PRC Magazine #82 ( architecture | building | construction )

2016 Issue 82

Pacific Rim Construction

The world’s finest hand crafted timbers

by Schotten and Hansen

世界上最好的手工制作木材

Inside: Arquitectonica designs state-of-the-art Jockey Club centre L & O embraces sustainability to heal, engage and inspire Benoy designers apply Singapore codes to Hong Kong site Jerde addresses new adaptations for sustainable land use

Hong Kong / PRC $50

Adoption of BIM discussed at Bespoke Careers roundtable

ISSN 1684-1956 977168495009 82

Graph.

The Graph range (design: jehs + laub) impressively shows how the quality of design can echo a progressive corporate culture.

The chairs look transparent, but convey a high level of assurance nevertheless.

Straight edges and fluid lines, flat and curved surfaces, soft and hard features intermingle so that seat body and frame become a harmonious unit.

The tables follow the same pattern. The curved and flat profile of the sloping table legs continues seamlessly in the aluminium underframes. Light lines materialise, suggesting the frame is formed from one single component and conveying the impression of weightless elegance. Although the concept is modular, each configuration looks like a special design.

To see Graph and more from Wilkhahn, visit www.wilkhahn.com.au.

Apr / May 2016

Issue 82

www.prc-magazine.com

S/Y Pumula 2013, Royal Huisman Photo; Cory Silken SCHOTTEN & HANSEN

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Publisher: Mike Staley, publisher@rofmedia.com C Editor: editor@rofmedia.com Editorial Consultant: Michael Hoare M Editorial Team: Bryan Chan • Derek Leung • Elizabeth Dooley • Elizabeth Kerr Y John Lo • Melissa Stevens • Nia Tam • Richard Lee Business Development: Bryan Chan, bryan@rofmedia.com Tel: (852) 3150 8912 CM Event & Marketing Coordinator: Teresa Castro, teresa@rofmedia.com Tel: (852) 3150 8988 MY Sales Director: Mike Staley, mike@rofmedia.com Tel: (852) 3150 8989 CY Sales Enquiry: sales@rofmedia.com Senior Graphic Designer: Tez Yam, studio@rofmedia.com Tel: (852) 3150 8988 CMY Graphic Designers: Parnell Chan • Lau Yi K Photographers: Brian Zhang • Samuel Lee Digital Publishing Coordinator: Chris Lo Printing: DG3 Asia Ltd.. Tel: (852) 2965 6777 Distribution: bpost (Asia) Ltd.. Tel: (852) 2817 7713

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8 PRESS

Lighthouse Club HK Branch is pleased to announce their summer line-up of events

OXLEY EXHIBITS MARINER’S QUARTER PHASE OF ROYAL WHARF DEVELOPMENT IN LONDON

2016 is the 30th Anniversary year since the establishment of the Club in 1986. The International Construction Conference “Caring Construction, Collaborative Contracting, Continuing Professional Development” will be held on 26 and 27 May, 2016 at Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre. The International Design for Safety Award & Cocktail Reception will be held on 27 May (evening) and the International Lighthouse Club Summit Meeting will be held on 28 May, 2016, both at the at The Hong Kong Club on Jackson Road. The anniversary celebrations will culminate at a special gala event, Lighthouse Club Anniversary Ball on the evening of 28 May, 2016 at HKCEC. For more information please contact Elaine Man at lighthousehkg@gmail.com

RLP DESIGNS GREEN FOCAL POINT FOR TIU KENG LENG COMMUNITY

Oxley Holdings Ltd held its first Hong Kong sales exhibition of property in Mariner’s Quarter in London in late February. Investors and other potential buyers that gathered at the Landmark Mandarin Oriental Hotel heard about Royal Wharf, the 363,000m2 township on the banks of the River Thames being developed by Oxley and its partner, Ballymore. Mariner’s Quarter, the final phase of Royal Wharf, is due to be completed in 2019. Mariner’s Quarter is designed by DP Architects. It will contain 207 spacious homes in two buildings. They will have one, two or three bedrooms. The style of Mariner’s Quarter is distinct, but complements the Georgianinspired features throughout Royal Wharf. Prices start from £395,000 for a one-bedroom home. More information at www.royalwharf.com

BEE RETAIL FOUNDER ALESSANDRO BISAGNI BECOMES PLATINUM HONG KONG CHAIRMAN

The firm of Ronald Lu & Partners is the designer of the Tiu Keng Leng Sports Centre and Tiu Keng Leng Public Library, a new district open space project amid the densely packed housing of Tiu Keng Leng in Tseung Kwan O. The design gives the sports centre and library separate identities but links them with a multi-layer green carpet of district open space, laid with lawns. The buildings and the open space are designed not to stick out, and the green elements help give the area a pleasant appearance. The 18,000m2 site yields a gross floor area of 17,700m2.The sports centre is made up of a 1,200-seat multi-purpose arena, multi-purpose activity room, dance room, fitness room, outdoor climbing wall and children’s playroom. The library comprises an adult lending library, children’s library, quick reference section, newspapers and periodicals section, multimedia library, computer and information centre, exhibition and display area, extension activities room, student study rooms and a coffee corner.

Alessandro Bisagni, the founder of BEE Retail, has been appointed chairman of Platinum Hong Kong, a non-profit organisation that serves to promote green buildings and LEED certification in Hong Kong. The new chairman has managed over 100 LEED projects in 23 countries. His goal is to turn Platinum Hong Kong into a hub for sharing knowledge about LEED certification with its neighbours. He said: “My goal as chairman of Platinum is to make the name of the LEED rating system ubiquitous with quality, rigour and international adaptability. Long gone are the days when people say: 'LEED is not for China.’” More information at www.platinumhk.org

CHINA RESOURCES LAND QIANHAI CENTRE PLAN SHOWS BENOY CHALLENGING NORMS

BUILDING WORK BEGINS IN HEFEI ON ATKINSDESIGNED LANDMARK Construction of the Atkins-designed Evergrande International Financial Center has begun in Hefei in the province of Anhui. The 518m building will be the first skyscraper and highest landmark in Anhui. The commercial and residential complex will have a gross floor area of 660,000m2 and contain a five-star hotel, serviced apartments, Grade-A offices and a shopping mall. “Our design concept was inspired by bamboo, which according to Chinese culture, represents prosperity and elegance.

The development will help increase the land value of Binhu district, enhance the image of the city of Hefei and facilitate the city’s development,” says Atkins project design director KY Cheung.

Benoy has revealed its design for the China Resources Land Qianhai Centre in Shenzhen.

The development will form a core part of the Qianhai special economic zone. As master planner and retail architect, Benoy challenges convention, its plan envisaging a development that runs around the clock and so makes full use of the 54,000m2 site.

The centre will have a four-storey podium, including a basement shopping level, which will connect to five towers containing offices, a five-star hotel and serviced apartments.

Three subway lines will serve the development. Benoy Director Chao Wu said: “Openair spines bring the development to life with their fluid form, which is accentuated by landscaping, terraces and an eclectic mix of spaces. The design gives human scale and creates a recreational experience and personality for the emerging financial zone.” The centre is intended to meet LEED and China Green Building 3-Star standards. Ground has been broken, and construction is due to be completed in 2018.

報導 9

STATE LIBRARY VICTORIA VISION 2020 REDEVELOPMENT PROJECT SET TO AWARD TENDER

KNIGHT FRANK BAGS TOP RICS AWARD FOR THE FIFTH CONSECUTIVE YEAR Knight Frank has yet again scooped up prestigious real estate awards presented annually by the Royal institute of Chartered Surveyors Hong Kong. At the RICS Hong Kong Awards 2016 presentation ceremony at the Grand Hyatt Hotel, Knight Frank collected the Professional Consultancy Services Team of the Year Award for the third time and the Residential Team of the Year Award for the fifth year in a row. Knight Frank also won a Retail Team of the Year Certificate of Excellence. Last year Knight Frank rolled out 22 international projects for 19 developers abroad, concluding 133 deals with an 80% return buyer rate. Visit www.knightfrank.com.hk

Meanwhile, Barratt London and CPC Group Ltd, in conjunction with Knight Frank, are putting space in Landmark Place in the City of London’s Water Lane on the market. Landmark Place is on the River Thames near Tower Bridge, in the EC3 postal district. It contains 165 dwellings, comprising one-bedroom suites, one-bedroom, two-bedroom or three-bedroom apartments, and penthouses. The building design draws on Le Corbusier’s work. The interior architecture is by Bowler James Brindley.

Prices are expected to start at £650,000 for a onebedroom suite and up to £10 million for a penthouse.

The development is due for completion in the summer of 2018.

