Development Design & Construction issue 14| February 2012
URBAN LUNG R A I N H I L L
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Development 04 Design & Construction Summary News: from around Asia
D|D & C © 2012 to feature your work, adver se in this publica on or to subscribe contact editor@qube-3.com D|D&C published by Qube Consul ng (Thailand) Co., Ltd
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THE PHILIPPINE APPROACH TO GAMING: HOTELS BEFORE CASINOS The Philippines is bringing tourism and gaming together in a bid to a ract more visitors to the country. A $USD4 billion Entertainment City project, to be built on a 120-hectare plot of reclaimed land along Manila Bay, will allow its main investors to put up casinos – on the proviso that they first build and run a luxury hotel of at least 800 rooms. This is in line with the
government policy that requires operators to open hotels before launching the more lucra ve casino facili es. The policy is reflected in the government’s current marke ng campaign: “It’s more fun in the Philippines.” There has been a mixed response to the policy, with some claiming it has so ened local opposi on to casino development
KEY ACHIEVEMENTS IN THE IMPLEMENTATION OF CARLSON REZIDOR HOTEL GROUP’S ‘AMBITION 2015’ PLAN Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group has achieved several milestones during the implementa on of its ‘Ambi on 2015’ strategy. Two years a er launching its plan, the large and ambi ous interna onal hotel chain has overseen the dynamic growth of its core Radisson brand, the expansion of its Club Carlson loyalty program to 8 million members, and the augmenta on of its global
por olio to over 1,300 hotels, including a number of proper es in the Asia Pacific region. As part of its expansion plan for 2012, the group will add the Radisson Blu Plaza Hotel Chongqing Nan Bin Lu in China and the Radisson Blu Hotel Ludhiana in India. All in all, the group expects to open 16 proper es in Asia Pacific this year.
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PARK HYATT BANGKOK TO BE LAUNCHED IN THE HEART OF BANGKOK’S CENTRAL BUSINESS A prime piece of Bangkok real estate is about to get a new star property. Hya Hotels Corpora on has signed a management agreement with Central Embassy, a subsidiary of the Central Group, to build Park Hya Bangkok on the site of land acquired from the Bri sh Embassy in the heart of Bangkok’s central business district. The hotel will be launched in 2014 in a contemporary mixeduse building whose unique feature will be its innova ve ‘twisted coil’ exterior that is set to add a new twist to Bangkok’s busy skyline. The hotel will include 222 guestrooms, including 49 suites, as well as a range of dining op ons, sky bar, leisure ameni es, and extensive mee ng space. The hotel’s loca on will also provide quick access to the nearby expressways, the BTS Skytrain commuter rail, and Suvarnabhumi Interna onal Airport. Park Hya Hotel will become the chain’s third property PRECAST CONSTRUCTION SET TO GROW FOR in Thailand and its 18th Park Hya LOW-RISE HOUSING under development worldwide. Precast housing construc on has been growing rapidly in Thailand since 2011 and, over the next 3 years, is set to replace conven onal building techniques in the country’s low-rise housing market. Rising wages, higher construc on costs, and labour shortages are among the reasons for the shi in the market. Major developers inves ng in precast produc on include Asian Property Development and Pruksa Real Estate. Another developer, Property Perfect, is currently building 2 precast factories.
Previously, precast construc on was not widely used due to low labour costs and a preference for custom-built homes. It is also not as lucra ve as property development, with lower gross margins and net profits, and a longer break-even period. PreBuilt Plc, the parent company of a leading precast materials producer, believes more projects will come from the government sector. The company expects its revenues to increase to THB 3.7 billion this year, up 23% from 2011.
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BEST WESTERN LAUNCHES NEW HOTELS IN BANGKOK AND MANILA The Best Western Interna onal hotel chain will open new proper es in Bangkok and Manila as part of its rapid growth in Southeast Asia. The Best Western at Chaeng Wa ana, scheduled to open in 2014, will be located on the outskirts of the Thai capital, near the IMPACT Arena conference and
exhibi on centre. The hotel will offer guests 188 rooms and a full range of facili es. The hotel at Chaeng Wa ana will become the chain’s fi h property in Greater Bangkok and its 14th in Thailand. Across the South China Sea, The Best Western The A. Venue Suites Maka has been launched
as the chain’s fi h hotel in the Philippine capital. The hotel provides 70 suites in a variety of categories, as well as dining, leisure, and business facili es. The Maka property is Best Western’s third hotel in Manila and its sixth in the Philippines.
