D|D&C - Issue 9

Development Design & Construction issue 9 | December 2011

PROFILE

THE MIRA HONG KONG D|D&C | 1

Development Design & Construction

03 07

Summary News from around Asia

Profile : The Mira Hong Kong

hƩp://development-design-construcƟon.com/ pre func on area The Mira Hong Kong Front Cover : Room One The Mira Hong Kong

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CENTARA PREDICTING A BRIGHT FUTURE Central Plaza Hotel Plc (Centel) is predic ng a bright 2012 for its Centara hotel and resort chain.

A combina on of government plans to s mulate the economy and an an cipated resurgence in Thailand’s tourism industry is likely to more than compensate for revenue lost due to flooding.

Although the Centara Sofitel

Grand Bangkok was forced to close earlier this year as the flood waters entered Bangkok, the substan al growth recorded by the Centara Grand Mirage Beach Resort Pa aya and the Centara Grand Beach Resort Phuket have given Centel grounds for op mism.

Looking ahead, Centel plans to

increase its current por olio of 5,993 rooms in 31 hotels to 14,617 rooms in 89 hotels by 2016. Most of these new proper es will be abroad as Centel looks to expand the propor on of its hotels outside Thailand from 7% to 34% over the next five years. 

ERAWAN GROUP’S PLANS NOT AFFECTED BY FLOODS The Erawan Group has confirmed that it will not make any major changes to its five-year plan after assessing the damage of this year’s floods. Predic ng a quick recovery for Thailand’s tourism industry, the group will press ahead with its plans to develop 14 new hotels with a total of 2,800 rooms, acquire exis ng proper es in Thai-

land, and prepare for overseas expansion to coincide with the implementa on of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEN) in 2015.

In a move that will double the group’s current por olio of 3,300 rooms in 13 hotels, Erawan has set aside a total of 8 billion baht to build 14 new hotels, most of which will be mid-scale develop-

ments under the Ibis and Mercure brands. The group is also exploring opportuni es to take over exis ng proper es in Thailand, while overseas expansion plans are focused on investments in Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Myanmar. 

REAL ESTATE OPPORTUNITIES IN BOOMING MYANMAR A er years of being off-limits to the interna onal community, Myanmar is experiencing something of a boom in tourism and internaonal trade. Yet as the country’s new government gradually relaxes regula ons and the na on unlocks its doors to a world of opportunity, there is one major problem—a desperate shortage of adequate infrastructure. But as every entrepreneur knows, out of crisis comes opportunity. Interna onal investors and developers are already queuing up at the doors of one of

South-East Asia’s last undeveloped real estate markets.

Following a series of reforms by the country’s new government, there is genuine op mism that economic sanc ons could soon be eased, leading to increased opportuni es for interna onal trade.

The tourism industry also received a major boost last year when iconic democracy campaigner Aung San Suu Kyi reversed her advice for foreign tourists to stay away to avoid enriching the country’s former military junta. Following Aung San

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Suu Kyi’s call, Myanmar received 300,000 interna onal visitors in 2010. And while the figure is expected to be higher in 2011, there is s ll a lot of room for growth; to give some perspecve, neighbouring Thailand receives around 15 million visitors per year.

So Myanmar may be ready to open its doors, but there is a desperate shortage of adequate infrastructure to accommodate the newly arrived tourists and entrepreneurs. Much of Myanmar’s real estate dates back to the mes of Bri sh colonial rule.

Visitors talk of dilapidated office blocks with no elevators, while the country’s major gateway city of Yangon offers a meagre total of 540,000 square feet of office space—a similar amount to a single medium-sized office tower in Bangkok. Yangon also

has just 600 serviced apartments and 1,700 upper-scale hotel rooms.

In addi on to the influx of trade and tourists, Myanmar is slated to host a number of Associaon of South-East Asian Na ons (ASEAN) summits in 2014. There is clearly a need for property development, so what’s the hold up? While the interest among foreign developers and inves-

tors is high, it is s ll a li le too soon to rush in. Reforms are s ll at an early stage and the highly-an cipated foreign investment law has s ll not been introduced. But despite the cauon, it seems only a ma er of me before Yangon becomes South-East Asia’s next big boom town.