TWO-BEDROOM, THREE-BEDROOM UNITS INTRODUCED AT GATEWAY APARTMENTS

Gateway Apartments in Tsim Sha Tsui’s Harbour City has just completed two years of renovation work and, in response to changing demand, now offers two-bedroom and three-bedroom apartments. Gateway Apartments general manager Ronald Loges said: “The two-bedroom and threebedroom apartments, ranging from 1,629ft2 to 2,326ft2, are designed to accommodate families with children and still allow ample space and privacy for each family member.” Gateway Apartments also has new studio and one-bedroom apartments, and apartments comprising a bedroom and study. Visit www.gatewayapartments.com.hk

Purcell is the heritage architect supporting HASSELL with their design proposal for the AUD $83.1m project. The plans will restore of the historic Queen’s Hall, reopen the library’s Russell Street entrance, an e-Town Hall, and new spaces for early learning, digital media, entrepreneurship, and exhibitions. The Victorian Government has contributed A55.4 million to the project, with the balance being supported by philanthropic partners. The shortlist was chosen based on their previous experience with similar projects, design skills, and knowledge of refurbishing historic buildings.

The successful team will be announced shortly, with construction beginning in 2017. State Library CEO Kate Torney, said: “I am tremendously excited by the calibre of the shortlisted design teams.

Each has demonstrated their capacity to bring a project of this scale and significance to fruition. “A centrepiece of our education – and creative – state, the State Library Victoria Vision 2020 project will celebrate the building’s magnificent heritage and return significant spaces to public use. It will firmly position Australia’s oldest and busiest public library as a contemporary centre of knowledge, inspiration and innovation.”

10 PRESS

CANON UNVEILS NEW PRINTER MODELS FOR OFFICES AND PROFESSIONALS Canon showed its latest office and professional printing products at the Passion in Colour exhibition in Hotel ICON in Tsim Sha Tsui. Canon’s range of printers now meets the demands not only of offices and photography studios but also professionals such as designers, architects, engineers and others in the construction industry in need of materials printed consistently in high quality. The imagePROGRAF PRO-500 is one Canon printer making waves. Despite its compact desktop size, it combines performance with functionality. It is most suitable for small-to-medium businesses with limited office space.

The imagePROGRAF PRO-500 uses the 12-colour inkjet printing technique, which prints in offset-like quality on paper sizes ranging from A4 to A2. More information at www.canon.com.hk/en

ZAHA HADID ARCHITECTS PART OF TEAM DRAWING UP PLANS FOR TAIPEI BRIDGE

MANDARIN ORIENTAL, BANGKOK RESTORES HISTORIC AUTHORS’ AND GARDEN WINGS The Mandarin Oriental, Bangkok has completed a comprehensive renovation of its historic Authors’ and Garden Wings, restoring the historic heart of the hotel to its original splendour. The renovation work created a six-bedroom, 600m2 Grand Royal Suite taking up all of the first floor of the Authors’ Wing, which was the original Oriental Hotel, built in 1876. The building’s original open balcony, looking over the tropical gardens and the river, has been fully restored. The renovation work also created a dozen 80m2 suites with balconies in the Garden Wing.

Some are on split levels and all have floor-to-ceiling windows giving views of the river and gardens. The Authors’ Lounge has been restored in accordance with its original design and extended through to the riverside terrace and gardens. More information at www.mandarinoriental.com/bangkok

Zaha Hadid Architects, working with Leonhardt, Andrä & Partner and Sinotech Engineering Consultants, have won the international competition to design the Danjiang Bridge in Taipei.

The Danjiang Bridge will be the world’s longest single-tower, asymmetric cable-stayed bridge. It will span the mouth of the Tamsui River, linking Highway 2 and Highway 15 with the West Coast Expressway and Bali-Xindian Expressway.The bridge will better connect districts of Taipei and reduce throughtraffic on local roads, while improving the northern coast traffic system and making the Port of Taipei more accessible. It will allow the extension of the Danhai Light Rail Transportation system over the river to connect the town and the Port of Taipei with the rest of the city’s railway network. The cable-stayed bridge design minimises its visual impact by using one concrete structural mast to support the 920m road, rail and pedestrian deck, which will be made of steel.

THE OLYMPIAN HONG KONG HOTEL VIES FOR SLICE OF WEST KOWLOON MARKET

HONG KONG INSTITUTE OF SURVEYORS STARTS ITS 2016 TOURS OF CENTRAL The Hong Kong Institute of Surveyors has begun this year’s programme of tours entitled Touring Central with Surveyors.

For a month, the tours will teach the public about the contributions surveyors make to the city’s development in the fields of land, planning, construction, finance and property management. The tours take in the Wing On Centre footbridge network, the International Finance Centre, Central Market, the CentralMid-levels Escalator and Walkway System, Gage Street, Graham Street, Caine Road and Robinson Road. The Touring Central with Surveyors programme began last year. Over 250 people took part. “The Central district was selected in this tour for its historical, political and economic significance, and its remarkable architectural characteristics that form the heart of Hong Kong Island’s dynamic cityscapes,” HKIS president Lau Chun-kong said. This year’s series continues until April 16. More information at hkis.org.hk/ en/newsroom_event_details.php?id=3677

Sino Hotels has opened The Olympian Hong Kong, a boutique hotel in West Kowloon. The hotel has 32 guestrooms and suites ranging in size from 43m2 to 75 m2. All have floor-to-ceiling windows 3.3m in height, giving views of Victoria Harbour and the Hong Kong skyline.

Shining hardwood flooring, plush velvet furnishings, objets d’art and floral displays enhance the appearance of the rooms and suites, while kitchenettes and Egyptian cotton linen add to their convenience and comfort. The hotel is close to Olympic Station and Olympian City, giving its guests easy access to shopping, dining and entertainment draws, and to transport to Tsim Sha Tsui, Central, the airport and the ChinaMacau Ferry Terminal. More information at www.theolympianhotel.com/en

Better Living with Sustainable Design

Date 日期: Time 時間: 3:00 – 6:00pm Venue 地點: HKCEC, Hall 1C

By Invitation-Only 只供被邀請人士參與

12 PRESS

SOME BIG NAMES SIGN LEASES FOR SPACE IN GREATWALL WUHAN OFFICE COMPLEX

ENTRIES INVITED FOR ARCASIA AWARDS, PRESENTED THIS YEAR IN HONG KONG The Hong Kong Institute of Architects has called for entries for this year’s ARCASIA Awards for Architecture. The Architects Regional Council Asia, to which the institute belongs, presents the awards annually for the best work by architecture professionals in Asia. Entries are being invited in 10 categories, which include residential projects (divided into housing for one household and housing for multiple households), public amenities (divided into commercial, resort, social or institutional, and specialised buildings), industrial buildings, conservation projects, socially responsible architecture and sustainability architecture. The awards will be presented on September 29 during the Asian Congress of Architects at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre.

More information at: www.arcasia.org or www.aca17hk.com

HYSAN’S REWORKED LEE GARDEN ONE EARNS MERIT BEAM PLUS PLATINUM CERTIFICATION

Greatwall Construction says it has let space in its new Greatwall Complex at 9 Zhongbei Road in Wuhan to a number of banking and investment enterprises and Fortune 500 companies, including Datong Global Capital Management, Shanghai Yinlai Asset Management and FedEx.The development, occupying a site of 21,902m2, will have twin towers. Tower 1 will be 242.9m tall and house Greatwall’s headquarters.Tower 2 is trademarked by FedEx, which will occupy the top floors. Together the towers will contain 120,000m2 of premium office space, linked by the four floors of the podium.

Greatwall says the core and shell is LEED Platinum pre-certified for building design and construction.

INTERCONTINENTAL HONG KONG SALE WINS JLL A RICS HONG KONG AWARD

JLL has won this year’s Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors Hong Kong Best Deal of the Year Award for selling the InterContinental Hong Kong. JLL hotels and hospitality executive vice-president Nihat Ercan says: “On the strength of our global network of consultants and comprehensive innovation plan, we successfully concluded the transaction for InterContinental Hong Kong, the largest-ever single hotel transaction in the Asia-Pacific region and the second-largest hotel transaction in the world.” The annual RICS Hong Kong Awards honour outstanding achievement in the real estate industry. JLL also won an Office Team of the Year Certificate of Excellence and a Residential Team of the Year Certificate of Excellence. See www. jll.com.hk for more information.

The Hong Kong Green Building Council has given the office portion of Hysan Development Co Ltd’s Lee Garden One provisional BEAM Plus (Existing Building) Platinum certification. “BEAM Plus looks for achievements in a range of areas, from health, safety and environmental management to building and site operation and maintenance, all the way to waste management, water and energy use as well as indoor environmental quality,” says Hysan’s general manager of property services, Lawrence Lau. “Our 19-year-old building had to be updated both in terms of asset enhancements and green management to excel in these areas.” A new energyefficient central air-conditioning system replaces the original. Devices including water efficient taps and dual-flush water closets were installed in refurbished toilets.

