Most firms with every engineering discipline in-house are much larger. Al Dahhan created his with end-users in mind
Age: 39
When Haydar Al Dahhan talks about engineering, he doesn’t start with buildings. He starts with the people who will live and work in them.
That perspective has shaped Design Works Engineering, the company Al Dahhan co-founded in 2014 and now leads as president and CEO. After working in the oilfield for some time, he decided to move into the building design sector, where he gained experience and eventually started his business.
While Design Works now has 16 offices around the world, the largest is in Edmonton because Al Dahhan likes the city’s culture and sense of community. When he lived in Grande Prairie, he would frequently travel to Edmonton, staying in the Chateau Lacombe Hotel, enjoying downtown. “There are so many opportunities for growth in Edmonton,” Al Dahhan says. “We are so underdeveloped in terms of multi-family units, but we’re starting to see a lot more.”
Al Dahhan’s approach to business has been about making life easier for the people who work at and hire his firm. Design Works brings multiple engineering disciplines in house — something he says is more common in much larger firms. Instead of developers having to co-ordinate separate mechanical, electrical and structural firms, the disciplines work together.
But what sets him apart isn’t simply building a growing engineering firm.
He looks to developers and beyond, to the people who will occupy the structures. He thinks about the families who will eventually live in the buildings his company creates and the business people who’ll make their livelihoods there.
“When we do final inspections, and I can see people moving in, that just really resonates,” Al Dahhan says. “I really enjoy seeing those things.”
This article appears in the November-December 2026 issue of Edify
