EXECUTIVE BOARDROOM COMMENTARY FROM ASIA
COLLABORATION, INNOVATION, VISION
Industrial Service Centre, Zhuhai, China Photography: Zhang Chao
We believe in the importance of providing a universal quality to each design with a unique and flexible aesthetic, a formula that we consider to be fundamental.
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EXECUTIVE BOARDROOM COMMENTARY FROM ASIA
A DECADE OF DESIGN Celebrating the 10th Anniversary of 10 Design Ross Milne, CEO, 10 Design
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his year we are celebrating 10 years of 10 Design. The practice has now been a decade in the making, and we are in a position where we can navigate the international architecture and design industry with finely-tuned expertise developed from a multitude of high-profile projects. Our scope of work spans international experience across diverse sectors, and we remain a company which is driven by the unique individual characters that make up our diverse workforce. We work across China and south east Asia as well as the US, Middle East and Europe. Our practice is design-led, with influences gathered from across the globe, which allows us to have a collaborative, innovative and visionary design approach and offer each client something unique. We take a fluid approach to the design process. This allows us to be involved with inspired and creative design as well as commercially driven projects. We believe in the importance of providing a universal quality to each design with a unique and flexible aesthetic, a formula that we consider to be fundamental.
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EXECUTIVE BOARDROOM COMMENTARY FROM ASIA
At 10 Design, we create visions. In Wuhan, China we designed and delivered the exemplar development Greatwall Complex, which provides a world-class office, retail and an attractive public realm. The project offers a striking addition to the streetscape. The design defines a new civic space in front of the building, connected through a series of processional ramp to a new roof top garden on the podium. The processional ramp allowed all levels of retail to open up at a new raised ground level, thereby presenting a unique pedestrian experience in Wuhan, benefitting from dining opportunities and public art. Greatwall Complex was also recognised for its sustainable credentials and achieved LEED Platinum Certification for Building Design & Construction: Core & Shell. It was important for the design concept of this project to reflect a dynamic and iconic working environment which attracts high end tenants. We achieved this with an emotive design which complements its surroundings in the designated financial core of Wuhan. Another example of our visionary approach to design is our proposal for the new Terminal 4 at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Jakarta, Indonesia. Our designs for the project include undulating roof forms and lush tropical gardens, representing a modern landmark with echoes to the traditions of Indonesia’s architecture.
Greatwall Complex, Wuhan, China Photography: 10 Design
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Greatwall Complex, Wuhan, China Photography: 10 Design
EXECUTIVE BOARDROOM COMMENTARY FROM ASIA
New Town Quarter, Edinburgh, UK
New Town Quarter, Edinburgh, UK
A critical part of the masterplanning process is the provision of public space and the contribution to the urban realm. There are of course regulations that determine the percentage of free areas that a scheme should consider and these are often crucial for the planning process. Parks, terraces, urban plazas, pedestrian and cycle routes are elements which can be moved around strategically to organise the different components of a scheme. Providing high quality public amenities can have significant benefits to a high-rise scheme, since they balance out denser areas, especially in compact cities. Additionally, these areas improve the permeability of the site, contribute to the conservation of local environments, and have significant impacts to the wellbeing of end users.
Our approach has always been centred around contextual design where each design stage is underpinned by on-site research in order to identify the geographical, cultural and societal conditions that the project should respond to. During the development process of the design, we explore new urban typologies, ecological strategies and sustainable solutions. Most importantly we aim to develop human-centred and culturally responsive solutions that support the local economy, foster social inclusion in cities, and build communities.
Residential-led mixed-use projects often provide different types of housing schemes as well as additional facilities such as educational, leisure, retail and hospitality. Our proposal for New Town Quarter, a development that will create a new urban centre in the heart of Edinburgh, considers office, hotel, wellbeing and residential components. The development uses a series of landscape and amenity terraces to maintain vistas while creating new pedestrian and cycle routes, greatly improving permeability in this part of the city. A new public plaza accommodating retail and dining, where community events can take place, will provide a new car free pedestrian connection between the surrounding urban context and King George V Park.
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EXECUTIVE BOARDROOM COMMENTARY FROM ASIA
Industrial Service Centre, Zhuhai, China Photography: Zhang Chao
10 Design is a practice which innovates, and we have developed our commitment to promoting more sustainable and ecological ways of living. Working across dense modern cities requires us to consider many factors when thinking about urban strategies. In many cases, combining the priorities of a vibrant city while addressing the challenges of sustainable construction has proved challenging. Over 10 years we have tracked this and found solutions in order for us to lead on sustainable design.