All Lee Garden One offices adopted green purchasing practices. More information at www.hysan.com.hk

A Higher Standard of Door Security

NEW CERES ORGANICS FOOD WAREHOUSE FIRST IN NZ WITH 5 GREEN STAR RATING The new Ceres Organics warehouse complex in Auckland has become the first food warehouse in New Zealand to gain a 5 Green Star rating. The building is owned and was developed for Ceres Organics by Norak Properties Ltd. The 5,500m2 complex consists of a two-level office building attached to large precast concrete warehouse.

Sustainability was the goal from the outset of the project. The building is oriented to make the most of passive solar heating and natural light.

The complex incorporates material recycled from the derelict building that used to stand on the site. Concrete was chosen for the bulk of the structure to give good thermal mass, helping it stay cool in summer and warm in winter. The need for mechanical air conditioning and artificial lighting is minimised through natural ventilation and daylight harvesting. More information at www. nzgbc.org.nz

Gilgen SLX RC2/RC3 Automatic Doors are high-quality Swiss designs. They combine the SLX-M Drive with the reinforced Profile and Secure Multipoint Locking Systems to provide improved Protection against Break-in and Attack. Buildings with a high security risk, such as Government facilities, banks or jewelry shops, require an entrance that is both secure and elegant in design.With their slim aluminum profiles, SLX-M RC2/RC3 automatic doors provide improved security features such as automatic vertical interlocking, reinforced safety glass and flush bottom guide rails to ensure effective break-in prevention. Visit AUB in May at Build4Asia at Booth 1B-424.

報 導 13

GREEN BUILDING PROJECT ANSWERS CALL FOR EUROPEAN RENOVATION REVOLUTION The €2.35 million BUILD UPON project has begun a programme of over 80 events in Europe which are meant to bring together over 1,000 entities in a concerted effort to reduce emissions from buildings. Emissions from buildings make up 36 per cent of the European Union’s carbon dioxide emissions, and BUILD UPON endeavours to reduce this by helping governments, industry and society at large come up with strategies for renovating a country’s homes and commercial buildings to make them highly energyefficient. The project is led by green building councils in Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Finland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and Turkey, and is supported by the World Green Building Council’s Europe Regional Network.

World Green Building Council chief executive Terri Wills said: “Existing buildings are one of Europe’s biggest challenges when it comes to tackling climate change. We can turn that challenge into a solution, but need nothing short of a renovation revolution.”

The events planned in major cities in the 13 countries taking part are meant to tap the minds of important players for ideas for renovation strategies, such as policy measures, finance mechanisms, skills programmes and awareness-raising initiatives. To aid its effort, the BUILD UPON project is using the RenoWiki, – an online portal for sharing renovation best practices.

More information at www.buildupon.eu

ONE LINDEN COMANSA LUFFING-JIB CRANE, TWO FLAT-TOPS THE HIGH POINT AT BAUMA Tower crane manufacturer Linden Comansa is showing three of its most successful models at the Bauma trade fair in Munich from April 11 to 17. A luffing-jib crane and two flat-top designs can be seen at the stand that Linden Comansa shares with its partner: crane hire, sales and service company BKL Baukran Logistik GmbH. Linden Comansa is showing a LCL280 luffing-jib crane with a maximum load of 18t. The model also has 12t and 24t versions. The LCL series has been reviewed recently by the design team and comes with many improvements. The flattop cranes on show are the 21LC750, with a 24t, 36t, or 48t maximum load; and the 11LC160, with an 8t maximum load. The LC1100 series has been reviewed and is much improved. More information at www.comansa. com/eng

BI-CITY BIENNALE’S BAMBOO SCULPTURE BY KATSUHIRO OZAWA OF WOODS BAGOT The Hong Kong Institute of Architects Biennale Foundation chose design studio Woods Bagot’s Katsuhiro Ozawa and his team to design and build a bamboo sculpture entitled Pause for the 2015 Bi-City Biennale of Urbanism/Architecture. The designer is a Japanese architect who focuses on design ranging from retail to mixed-use developments.

His concept used bamboo because of its structural qualities, because it is a reference to the vernacular construction techniques of Hong Kong, and because, as a fast-growing grass, it can be harvested rapidly yet sustainably. The sculpture was on display in Kowloon Park and Hong Kong Heritage Discovery Centre in Tsim Sha Tsui. More information at www.woodsbagot.com

LEAD 8, GOETTSCH PARTNERS TAKE BRIEF FOR SHANGHAI RAILWAY STATION DEVELOPMENT

RICS HONG KONG ANNUAL CONFERENCE TO EYE POTENTIAL IN AGEING MARKET The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors Hong Kong Annual Conference will examine the economic opportunities and challenges arising from the ageing of the market. Nearly one in every three Hong Kong people will turn 65 within the next 20 years, and the institute thinks the potential for investment is huge. “The next investment boom revolves around the burgeoning elderly population,” RICS Hong Kong Board chairman Andrew Lee says. “Our Hong Kong Annual Conference will feature key market strategists who have capitalised on this global trend, and they will share insider knowledge with ambitious business owners and investors who attend.” The conference takes place at the Grand Hyatt Hong Kong on May 20. More information at www.ricshk-conference.org

COLLIERS PROJECT MANAGERS LASSO COSTS THAT THREATEN TO RUN AWAY

Chicago architecture firm Goettsch Partners and Hong Kong multidisciplinary architecture and design studio Lead 8 have won the design competition for a new 264,000m2 multi-building, mixed-use complex in Shanghai for developer Financial Street Holding Co Ltd. The development will be on two parcels of land just north of Shanghai Railway Station. One parcel will have five main buildings, containing 131,000m2 of office space, 54,000m2 of shop space, 22,000m2 of loft apartment space and a 5,000m2 cultural centre.

The other parcel will have a 15,000m2 headquarters office building and a complex with 45,000m2 of loft apartment space above a 15,000m2 shopping podium. The office buildings are intended to provide a park-like setting, shared public space will be abundant and the shopping streets will be lushly green. The development will have fountains, pavilions and walkways.

Construction work on the eastern parcel is due to begin in the second quarter of this year. More information at www.lead-8.com

Sun Life Financial’s requirement for its 19,000ft2 of new office space in Hung Hom to be wired to allow the occupants to broadcast to their colleagues in different rooms on different floors made fitting out the offices a highly demanding project. The insurer and Colliers International came up with a plan, and the project managers ordered all the components and services for the new systems and supervised the installation. Colliers says that within weeks, Sun Life employees settled into their new offices, able to interact easily with each other. Colliers says it has gone beyond broking to undertake the project management of fitting-out work that buyers or tenants of property used to try do themselves before they moved in, often with messy results. Colliers says its project managers are well-placed to rein in costs, for example by advising how to use space most efficiently – useful advice in a place as expensive as Hong Kong.

14 PRESS

NISSAN BEGINS MAKING VR30 3.0L V6 ENGINE TO POWER INFINITI VEHICLES

GUOCOLAND TOPS OUT SINGAPORE’S TALLEST BUILDING, THE TANJONG PAGAR CENTRE

Nissan Motor Co has started production of the all-new compact and lightweight VR30 3.0l V6 twin-turbo engine at its Iwaki Plant in Japan. The VR30, which will power Infiniti vehicles, has been developed to combine optimal power and torque for an engine of its size with optimised fuel efficiency. It comes in 300hp or 400hp versions. It will be fitted first in the 2016 Infiniti Q50 sports saloon. “Infiniti is in the middle of a major product offensive, significantly expanding and refreshing our product portfolio. With the new V6 engine, Infiniti vehicles will become even more powerful and more fun to drive,” Infiniti Motor Co president Roland Krueger said. More information at www. infinitiq60news.com/en/q60/vr-engine.html

URA USES DRAMA TO HELP SCHOOLCHILDREN VIEW URBAN RENEWAL FROM NEW ANGLES

GuocoLand Ltd has topped out its Tanjong Pagar Centre, at 290m the tallest building in Singapore. The S$3.2 billion centre is a mixed-use development scheduled for completion in the middle of this year. The development is intended to transform the Tanjong Pagar area of Singapore’s Central Business District into a premium business and lifestyle hub. The development is integrated with the Tanjong Pagar MRT station. It has residential, office and commercial space. A crucial part of Tanjong Pagar Centre is Guoco Tower, which will have 890,000ft2 of column-free Grade A office space, a 100,000ft2 lifestyle and food and beverage component, 181 homes, the 222-room, five-star Sofitel Singapore City Centre hotel and a 150,000ft2 urban park.The urban park can accommodate up to 2,000 people in a sheltered event space.The park is for sport, recreation, musical and other sorts of performance, and community activities, which GuocoLand will arrange through its anchor tenant Virgin Active and others. More information at www.tanjongpagarcentre.com.sg

THAILAND’S SOLE MCLAREN DEALER UNVEILS THE MCLAREN 570S COUPÉ

An exhibition now on in the gallery of the former Central Market building shows the highlights of school activities undertaken in response to Urban Renewal Authority learning and outreach programmes intended to inspire young people to look at urban renewal from different perspectives.This academic year’s programmes culminated in the Youth Square in Chai Wan with the finals of a secondary school drama competition and a gala show of roving drama workshops for primary school pupils. Nearly 400 teachers and pupils took part. The drama competition was meant to encourage pupils to express creative ideas for achieving sustainable urban renewal and a better living environment in old districts. Some 3,000 pupils attended 30 drama workshop sessions, and 10 or more took part in the gala show. More information at www.urec.org.hk

CUSHMAN & WAKEFIELD FORECAST US$1.34 T WORTH OF GLOBAL PROPERTY DEALS IN 2016 Cushman & Wakefield says new sources of capital, unsatisfied demand and a strong supply of debt are likely to increase global real estate trading activity by 4% to US$1.34 trillion this year, the most in any year yet.The firm’s Atlas Outlook 2016 report shows global property trading activity fell last year, reflecting the strength of the US dollar and a pullback in Asia.