SINGAPORE STILL THE TOP MARKET FOR COMMERCIAL INVESTMENT IN AP According to the “Emerging Trends in Real Estate® Asia Pacific 2012”, Singapore remains the region’s most favourable market for commercial investment for the second year in succession, while China is s ll the largest emerging economy. Jointly published by the Urban Land Ins tute and PricewaterhouseCoopers, the real estate forecast covers 21 markets across the region and is based on the expert opinions of over 360 interna onally renowned real estate professionals, including investors, developers, property company representa ves, lenders, brokers, and consultants.

Singapore held on to the top spot due to its con nued emergence as a global city with a booming asset and wealth management sector as well as strong immigra on and steady growth in its tourism industry. Also high on the list are Shanghai and Sydney, ranked second and third respec vely. The Chinese ci es of Chongqing and Beijing complete the top 5.

While China is s ll the largest emerging economy, its performance is expected to slow down over the coming 5 years. India retains second spot in this category. However, investors and developers tend to be ham-

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pered by the country’s banking system. Japan reports the slowest growth in the region as it s ll recovers from the devastating earthquake and tsunami of March, 2011. 

YTL TO SELL LUXURY APARTMENTS IN S’PORE Malaysian property developer YTL Corp. is finally set to begin selling apartments in its luxury project in downtown Singapore. Having originally bought the Orchard Boulevard property for S$435 million ($339 million) USD in 2007, YTL has spent 4 years conver ng this building into 78 luxury apartments. The units will go on the market from early 2012 as YTL con nues its expansion across Asia.

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DOUBLETREE BY HILTON OPENS IN LANGFANG, CHINA DoubleTree by Hilton has increasedits por olio of hotels in China to eight with the opening of its latest property in the city of Langfang, between Beijing and Tianjin. Owned by the Wanda Group and managed by Hilton Worldwide, the luxury property features 295 rooms and suites, six signature restaurants and lounges, and extensive mee ng and banque ng facili es. The hotel is just a 5-minute drive from Langfang Sta on, from where high-speed trains connect with several major Chinese ci es.

There are currently 270 hotels in 22 countries opera ng under the DoubleTree by Hilton brand

with more than 30 new hotels and resorts scheduled to open in China alone over the next 5 years.

HOTEL AND RESTAURANT TO BE BUILT IN CONFUCIUS TEMPLE GROUNDS In an effort to generate enough revenue to pay the salaries of its staff, the Confucius Temple in Rehe, China has decided to build a hotel and restaurant within its grounds. The temple, which was originally built in 1779, was destroyed in the 1960s and has been undergoing renova on since 2007. The restaurant and hotel are expected to open in May 2012 and will be managed

by Summer Resort and Surrounding Temples Management Commi ee of Chengde. 

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Understated Luxury www.riverbirches.co.nz

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SAFDIE UNVEILS HIS LATEST MASTERPIECE Safdie Architects who designed Marina Bay Sands in Singapore has unveiled computer-generated images of his latest masterpiece, a $3.1bn mixed-use complex in Chongqing, China.

The 930,000m2 property will stand at the confluence of the Yangtze and Jialing Rivers on a plot of land recently acquired by a consor um of Singaporean developers headed by CapitaLand, CapitaMalls Asia, and Singbridge.

Featuring a total of six towers linked by a suspended garden

bridge, the project clearly bears the hallmark of Safdie’s world famous Marina Bay Sands design. The project’s two main central towers will house serviced residences, a hotel, private residen al units, and commercial space. The four smaller towers will be fully residen al. The two main towers and two of the smaller towers will be linked by the garden bridge, which will also be the loca on of the hotel lobby as well as restaurants that combine fine-dining with stunning city and river views. 

Image courtesy of Safdie Architects

ASIA-PACIFIC CONTINUES TO ATTRACT HOTEL INVESTMENT As the rest of the world connues to experience a downtown in tourism, roughly 30% of worldwide travel now takes place in the Asia-Pacific region.

The Asian tourism industry has the fastest growth rate in the world with booking revenues set to soar by up to 18% in 2012. Such is the rate of growth that the hotel industry is struggling to keep pace. According to the September 2011 STR Global Construc on Pipeline Report, the Asia-Pacific region has 1,309 new hotels with a total of 314,309 rooms in the development pipeline.