Industrial Service Centre, Zhuhai, China Photography: Zhang Chao
Industrial Service Centre, Zhuhai, China Photography: Zhang Chao
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EXECUTIVE BOARDROOM COMMENTARY FROM ASIA
We provide sustainable solutions, having recently developed a series of design approaches that address environmental features and also stimulate economic growth and social inclusion in market-driven cities. For example, one of our projects, the Vertical Farm Centre, in my home city of Hong Kong, explores a new urban typology and a unique model of ecology within a mixed-use complex: retail, commercial space and hospitality. The proposal centres around a high-rise tower that provides agricultural services as well as cultural and commercial spaces enclosed by a hydroponic greenhouse and an aeroponic atrium. Agricultural production will provide benefits such as an educational tourist attraction, profitable crops, and encourage better health and wellbeing for the city. The project proposes an ecosystem cycle in which all waste is repurposed. It creates a positive loop cycle for the city whereby the energy and water systems turn waste to power and purify water. With global food supply chains affected by
climate change and conflict, city farms become a ubiquitous part of urban life, appearing on roof tops, building surfaces and inside purposebuilt climate-controlled environments. Our approach has always been centred around what is known as contextual design where our design process is underpinned by on-site research in order to identify the geographical, cultural, societal conditions that the project should respond to. During the development process of the design, we explore new urban typologies, ecological strategies and sustainable solutions. Most importantly we aim to develop human-centred and culturally responsive solutions that support the local economy, foster social inclusion in cities, and build communities. For example, the Industrial Service Centre we designed for Huafa Group in Jinwan Aviation City in Zhuhai, China was designed to create a workspace for burgeoning start-up companies and entrepreneurs to collaborate, establishing an incubation platform.
A Proposal to Redefine Hong Kong Harbourfront & The Vertical Farm Centre
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EXECUTIVE BOARDROOM COMMENTARY FROM ASIA
Our work has an impact on connecting cities and people. Baozixi Park in Wuhan, China, for our client COFCO, connects pedestrians to the adjacent area of Joy City retail mall. The design features an ‘ecology line’ - a public promenade that subtly connects a string of five lightweight, elegant pavilions to one another with a series of substantial civic social spaces. The area has been designed to foster interaction and collaboration amongst people arriving from the nearby metro station arrival.
Baozixi Park, Wuhan, China
Baozixi Park, Wuhan, China
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The design unifies two distinct habitat: the urban high-rise and the human scale parkland. This results in a built environment that offers the best of the surrounding context as a sustainable, green, natural and human scaled place with the accessibility, activity, and flexible public realm that dynamic urban spaces should provide.
EXECUTIVE BOARDROOM COMMENTARY FROM ASIA
Yonghyeon-Hagik District, Incheon, Korea In collaboration with NOW Architects
Zhuhai International Exhibition & Convention Centre - Phase 2, Zhuhai, China
10 Design has significant experience in delivering large scale projects, including urban regeneration and masterplanning. We led on the design for the 15 million sq ft development in Incheon’s YonghyeonHagik District in Korea, a mixed-use masterplan consisting of residential, cultural, retail, and office provision, complemented by a large garden loop which unifies the entire masterplan with a park network. Our brief
was to mitigate and reduce the impact of a large, elevated freeway that divides the site into two halves. A series of cultural facilities weave in and out of a new park located under the freeway. Utilizing contour shading concepts, the underside of the freeway is painted in a bold artistic pattern that further blurs the edges of the freeway.
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EXECUTIVE BOARDROOM COMMENTARY FROM ASIA
Narra Residences Empire City, HCMC, Vietnam
At 10 Design we fundamentally understand what it means to create spaces which encourage and offer a positive experience of space. We design new experiential space and create destination landmarks with cultural, leisure and luxury facilities and we intuitively recognise how to produce aesthetically pleasing buildings with a sense of place. A great example of this is our project in Sungang, Shenzhen for China Resources’ MixC Market Hall. Currently under construction in a former industrial zone, this retail-gastronomy and leisure destination will provide an immersive shopping and gastronomic experience under one roof. The project is entered under a stainless steel sculptural canopy leading to a pedestrianised retail street, offering a sense of place to draw people in. Our ability to ignite experience spans a cross-section of asset classes, as well as retail spaces we have designed, we have also implemented the scope for experience in a number of residential projects. The 278 unit Narra Residences in Vietnam will be amongst the most prestigious addresses within the new Empire City in Thu Thiem New Urban Area (District 2) of Ho Chi Minh City. The development consists of two towers connected by a striking skybridge on the 20th floor, this feature creates a strong visual axis and the opportunity to create resort amenities on the skybridge deck. We also introduced the ‘Neighbourhoods in the Sky’ concept by implementing a series of stacked apartment clusters which are expressed architecturally as part of this scheme. The vertical neighbourhoods create a sense of experience and community for residents.