HILTON TO BUILD ITS FIRST DOUBLETREE HOTEL IN THAILAND Hilton Worldwide is about to introduce its mid-range DoubleTree brand to the Thai market. The global hotel chain has hired TCC Land to manage its first DoubleTree property in Thailand on Bangkok's Sukhumvit Road with further expansion already planned.
The new hotel’s average room rate will start at around THB 3,000 per night, about a third lower than the current Hilton rate. DoubleTree by Hilton has expanded its por olio by over 40% since 2000, making it one of the fastest-growing midrange hotel brands of the last
decade. It has a total of over 250 proper es with 65,000 rooms in almost 20 countries. The group is also planning to open a new Hilton-brand hotel in Thailand, the Hilton Bangkok Sukhumvit, with both area hotels serving as convenient stops for leisure and business travellers.
SWISS INTERNATIONAL LAUNCHES HOTELS IN INDIA AND SOUTHERN ASIA Swiss Interna onal Hotels & Resorts has hired Rockwood Associates LLC to develop its brand in India and the Southern Asian countries of Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and the Maldives. The Swiss-
based hotel group will offer 2 brands in these loca ons: the 4- and 5-star luxury brand, Swiss Interna onal Hotel, and the 3-star business hotel brand, Spirit Hotels & Inns, by Swiss Interna onal. This is part of
the group’s larger strategy of expanding its brand in Asia and elsewhere. Swiss Interna onal currently has over 30 hotels in its global por olio and plans to launch its first hotel in China in April 2012.
Understated Luxury www.riverbirches.co.nz
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D|D&CTV Prab Thakral Spencer de Grey Rohit Sachdev Shigeru Ban Simon Allison Ole Schereen Kevin Beauvais
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URBAN SANCTUARY
RAINHILL Rain Hill, developed by the Bou que Group of Companies, is a community mall with the concept of “The Cosmopolitan Hangout” located in the heart of Bangkok on Sukhumvit 47. With its golden loca on, coupled with retail stores featuring more than 40 leading brands, hand-picked to cater to the urban lifestyles of Bangkok residents, the newest project is designed to be an ideal mee ng place of a true eco-conscious retail mall and a hip urban lifestyle. Rain Hill features ver cal green ecoconscious architecture, surrounded by tropical plants and 30-meter high rainfall walls, built with a total budget of over 400 million baht. Rain Hill also serves as a new lung for Bangkok. Despite its loca on in one of the busiest and most congested business areas, the newest lifestyle mall can make visitors feel relaxed amid a lush-green garden, surrounded by tropical plants and 30-meter high rainfall walls. With environmental consciousness kept in mind, the project was built under the design of “Green Eco Conscious Concept”. The amazing greenery paints a lush-green contrast to the concrete jungle of Sukhumvit.
Following Rain Hill’s resolu on to truly streamline the eco-conscious design, all pre-exis ng, on-site sixty-year-old trees have been kept intact, providing fresh air, natural shade and a cool atmosphere. In addi on, the building is designed to use recyclable energy to lower power consump on. A new water-based air-condi oning system is employed to support Rain Hill’s green ini a ve of minimizing any harmful impact on the environment. These green conscious ideas have also been implemented in all Rain Hill’s retail stores in order to further promote care towards the environment. Set in a dis nc ve retail ambiance, Rain Hill occupies 5,000 sq. m. of commercial space over five storeys and caters to high-end shoppers living in the Sukhumvit area and has an investment of 400 million baht.
For more informa on, please visit h p:// rainhill47.com/ or www.facebook.com/ Rainhill47 or www.twi er.com/Rainhill47.
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EfďŹ cient Design, Engineering and Material Technologies for High Performance Building Envelopes Conference: 25 - 26 April 2012 | Site Visit - Resorts World Sentosa: 24 April 2012 Technical Workshops: 27 April 2012 | Venue: Marina Bay Sands, Singapore
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