Many of the new developments are at the higher end of the scale with big players like Marrio Interna onal leading the way. The American hotel chain is already the largest in the

world and aims to increase its Asian por olio to 300 hotels by 2015. As part of its plan, Marrio will open 20 hotels in China, 9 in India, and 8 or 9 in Thailand in 2012. Another big player, Hya Hotels, has announced plans to open two Hya Place hotels and one Hya House hotel in Shanghai between 2014 and 2015. Hya currently has a total of 32 hotels under development in China.

Also looking to expand in the region, Alila Hotels and Resorts is set to open 17 new hotels before the end of 2013. Most of the new hotels will be in China and Indonesia to add to the luxury bou que hotel’s 7 exis ng proper es in India, Indonesia, and Cambodia.

Meanwhile, MGM Hospitality will open 3 new hotels in

the Maker Maxity complex in Mumbai, India, while the Intercon nental Hotels Group plans to open 12 new proper es under its yet-unnamed brand in China.

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The Mira Hong Kong D|D&C | 7

Inside Hong Kong’s Hottest Design Hotel

T

he Mira Hong Kong, one of Hong Kong’s funkiest Design Hotels is centrally located in the heart of Hong Kong’s commercial, shopping, dining and entertainment district of Tsimshatsui.

Exo cally designed by Edmond Wong of designcorp, Andrew Choy of Atelier C+ and William Lim of CL3 Architect Ltd and lavishly decorated by Charles Allem of CAD Interna onal, Inc., the Mira Hong Kong, offers art and accommoda on fashionably combined.

492 guest rooms and 56 suites and specialty suites are on offer, each designed in one of the four signature colour themes; red, green, silver and purple. The colours are drawn from Hong Kong’s exo c natural environment and historical and colonial architecture. The emerald and pla num colour scheme that can be found throughout the hotel resonates with the colours and the moods of the city’s region.

Above Right : Red C ity Room Above : Grand Mira Suite 2

Handpicked fabrics and designed staples including the Egg Chair by Arne Jacobsen are found throughout the guest rooms. The hotel marries high design and high tech features so that rooms feature a D|D&C | 8

40-inch LCD TV, 500GB Personal Computer / Entertainment Centre, Bose i-Pod dock, “My Mobile” Nokia phone service, which enables guests to connect anywhere, any me, inside or outside of the hotel. In addi on complimentary high-speed WiFi and wired Internet provided ensures the experience in this Design Hotel is one of unadulterated enjoyment

Allem takes this a step further in his design of the premium suite. Sleek, contemporary and lavish, the premium suite features a living room space reminiscent of a classical yet ultra-modern

“

aBabylonian oasis in the middleof t h e Hong Kong metropolis

Above Right : Whisk Above : Infinity Edge Pool

“

The 8 specialty suites found on the 5/F designed by Charles Allem offer a unique and luxurious feel. Lavish damasks, embossed leathers, ebony-stained wood floors, rich velvets, metallic leathers, and luminously coloured resins creates a space that feels stylish and modern yet decadent and delicious.

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Above : Fins Hotel Lobby Le Upper : Bullet Li Lobby Le Below: Mira Club

salon opening out into an in mate bar and lounge, setng the scene for casual cocktails or a more serious soiree.

A sumptuous bedroom with a drama c temple bed complete with spa bathroom sets the mood for the final drama c centrepiece in the design, the private terrace. Designed to be “a Babylonian oasis in the middle of the Hong Kong metropolis,” it’s intended as a space of “ meless tranquillity and u er serenity”.

The combina ons of the materials, artworks, sculptures and cu ng-edge ameni es, paired with bespoke furnishings, creates a las ng memory for the guests who have the opportunity to enjoy an extravagant sojourn at The Mira Hong Kong. Says Allem: “The whole is not only the sum of its parts. Each facet of this exquisite diamond, set in the heart of Hong Kong, is designed to fascinate and mesmerise. My vision has been to leave an indelible mark on the mind, body and soul.” h p://www.themirahotel.com

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C O M I N G SOON ON D|D&C TV Prab Thakral Spencer de Grey Rohit Sachdev Shigeru Ban Simon Allison Ole Schereen Kevin Beauvais hear what the industry leaders have to say

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