China Resources’ Sungang MixC Market Hall, Shenzhen, China
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EXECUTIVE BOARDROOM COMMENTARY FROM ASIA
Nanjing Dajiaochang Airport Mixed Use Development, Nanjing, China
The redevelopment of Nanjing Dajiaochang Airport, China (design in progress)
We consider ourselves to be adaptive in our design approach. This is evident in our work redeveloping the Nanjing Dajiaochang Airport, an old military airport in Nanjing, China. The initial scheme, for client China Fortune, was to design a contemporary mixed-use destination involving three interconnecting buildings linked by a sunken street, incorporating office, retail, and cultural spaces. The project is an important commercial asset for the city and will provide workers, shoppers and residents
with a new cosmopolitan landmark, and in parallel, it responds to the cultural richness of its landscape. With two underground railway stations embedded into the site, connectivity is one of the key design drivers, and so we had to be adaptive in our approach for utilising these stations. The initial scheme includes a central corridor positioned directly on top of one of the railway tracks, providing a feature passageway for commuters to navigate through the three buildings.
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EXECUTIVE BOARDROOM COMMENTARY FROM ASIA
Many of our projects are in prominent waterfront locations within cities which become destinations for people to enjoy. We designed the The Contemporary Area of Al Seef in Dubai, which has been created as a complementary foil to the Heritage Area, forming part of the wider masterplan. The space which we designed has activated 670m of the Dubai Creek waterfront with boutique food and beverage, retail, hospitality, and marina amenities over a total of GFA of 85,000sqm. The retail and hospitality pavilions draw inspiration from the traditional arcade and souk typology in a contemporary adaptation. The meandering pathways between small, stacked pavilion structures create an intimate scale and alternative shaded environment to add to the variety and richness of the visitor experience. In order to provide best in class design-service to our broad range of clients, it is crucial to our business that we embrace global emerging talent. We encourage a collaborative workplace for ideas to be discussed and evolve. 10 Design creates a participatory platform where our creative talents solve complex problems confronting architecture and urban design. Our family of talent encompasses more than 30 nationalities, speaking over 40 languages and dialects across 7 offices including Hong Kong, Shanghai, Edinburgh, Dubai, Miami, London, and Shenzhen. That’s a considerable cultural advantage in today’s shrinking world. Global talent has fueled 10 and will continue to do so.
Al Seef (The Contemporary Area), Dubai, UAE Photography: Rafael Vargas
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Al Seef - The Contemporary Area, Dubai, UAE Photography: Rafael Vargas
EXECUTIVE BOARDROOM COMMENTARY FROM ASIA
In addition, this significant cultural advantage brings diversity and creativity to 10 Design’s work in around 60 cities across Asia, MENA, Europe, and the Americas. Our global talents enable the practice to work at diverse scales, from the design of individual buildings to the planning of cities. This in turn has enabled 10 to offer expertise in the planning and design of projects in large-scale mixed use development, retail, office, residential, hospitality, transport, education, cultural, and civic projects.
Ross Milne, CEO, 10 Design The first 10 years of 10 Design’s development have been focused around establishing quality benchmarks which influence everything we do from our office environments to the selection of materials on site. The next phase of our growth is to push further into innovative and value driven design approaches synonymous with our brand.
As a forward looking practice, we at 10 Design are excited about the next 10 years of growth and are optimistic that the next decade brings as much opportunity for us as our first one. In the past couple of months, the world has suffered one of the most dramatic impacts to the global economy in decades and we have witnessed the built environment industry adapting to unprecedented challenges. We are proud to be part of the recovery of the market in Asia, having the majority of our projects on the area back on track, proving how essential the design and construction industry is for supporting the regional and local economy and creating liveable cities.
10 Design Hong Kong Office ©10 Design
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