. Despite coming from two completely different contexts, they both “witnessed rapid urban growth in our respective cities”. “We frequently thought about the aftermath of this growth, particularly how wasteful the construction industry is and how the waste often goes unnoticed. It was no coincidence that both of our theses at RISD dealt with the aftermath of rapid urbanisation in our respective cities. Since then, our work experience has allowed us to identify crucial gaps in the project development phase of architecture. Surplus was thus created in this gap.”

Aanya’s passion for architecture has a lot to do with her upbringing in Dubai. She says she grew up witnessing its ambitious vision and innovative spirit that allowed it to expand so rapidly and become a bustling metropolis. “Being surrounded by such remarkable buildings made me aware of the power of design in shaping human experiences and behaviours. I became captivated by how architectural design profoundly influences not just the aesthetics of a space but also the way people interact with it and with each other,” she says. “I’m drawn to architecture because it is a broadly encompassing discipline, covering everything from aesthetics to material longevity. I enjoy that architectural design requires me to be a systems-thinker and constantly understand how various components of a building come together to create a cohesive and functional whole.”