But Carlo Barel di Sant’Albano, chief executive of Cushman & Wakefield’s Global Capital Markets and Investor Services business, says: “Geopolitical issues, length of the recovery cycle, volatility and increased uncertainty are leading to differing views with respect to asset allocation and how best to invest. This is benefiting real estate as allocations to the sector increase, boosting demand for assets. In this economic environment there is also an increasing number of willing sellers aiming to crystallise returns.” The Asia-Pacific region generally performed well last year. Cushman & Wakefield expects the region to return to positive volume growth this year. The lead for economic growth looks likely to be taken

by India and smaller Southeast Asian markets such as the Philippines and Vietnam. The strongest office locations are the top-tier mainland Chinese cities, Taipei and Hong Kong, the report says.Visit www.cushmanwakefield.com

Niche Cars Group has introduced the McLaren 570S Coupé to the Thai market, where it is the sole McLaren distributor. The car is the first and highest-powered model in McLaren’s new Sports Series range. Niche Cars says the Sports Series models are the most accessible McLarens yet. The dealer says the 540C Coupé has lightweight construction, recognisable design values and a comprehensive specification list. It is powered by the latest version of the carmaker’s 3.8l twin turbo V8 engine. Prices for the 570S Coupé start at 21.8 million baht and the maker is ready to deliver. Prices for the 540C Coupé, which will follow in the third quarter of this year, start at 19.8 million baht.

16 EVENTS

34 Years of History 500 Exhibitors 15000 Buyers 15,000m² Exhibition Space

For the latest updates, download the Build4Asia App.

4 - 6 May, 2016 Pre-register Online: www.Build4Asia.com/register

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18 REAL ESTATE

The Year of Living Dangerously

estate yields will likely increase,” CBRE says.As interest rates in the United States edge upward, the Asia-Pacific region will become a prime investment destination.

In Australia, a weakening currency, positive demographics and a diversifying economy kept the country on the investment radar last year, and there it should remain this year. “Over the last five years the Australian dollar has fallen a very significant 36 percent against the US dollar,” says Tony Crabb, national head of research for Savills Australia. “This has had a profound impact on opportunities in Australia, including an important boost in both student and tourism numbers, and made investments across most sectors far more compelling.”

Markets will take on a familiar appearance in 2016, aping 2015, but this year there are a clutch of key issues that investors must consider.

NORTHERN EXPOSURE

Faltering economies, rising interest rates and affordability issues across broad areas of Asia’s cities are just some of the hurdles that the Asia-Pacific property market must clear this year if is to remain on a healthy growth trajectory.

Most analysts believe this year will be defined by rising interest rates, a slowing mainland Chinese economy – the dreaded hard landing – flagging retail sales and continuing uncertainty in the finance, insurance, real estate and business services (FIREBS) sectors. However, demand by institutional investors, fuelled by outbound Chinese capital, is also likely to buoy markets in the Asia-Pacific region.

Underpinned by a tight supply of investable stock with an adequate return, investors are likely to be forced to get creative.

INVESTMENT PROSPECTS

“Institutional investors, which have looser return requirements, will focus on prime core assets for long-term holds,” CBRE says in annual forecast. Those prime core assets are thought to be shopping malls and enbloc offices. “Investors seeking higher yields will increasingly turn to niche sectors such as self-storage, senior housing and student housing in 2016.”

While international investors and funds remain committed to making inroads into under-represented Asia, Asian investors are going to stay close to home. “The cost of funding will head south in markets such as China and India, while real

Text: Elizabeth Kerr Images: CBRE

Also worthy of consideration is Japan’s potential performance this year, where confidence in Abenomics is slipping, assets are limited and capital could be too cheap. Even so, “Japan continues to be a favourite target for opportunistic funds, although some of the deal-structuring strategies used are beginning to raise eyebrows,” PwC and the Urban Land Institute say in Emerging Trends in Real Estate Asia Pacific 2016.

Cap rates in Tokyo are low, at about 3 percent, but even lower borrowing costs create yields that can be leveraged as high as 90 percent – the highest in the AsiaPacific region.The result is that Tokyo – along with Osaka, Sydney and Melbourne – sits at the top of the investment location list this year.

NEW ORDER Despite an economic slowdown, mainland China still leads the way in letting offices and – to a degree – selling them.

Hong Kong remains the primary beneficiary of this trend. Mainland investors still looking to establish a presence in Hong have helped stave off a slide. It turned out that 2015 was strong year for letting offices in Hong Kong, “It was a good year in Central, with about 618,000 square feet of take-up. For some context, the 10-year average is about 250,000 square feet,” JLL’s head of markets Ben Dickinson said. Even so, Dickinson expects demand to moderate this year and that rents will consequently climb moderately, too – by about 5 percent overall.

Chinese banks retain their focus on Hong Kong throughout the year ahead but across the region it is modern industries that are enjoying the most influence.Tech and tech firms now wield the power to affect how developers and landlords build and reconfigure properties. The core services and shifting labour demographics of these businesses have specific requirements.

“Technology companies will drive growth across Asia in 2016, especially e-commerce operators,” Colliers International Asia-Pacific chief executive David Hand says. “These companies will continue to display a strong appetite for highquality space in core locations, while also expanding to new locations to attract quality talent.”

地 產 19

INDIAN INFLUENCE

NEW RETAILING REALITY

The technology hotbed of India flew under the radar despite major office markets in Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore being the best performing in the Asia-Pacific region. India was the region’s most active letting market last year and accounted for half of the region’s total gross office letting, according to JLL.

As the flow of mainland Chinese visitors into Hong Kong slowed last year and the spending on luxury goods declined with it, the city’s commercial property market hit the front pages. It seems the story will remain there throughout this year. Colliers International predicts prices of retailing property will fall by an average of up to 24 percent this year. Savills is more optimistic, projecting rises in rents in shopping centres of up to 5 percent and falls up to 15 percent in rents for space in prime shopping areas.There may be a silver lining. As conventional retailers exercise caution, food and beverage (F&B) outlets are stepping in to fill the void, says JLL associate director of retailing property Michelle Chiu. JLL launched a new service at the end of last year catering to these businesses, despite some dour predictions.

Not surprisingly, IT, e-commerce, technology outsourcing, start-ups and consultancies led demand but new occupiers are expected to enter the market this year. “Players in many other sectors like FMCG (fast-moving consumer goods), BFSI (banking, financial services and insurance), manufacturing, telecom and pharma did not come into the market. However, this should happen in 2016 and 2017,” JLL India chairman and country head Anuj Puri says. Puri expects to “see demand for built-to-suit properties, especially from the larger IT occupiers”.

RETAIL FLOW With the financial services sector playing it safe or expanding conservatively, new industries are likely to demand additional space. Technology, e-commerce and Internet services are expected to drive demand for industrial and logistics support.

“The technology sector, especially e-commerce operators, will be one of the most active groups in Asia due to sustained growth in their business in the region,” Hand says.

Supporting the industrial sector by association is the rising middle class, still the backbone of retail. Investors in the retail sector that have typically looked at core assets such as shopping centres are likely to wary of inflexible or ill-conceived properties, particularly in emerging markets such as Indonesia and Vietnam, and to follow the tourist dollar.That may indicate a flow into infrastructure related to mainland Chinese travellers for whom Japan is increasingly a prime destination.

