Meet the members, in conversation with Preven Naicker

Preven Naicker is a Director and Chief Operations Officer at Nexor 312 (Pty) Ltd. Apart from having qualifications in Architecture and Project Management, he is also a registered Professional Senior Architectural Technologist and a Professional Construction Project Manager with 22 years’ experience in the built environment.

Nexor is a multi-disciplinary built environment consultancy that specialises in projects that is related to infrastructure, from Project Management, Architecture, Quantity Surveying as well as Civil, Structural, Pavement Engineering, and Automated Road Assessments.

We chatted to Preven about his work, his source of inspiration and his views on the green building industry.

1.Where do you go for inspiration?

I believe the place that gives me the most inspiration is India. Maybe it is the nostalgia or just the sheer irony in the fact that I am a second-generation South African. The cultural and religious way of life is what inspires me the most.

2.What is the best part of your workday?

I would say the whole day. I love what I do and as the saying by Mark Twain goes, “Find a job you enjoy doing, and you will never have to work a day in your life. I make the most of my entire day, always on the move and always dealing with a multitude of issues.

3.What is the most exciting project/aspect of your work currently?

This would be the management of our people, and by our people I mean the staff and colleagues that I work with daily. I look forward to the daily challenges, which range from project specific challenges to challenges within the business itself.

4.What achievement are you most proud of?

I am most proud of my family who tolerate my constant working hours, which can sometimes go late into the night, specifically after Covid hit the world. I thank my wife and my kids for enduring this way of life.

5.What do you think is the most urgent global environmental challenge facing us?

This would have to be climate change. With the recent floods in KZN, two of which took place within a month of each other, it is evident that climate change is at our doorstep, if not has already entered. The mindset must change, in that every little bit counts in making a difference.

6.What do you feel is the biggest issue in the green building industry what we have to overcome, and any ideas on where to start in tackling it?

I would think the main challenge facing the Green Building revolution, is change. We need people and processes to change. We need to change the way we do things historically, with change comes great and renewed opportunities. Change for a better world.