SHOPPING IN JAPAN In addition to hotels, the bright spot in Japan, chiefly Tokyo, is retailing. As long as the yen remains cheap, tourism will continue to surge up to the 2020 Olympic Games. PwC predicts Tokyo and Osaka will be among the top five markets for investors in retail this year, alongside Ho Chi Minh City, Manila and Jakarta.

Struck from the list are Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Shenzhen and second-tier Chinese cities.

One final hangover from last year is how technology has altered the face of retail and seen reduced demand for property in more developed markets. Industrial property remains in demand owing to the fundamentals of e-commerce.

Another technology-linked cottage industry is data storage, creating demand for data centres. With security and a reliable power supply just two of the crucial requirements for data storage, Hong Kong and Singapore could see a heightened focus on industrial space – a market set for relatively strong growth, given the shortage of supply.

“F&B operators remain very aggressive despite the downturn in the retail market.

Not only are we seeing a lot of new entrants into Hong Kong, we also see a lot of local operators aggressive in their expansion,” Chiu says.

Evens as established operators and smaller outlets expand into bigger spaces, there are several factors underpin the growth in F&B. Flagging sales of luxury brands are at the top of the list, compelling landlords, particularly in shopping centres, to restore the proportion of their space occupied by F&B outlets, which had shrunk during the glory days of shopping for luxuries.

“We’ve seen a very drastic reversal of this in the past few months as mall operators understand the importance of F&B as a key draw for bringing traffic into different malls. We also see destination retail being very popular, with F&B being the main driver, like at The Pulse in Repulse Bay and Fashion Walk in Causeway Bay,” Chiu says.

Landlords are beginning to build features that attract restaurants: high ceilings and terraces to appeal to outlets usually found at street level, such as Jamie’s Italian in Causeway Bay. Establishments that serve desserts or healthy food, that offer casual dining, or that are manifestations of lifestyle concepts – all stemming from growing globalisation –round out the list. Vivienne Westwood Café, Francesco by Franck Muller and Mercedes Me by Mercedes-Benz and Maximal Concepts, among others, are using F&B to market their brands.

The phenomenon extends beyond Hong Kong, now that fat expense accounts are shrivelling.“This is very Asia-wide. Singapore is experiencing the same market trends as Hong Kong,” says Chiu. “For example, everyone agrees that high-end dining is out. Casual cuisine is more popular.”

CBRE executive director of retail services Joe Lin points to the combination of rising overheads and weakening sales. “This is an Asia-wide phenomenon,” Lin says.

“This year we saw the F&B and lifestyle trends emerge with 1921Gucci in Shanghai iAPM and Café Dior by Pierre Hermé on the top floor of Christian Dior’s flagship store in Seoul,” he says. “Most major luxury retailers are now well established in Asia-Pacific, but these markets are approaching saturation point following years of rapid expansion.”

RISING INTEREST Some of greatest minds spent last year parsing the words of Janet Yellen and other members of the United States Federal Reserve. On December 16, after months of wondering if or when she would raise US interest rates, a 25-basis point increase was the first in a decade.

As 2015 gave way to 2016, interest rates in Hong Kong and elsewhere in the Asia-Pacific region were steady.While another increase in US interest rates is likely, the current approach by regulators is to refrain from disrupting markets – any market.

Interest rates in the Asia-Pacific region vary widely. In mainland China and Australia they are about 5 percent or 6 percent. Official rates in Japan are negative and, in real terms, they are negative in Hong Kong. CBRE does not expect the Fed’s action in December to affect yields adversely, as almost everyone had been expecting it. But things could change when US interest rates rise again. Mainland China, with its faltering economy, has been cutting its interest rates, so the increase in US rates will narrow the difference. However, the Fed’s action may presage further depreciation of the yuan, deterring more rate cuts by the People’s Bank of China. CBRE said it expected “mild yield decompression across most asset classes (with the exception of logistics) and across most cities in 2016”. However, it attributes its expectation largely to chronic oversupply and economic challenges.

Hong Kong and Singapore are unlikely to feel any sting anytime soon. Singapore had already factored an increase in US interest rates into the Singapore Interbank Offered Rate, the local reference rate, and yields there should remain steady, though capital values may come under pressure due to an insufficiency of occupiers. Hong Kong’s super-low interest rates will come under no pressure to rise until next year. In the commercial property market, reduced vacancy rates will reduce the threat posed by higher interest rates. Capital values and rents will remain stable, except perhaps for shops in the street, where weak demand is the threat.

20 REAL ESTATE

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24 FEATURE

modelling ahead

Building Information Modelling has the potential to reshape the way the built environment is designed and managed, but is yet to become part of the mainstream work flow in Hong Kong. In this exclusive report from a roundtable discussion between some of the city’s brightest Architectural talent – proudly organised by Bespoke Careers, and hosted in the innovative luxury brands showroom of The House of Madison - our protagonists argue that BIM is a beautiful thing.

Participants Adrian Wu Associate, PDP LDN Bernard Chang Director, KPF Clifford Wilson Associate, Leigh & Orange Craig Yeaman BIM Consultant, Ryder Architecture Danny Yang Founder, Fat Sumo BIM Architecture Studio Dominik Schleipen Associate Director, Head of BIM, Buro Happold JASON HUTCHINGS Director. Architecture, Urban Design Atkins Mike Chan BIM Project Manager, Leigh & Orange Simon Gallagher BIM Manager, Atkins Scott McTavish Partner - New York, Bespoke Shan Valla-Bradley Director of Hong Kong Operation, Bespoke

A simplified definition of BIM (Building information modelling) would be a process or workflow which allows various disciplines to fully coordinate 3Dimensionally creating a digital representation of a physical and functional building/structure. This virtual collaboration between various disciplines from architecture, structural and services consultancies allows for a more intelligent process of design where live 3D files are exchanged regularly in order to holistically design the building before it goes to site.This process is not only of benefit at the design stage but also post completion allowing clients to digitally manage the building through its lifecycle. It’s a way of thinking that has been adopted widely across the globe with forerunners in the United States, Great Britain, and Australia and one that is becoming more prevalent in Asia, including Hong Kong.

Bespoke, specialists in architecture and design recruitment, and the publishers of PRC Magazine, brought together a group of locally based architects and designers to discuss the current status of BIM in Hong Kong. The discussion covered BIM’s importance within the construction industry, how to utilise its potential to create greater efficiencies and just what has to happen for it to become more widespread throughout the sector.

At the heart of BIM’s application for architecture is the user being able to control a virtual model, making it a valuable tool to ensuring a practice can clearly communicate ideas to clients and manage design information more effectively.

While also being a cost effective and visual technique for studios to deliver ideas, it is also an efficient and more sustainable technique. Preventing mistakes from occurring saves the client considerably in time and expense. Also it allows the project team to really maximise efficiencies across a spectrum of issues from claddings and maintenance, footfall, M&E; it allows one to see an as yet un-built project in minute detail.

Text: Micheal Hoare Images: ROF Media

WORK IN PROCESS “It’s a process, a way of working, it’s information modelling, and information management in a digital environment, from the inception of a project through to the life-cycle management,” says Ryder Architecture Senior Designer Craig Yeaman.

“Depending on the scope of the projects concerned, by applying BIM at the start of the design process clients can reduce costs significantly.”

BIM has become an integral architectural tool in many countries, with the government in Britain officially embracing the process from April 2016. “From our own experience with Bespoke, the importance of BIM has grown vastly over the past five years,” says Scott McTavish, Managing Partner of Bespoke New York. “We are now on the eve of the 4 April mandate where all the government projects in Britain are to be fully delivered in BIM. Conversations of similar policies are brewing in Hong Kong.”

At this point, Hong Kong is a long way behind the likes of Britain and the US, with contractors yet to fully understand the benefits of using BIM from the commencement of a project.

'Before starting to understand the process in BIM and its place in Hong Kong we need to look at the BIM projects that are currently being offered here,” says Danny Yang of Fat Sumo BIM Architecture Studio. “Typically what tends to happen with many contractors and developers we have worked with is that they first produce the whole design in AutoCAD before putting it into BIM. 'That's basically doing the same job twice and paying for something twice, but that still has value.''

The heavy application of “incredibly powerful” modelling software allows Jason Hutchings, the Director of Architecture and Urban Design at Atkins in Hong Kong, to capture the essence of a design in a visual representation that speaks directly to clients.

專 題 25

“The benefit for me is that I’m getting to build my client’s building before the real thing so if I’m going to make mistakes, which inevitably happen, I’m making them in an environment that I can correct any errors more easily than if I had made those mistakes in the real world,” “That for me is enough – that’s the sexy thing.”

REAL DEAL PDP London Architects Associate Adrian Wu says he hopes more firms, including his own, start embracing the concept in its entirety. “I’m fully on board with it and think the office would clearly benefit from it,” he says. “Someone needs to make a commitment full on and just go with it..A lot of people think BIM’s more technical and only for production, versus using it as a design tool and moving that forward into production.”

However,Wu admits that although BIM is gaining traction in Hong Kong and more people are using it, there is still plenty of work to do before it is on par with the most advanced markets. While PDP has a large London office, its operations in Hong Kong are much smaller and moving over to BIM has had its hurdles.“It’s quite difficult to make that commitment completely without the demand from the client and also other consultants we work with,” he says. “If they don’t use BIM then it’s very difficult for us to use BIM and you sort of lose a lot of the benefits of using it.”

LIMITED ROLLOUT As a counterpoint, Yang looked at the position of smaller firms from a different angle, suggesting that perhaps being smaller could make it easier to be more agile and implement the use of BIM. “Your projects are small, easy to control, you can train your staff as you work,” he says.“It might take a bit longer, but you can work around that. It’s kind of like a lack of understanding in how to implement BIM in the sense that perhaps no one has gone into your office and explained how this could potentially work.”

Yeaman believes that contractors also need to be educated in the capabilities of BIM to ensure they understand just how it can be of benefit to them.

“Actually training and understanding (is critical),” he says. “(There need to be) workshops to allow them to understand what they are asking for and understanding what they need in terms of development. It has to be driven by the client and an understanding of what they want to achieve.”

FLEXIBLE TOOL There is also the notion that the traditional way of working in Hong Kong is not naturally suited to the collaborative environment that is both promoted and required for BIM to succeed.

“In Britain collaborative working has become part of the working culture in offices and across the building Industry,” says Dominik Schleipen, Head of BIM and Digital Design in Asia Pacific and India for Buro Happold.“The typical culture in Hong Kong is still more traditional in comparison.We often see a more hierarchical setup; with focus on manual mass drawing production rather than a more collaborative design-team approach.”

The collaborative nature of BIM is one reason it is so popular, another reason being its holistic ability to manage a project across various stages and between numerous parties, allowing any issues or changes to be dealt with swiftly and efficiently ensuring a much smoother overall process, providing it is properly planned and managed from the outset.Where in the past, problems may have not been picked up until the construction stage, BIM allows potential problems to be identified during the design phase.

“It forces people to collaborate,” Clifford Wilson, Associate at Lee & Orange, says. “You’ve got to come together and you can easily identify things that don’t work. BIM forces people to come together and resolve issues. It’s so much more of a collaborative process and it makes a building so much more successful.”

One way of making the transition to BIM easier for firms is by ensuring students are properly taught to use it at university level, however its complexities mean this is not always a straightforward process. Certainly on-going in-house training benefits individuals, the project teams and the design houses who can compete early in the curve for BIM’s utilisation will increase exponentially in the next few years.

POSITIVE SPIN “We say in the office that we want BIM to be cool,” Yang says.“It’s how people perceive it.We’re looking to help mix this technology together at a very early stage for students. I think there might be a problem with BIM, or Revit, because it is not as accessible as other software,” Wu adds.

“There’s a reason why students pick up SketchUp very quickly and they tend to prefer that for studies and modelling. Maybe it’s the expense, maybe it’s the complexity of it. I think there’s that hurdle that BIM needs to get over, it needs to be more accessible to young people.”

Atkins’ Hutchings suggested the perception of BIM is that it focuses on the less glamorous elements of the design process and that misperception may be working against it when compared to other construction industry technologies.

BIM is extremely good as an educational tool. It allows us think of the client and helps us to define their deliverables in more detail.

Bernard Chang Director, KPF

“There’s a difference between BIM, being the secret world of how buildings go together, and parametrics, which is sexy because you move stuff and it’s all curves and curvy buildings come out of it and they look like space ships,” he says. "On the one hand we’ve got parametric modelling, which is sexy, and you’ve got BIM which is a safe and a secure pair of hands. It strikes me that BIM needs a PR agent. To gain popularity, it needs to have its image spruced up a bit.”

26 FEATURE

專 題 27

28 FEATURE

USE of BIM PREVALENT at ATKINS

The increasing complexity of buildings today combined with their demanding construction programs, requires a level of efficiency in the design process that was previously only possible in industrial manufacturing. It is therefore not surprising to see BIM (Building Information Modelling) move from being the cutting edge to the mainstream.

above ground every square metre is delivered at enormous cost and must be used to the maximum level of efficiency. So when we started work on our 460m Landmark Tower in Vietnam it was natural not only to turn to BIM, but to turn to the elite members of the Atkins Digital Solutions Team, most of whom had previously honed their skills in metro projects across the world.”

This is particularly so on projects that require the close integration of complex forms and sophisticated engineering. So it is not surprising to see large multidisciplinary consultants, such as Atkins, leading the way in pushing this technology to its limits. Ian Milne, Senior Design Director of Atkins Hong Kong explains how the use of BIM evolved in Atkins. “As a result of their enormous complexity, it was in the design of underground metro station that Atkins first pushed forward with BIM. On these projects the scale and complexity of the ventilation, fire and life safety systems are enormous. At the same time, every cubic metre of excavation comes at a great cost. So optimisation is hugely important. Also it is often very hard to rectify unforeseen problems during construction, within the tight constraints of an underground structure. So the reduction of risk during construction process is a paramount driver and is achieved by first building the project in the digital realm”

Atkins are now exploring how to take this technology to the next level and Simon Gallagher, Atkins’ Digital Solutions Department, Asia Pacific, explains this in more detail above.

But now within firms like Atkins, this technology is being employed on almost every project. This can be seen in their soon completed China Huarong Tower in Zhuhai, which won the Autodesk Hong Kong BIM Awards in 2012 for its use of BIM software. And what was useful for underground metro stations is proving of equal value in skyscrapers. While one would think that these type of buildings could not be further from an underground station Ian Milne explains that they share many of the same challenges. “As in an underground station the engineering of a super high-rise tower is hugely demanding and must be developed as an integral part of the design, not an afterthought. Escape from fire is also enormously important. And as in an underground structure, at 400m

Information and Images: Atkins

Some of our most recent projects have been a real springboard for Atkins in Hong Kong to push the adoption of new collaborative tools and working practices.

As Project BIM Coordinator on one of our larger developments, for example, I have seen first-hand just how BIM enables geographically diverse design centres to collaborate more efficiently. Information can be brought together, analysed, checked, approved and issued to clients faster and more accurately than ever before. Using tools such as Clarity, from IMAGINiT, and Autodesk’s Revit and Navisworks platforms, has enabled us to manage very large and complex models, whilst ensuring quality and compliance with Atkins company codes, regional building codes and specific client requirements. Clarity also enables task automation, which improves accuracy by reducing human error, plus saves time by avoiding the necessity of our valued staff carrying out simple, repetitive tasks.

For example, Atkins has developed a new software tool, called DynamicObjects, which can be used to automatically generate 3D components where the user inputs certain design options, hits the “build” button, and you have yourself a new, bespoke, component. Hence, having the phrase “automatically generate” and “bespoke” together in the same sentence is not an oxymoron. It’s just about intelligent use of software to speed up and simplify repetitive tasks so that our engineers and architects can get on with what they do best; provide innovative solutions to design and infrastructure conundrums!

專 題 29

30 FEATURE

FIRST CLASS

FLEXIBILITY In treating its wood products with respect and individual attention, German timber company Schotten and Hansen creates flooring and interior finishes that wear well and stand the test of time, while adding a beauty to be found only in the natural world.

A discussion about the use of natural products in construction, such as wood, invariably revolves around the warmth and intangible aesthetic qualities they lend to modern interiors.

While it is an undeniable fact that wood adds atmosphere, these superficial conversations ignore a core reason for considering natural finishes – they are as durable as Mother Nature herself.

It’s a misconception that Torben Hansen, the founder of Schotten & Hansen, is happy to dispel.“A tree often has to mature for 300 years before we can process it,” he says. “Wood is not a lifestyle product like plastic laminate that will only last 10 years. We have to prepare wood in such a way that it can last a long time as it also carries our footprints along with it.”

The durability of Schotten & Hansen’s hand-made, engineered flooring verges on legend. Their flooring has found a home in high-end commercial spaces and high-traffic areas of hotels around the globe. But some of the most interesting applications have been in the least likely and most hostile environments.

Residential project in Mallorca,Spain, 2012 Photo: Angus Pigott When the shipyard Royal Huisman in The Netherlands delivered the 57.5-metre-long superyacht Twizzle in 2010, they opted for Schotten & Hansen’s prefinished veneer solutions which found their applications flooring, bulkheads, doors and furniture– and this for one of the world’s best charters, operating in the harsh maritime environment. “There was no risk in us using Schotten & Hansen for this beautiful yacht. They worked with us closely and we were certain of a high-quality outcome,” says Royal Huisman’s design manager Ad Diepstraten.

MYTHS BUSTED

In the luxury realm, if you’re lucky enough to have made use of the First Class lounges of national flagship carrier Cathay Pacific at Hong Kong International Airport, you will have noted the liberal use of the company’s flooring which is fundamental in underpinning the elegant ambience in this exclusive environment catering to the world’s most seasoned travellers.

Interior of S/Y Twizzle / Royal Huisman Interior Design by Todd Hunter Earle Photo: Ray Man Text: Micheal Hoare Images: Schotten & Hansen

The flooring is particularly hardy and able to be used in seemingly inhospitable settings, and in areas with constant foot traffic due to the hand-selected quality of the raw ingredient – Schotten & Hansen famously claim to use just 5 percent of the tree trunks they are consigned – and how it is processed, with light to extract moisture and prevent warping; a mixture of natural waxes, oils and resins; and the resilience of the glulam construction.

The result is a product that can withstand the extremes of humidity and wear of shopping centre pedestrian flows, for example, with an aplomb that meets or surpasses stone and aggregate finishes.

專 題 31

Hamyard Hotel, London, 2014, Firmdale Group Interior Design by Kit Kemp

32 FEATURE

Villa in Port d’Andratx, Spain, 2012 Photo: Christina Müller

QUALITY AT THE CORE

The journey for each piece of flooring the company produces is structured but not inflexible. The company makes allowances to highlight distinctive patterns in the grain and in the knots, or in the colour of the timber, to bring each piece to life. “I see myself as a translator between the architect and nature,” says Hansen.

Hansen himself has a passion for timber that reflects his training as a carpenter. The Dane moved to his current home in Bavaria where he was employed by Robert Schotten, a man who would eventually lend his name to the company the pair would establish.

“With innovative thinking and unshakeable faith in research, we bring virtually every idea to fruition, from classic plank flooring to acoustic panels to the interior finish of boats,” says Hansen.

“The perfection in our work cannot be achieved by machine. Many of our work processes stand in the tradition of German craftsmanship and are combined with the most modern technology. Every work piece is processed at the hands of our master craftsmen.”

Villa in San Francisco Ken Linsteadt Photo: Deven Gadula

REAL SUSTAINABILITY

Sustainability is an often used and seldom defined word in construction. The Schotten & Hansen conceptualisation is one that incorporates craft with care. It’s an idea from Hansen’s past that forms the future of the company.

“When I came to Germany at the age of 22 with just a toolbox in order to become a carpenter, I got a job from Mr Schotten to clean 20 small wardrobes. I could not think of anything worse… but I did not want to give up,” says Hansen.

“A few weeks later, the customer arrived to pick up the wardrobe and was so happy. I had given that piece of furniture a new skin and yet a skin that bore in it the history and personality of the wood. That is how I think of sustainability.

We should pass things on.”

The company’s approach to sustainability naturally removes paints and solventbased adhesives from the workmanship. Without the addition of harsh solvents the finished article relies heavily on the natural charisma of the living product.

Experimentation at the company’s headquarters has helped to deliver a range of colours, tints and tones that range from the expected – the beautiful neutral tones that typify wood in the construction setting – and the unexpected, from light grey to pale blue.

專 題 33

BOARD MEETING

The masters of bespoke timber are headed to Build4Asia where they are presenting their products and enjoying a round of meetings with clients.

Hansen’s message during this trip to Asia's biggest building, electrical engineering and security tradeshow is one of durability. Schotten & Hansen floorboards are said to retain their quality look and feel across generations.

“The visible top layer consists of the chosen wood while the middle layer and underlayment are made from local coniferous wood,” says Hansen. “This method not only saves resources but it is also technically superior to plain solid wood.

“The adhesives have been developed in close collaboration with our vendors. They have above average drying times and are therefore water tight and temperatureproof.”

The process explains the extraordinary stability of the flooring in extreme conditions. But the journey for the company’s flooring begins before the lamination stage. Woodworking begins with washing the residues and tannins from the raw material with boiling water. The process strips impurities from the wood, bringing out the natural beauty in the product.

To seal the boards, Schotten & Hansen has a patented proprietary surface treatment that is breathable and elastic – in a finish that is described as skinlike. The precision coatings – all natural – are tailored to customer needs. They are cared for by maintenance materials produced by the company that clean and nourish the surface in the same way that cosmetics care for skin.

“Our products are made for life,” says Hansen. “Our special processing and finishing make it possible to go ahead and work with lots of water. That makes not only cleaning easier but makes it possible to utilise our products in bathrooms, wet rooms and under climatically demanding conditions.” The company’s attention to detail is at the heart of its concept of sustainability.

Apartment in London, 2014 TG Studio Photo: Philp Vile

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S/Y Pumula 2013, Royal Huisman Photo: Cory Silken

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HAND IN GLOVE

For clients, the beauty of a handmade, natural product lies in the collaboration they experience with the factory.

Interior designers and architects are afforded the greatest flexibility in selection and development, while working directly with the manufacturing team means simplified coordination and execution of orders and delivery.

The tight mesh between client and company, allows Schotten & Hansen to deliver a degree of support unsurpassed in construction.

That link allows this premium product to be installed under extreme deadline pressure and in the most luxurious of circumstances.

That’s why Schotten & Hansen flooring and finishes have found their way into some of the most high-profile environments on the planet.

In the famed retail outlets of the De Beers chain, the Antonio Citterio-designed outlets make liberal use of ebony-coloured wood tones. In the spa and fitness zone of the Fairmont Hotel in Hamburg, more neutral tones have been selected. And across the seven hotels in the Firmdale Hotels chain in London and New York, all public areas – and some that handle heavy-duty maintenance tasks – have Schotten & Hansen flooring.

Each is a case study in the type of grace, elegance and durability under fire, and each is as unique as Torben Hansen’s approach to an exceptional construction material.

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Fairmont Hotel Vier Jahreszeiten, Hamburg, 2014 Spa Area

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Casa Decor, Madrid, 2013 Architect: Egue & Seta

翻譯：John Lo

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De Beers London, 2006 Antonio Citterio www.schotten-hansen.com www.royalhuisman.com

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Embracing Sustainability through Creation of Inspiring, Healing and Engaging Spaces

Hong Kong Science and Technology Park Phase 2 香港科學園第二期項目

(Completed in 2007)

Founded in Hong Kong in 1874, Leigh & Orange has continued to thrive as a significant force in the markets it serves for nearly a century and a half, providing its clients both in Hong Kong and overseas, a consistent focus on value and quality. The practice prides itself in balancing knowledge and innovation, attuned to each client’s needs in delivering inspiring, healing and engaging spaces to the community, an attempt in making the world work for 100% of humanity. This goes in parallel with the core value embodied in the practice’s over 140 years of heritage: “Inspired by Humanity, Sustained

by Creativity”.

With an unsurpassed depth of experience, the practice maintains an extremely broad oeuvre composing of commercial and hospitality developments, theme parks and recreational facilities, laboratory and health services buildings, transportation facilities and infrastructure, education and community buildings, interiors and master-planning schemes. This unique inheritance feeds back into new work as the intellectual foundation of experience leads in turn to fresh conceptual thinking in a continuous virtual loop. The value in the practice’s work is also illustrated in a number of its works where a building’s purpose has changed and evolved over its building life cycle, and in terms of sustainability it has always been more than rewarding for the practice to help clients meet such evolving needs, injecting new life with optimal intervention and least possible impact.

The practice, which operates throughout China, Hong Kong, Macau and the Middle East, is certified under ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and OHSAS 18001, with an integrated quality management system in place covering building quality, environment and safety. As a corporate member of the US Green Building Council, an institutional member of the Hong Kong Green Building Council and the China Green Building Council Hong Kong Chapter, the practice’s responsibility towards the environment is no less important to its responsibility towards the clients. Fusing an innovative approach to every project through integrative thinking in sustainable planning for health and wellbeing, energy efficiency and resource conservation, it ultimately aims to create architecture and spaces that are inspiring, healing and engaging, with minimal ecological offense or disadvantage of anyone.

Text and Images: L&O

利安顧問有限公司（利安）早於1874年在香港成立。在這接近一個半世紀的時 間裡，利安一直努力不懈地以可靠的態度為香港及海外客戶服務。利安素以平 衡知識和創新而自豪，同時暸解客戶需要，為社區提供富啟發性、洗滌心靈的 別致空間，提昇民生作息環境水平，貫徹事務所在140多年來傳承「靈感．以 人為本 ；創意．持恆致遠」的核心價值。 利安擁有無與倫比的專業經驗，參與完成的工程實例包羅萬有，可歸納為如下 的主要建築類型：商業建築、酒店及餐飲設施、消閒設施、主題公園、文教設 施、室內設計、交通基礎設施及總體規劃。這份獨有的傳承回饋到創作中，讓 過去累積的知識進化成全新思維，使靈感源源不絕。在一些設計中，利安彰顯 的價值隨建築生命週期演變，卻不受用途改變而影響。在可持續發展方面，事 務所積極滿足客戶在這方面不斷演化的要求，以適當的改動及產生最少影響的 方式替建築物注入新活力。 利安在中國大陸、香港、澳門及中東的辦事處均獲得ISO 9001質量規範標準 、ISO 14001環境管理體系及 OHSAS 18001 職業安全健康管理體系的認證。 事務所在建築質量、環境及安全管理方面嚴格執行一套完整質量管理系統。作為 美國綠色建築協會，香港綠色建築委員會和中國綠色建築委員會香港分會的機 構成員的企業會員，利安對環境及客戶同樣盡責。每個項目，利安也會以創新 方法，對健康福祉、能源效率、節省資源方面的可持續規劃採用一體化思維， 終極目標是創造對地球傷害最少、不損害任何人而且可以承先啟後、安撫心靈 和別樹一格建築設計。

從協作到創新 規模龐大的科學園第二期項目，在精心設計的園區內提供超過二十萬平方米的高 科技辦公及科研空間，配備一切必要支援基礎設施。創先河的區域節能供冷系統 覆蓋總體規劃及個別建築物，同時受惠於其臨海優勢，創造綠色和可持續環境。 園區內建築物不僅靈活應變及多元用途，而且生命週期特長。高科技節能設施佈 置於園內不同位置，讓上班人士盡享遼闊公眾空間，以及海風與海景，並且促進 創新的互動和交流，乃因創意及想像力是地球最寶貴的再生資源。此項目標示為 利安在設計、紀錄及執行高度複雜的建築規劃的成功範例。

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From Collaboration to Innovation A large-scale Science Park Phase 2 development generates over 200,000 sqm of high-tech office and laboratory accommodation with all necessary sup¬porting infrastructures in a landscaped park setting.

Masterplan and individual buildings served by a pioneering energy saving district cooling system combined to create a green and sustainable environment capitalizing on a seafront location. Highly adaptable and flexible buildings with extended usable lives and high-tech energy efficient features are carefully placed to maximize landscaped external public open space and sea-view breezeways in an engaging environment, promoting interaction and idea exchange that are essential for genuine innovation. Creativity and imagination are the most valuable forms of regenerative resource that the planet has ever possessed.

樓高十層的嘉道理生物科學大樓是位於香港大學主校園區內的著名實驗室大樓， 讓原先分散在校園各處的動物學、植物學、生態學和生物多樣性及分子生物學 研究等部門結合成一個達一萬平方米的教學及科研空間，專注研究生命科學。 這幢高度創新的建築不僅解決了地盤狹小的建築難題，並積極符合功能性、靈活 性、安全性、節能、環保、建築壽命經濟效益、可建造性和易於維護的要求，為 世界各地的研究實驗室制定設計新標準。 除了展示一個經濟上可行的解決方案，其具革命性而實用的實驗室設計理念，融 入對環境敏感的建築及按氣候調節的外層幕牆，為用家及大自然提供環境效益。 簡約優雅的外形，內裡卻蘊藏著為大樓用戶創建誘發靈感空間的心思與智慧。

This project has been included to demonstrate the L&O team’s success to design, document and administer a contract of highly complex services with high-tech buildings.

The Kadoorie Biological Sciences Building is a prestigious laboratory building for the University of Hong Kong in its main campus which provides 10,000m2 of teaching and research accommodation, bringing together the formerly dispersed departments of Zoology, Botany, Ecology and Biodiversity, and the Institute of Molecular Biology into one 10-storey centre for the bio-sciences.

This highly innovative building not only answers the demanding architectural challenge of the small and highly constrained site but, but also responding to the issue of functionality, flexibility, safety, energy efficiency, environmental friendliness, lifetime economy, buildability, and ease of maintenance, setting new standards for the design of research laboratories worldwide.

Demonstrating an economically viable solution, the revolutionary yet functional laboratory design concepts are carefully integrated into an environmentally responsive building and climate-smart envelope, providing environmental benefits to both the natural environment and the people. The elegant simplicity of the architectural solution simply belies its intellectual depth in delivering inspirational spaces to the building inhabitants.

Kadoorie Biological Sciences Building – The University in Hong Kong 香港大學嘉道理生物科學大樓

(Completed in 1999)

Integer Hong Kong Pavilion “IN的家”香港展覽館

(Completed in 2001)

Zoning in Kadoorie Biological Sciences Building

The Integer Hong Kong Pavilion has been a pioneer project in sustainable design and research that integrated numerous environmental and energy efficient interventions in building. Designed with modular prefabricated elements that can be dismantled and with moveable partitions and systems to allow for maximum flexibility, low energy designs including passive systems, shading, insulation, wind turbines, photo-voltaic panels, solar panels, central air conditioning with local control have also been integrated, targeting 25% energy saving. Efficient water systems including spray taps, dual flush toilets, rainwater harvesting, grey-water recycling targeted for 50% water saving as well, a remarkable performance at that point. Other features such as improved air quality systems, waste separation refuse systems, planted sky gardens, atria, balconies, recyclable building materials including the Pavilion which can be recycled, or dismantled and re-erected in another location, all have set new standards to the industry and inspiring new generation of green building systems and technologies.

“IN 的家” 香港展覽館是可持續設計和研究的先驅項目，展館內融入眾多項 環保和節能措施。模組化預製組件可安裝拆除，而可移動的隔板和系統大大提 高靈活性。館內亦備有低耗能設計包括：被動系統、遮光、隔熱、風力渦輪 機、光電板、太陽能電池板，並已安裝可小範圍調節的中央空調，以節省四分 一能源為目標。 館內另配有高效的供水系統，包括噴霧水龍頭、雙抽水馬桶、雨水收集，灰水 回收以節省五成用水為目標，以當年成績來說，實在驕人。其他特色如空氣清 新系統、垃圾分類系統、空中種植花園、中庭、露台、可回收、拆除及重新裝 嵌的建築材料（包括展館本身），為行業定立了新標準，並啟發了新一代綠色 建築系統和科技。

Air circulation in Integer 展覽館內空氣流通圖

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Humanising the Vertical City:

Reimagining Hong Kong

By Simon Bee Managing Director - Global Design

Benoy is challenging the inquiring architectural minds of its global team in a new research fellowship which sees its designers apply Singapore’s planning rules to create new models for green, high-rise, mixed-use clusters in Hong Kong. As Managing Director – Global Design Simon Bee explains to PRC, with buildings becoming taller and denser to cope with the demands of our modern cities, we need to find new ways to humanise our future development. And a lot can be learnt from pioneering cities like Singapore.

Sky spaces – why vertical cities?

Vertical cities are our reality. We all know that as urban populations grow and land becomes scarcer, we will need to build denser, taller mixed-use urban structures to keep up with 21st century living.

Density going wrong, however, is a very real concern. If badly conceived, our high-density cities could pave the way for the ‘Slums’ of the future. We must clearly guard against that. You only need to look to the popular science-fiction movies from the last sixty years to see that the dystopian vision of our future living environments is alive in our minds. And what don’t seem to be alive in these predictions are the trees.

While our city profiles may become more concentrated and the mix more complex, we still have the opportunity to intervene and humanise the spaces where we live, work and play. By considering the human element in design, we can push our cities into more habitable and sustainable territory, combating the pressures of over development and over complication which will surely be factors we need to overcome.

Part of the answer to this conundrum is to carefully consider models of liveability, social viability and recreational amenity in our future developments. Of course, mixed-use is the lifeblood of our best cities and multi-activity development is undoubtedly a key ingredient for richer city environments in the future. Going hand in hand with this is the benefit good landscape and public realm can offer in easing these tensions. I am especially an advocate for creating opportunities for good public spaces high in our buildings – everyone needs their own piece of land, their marketplace or village green – even if they live 40 floors above the ground.

Good landscape has the ability to soften and humanise the harshest environments and the total fusion of architecture and landscape that spawned the ‘Garden City’ movement in the UK a century ago, is now unlocking a new model of contemporary, habitable high-rise in parts of the world. Credit here goes to the substantial improvements in the science and technology of sustainable landscapes which we can benefit from today.

Hieu Dao and Javier deSantiago

Text and Images: Benoy

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It’s interesting to see how far we have come in a short period of time, radically moving away from the starker, more clinical architectural experiments of the post-war world. Certainly most of the immediate post-war development across the globe did not deliver an abundance of healthy green spaces that we recognise as important to our health and happiness.

There are clear exceptions of course – London’s lavishly landscaped and spectacular Barbican complex being a case in point. Several decades on, one might reflect that if landscape technology and urban design had been more interlinked at the time, the pioneers of the 1960s may well have paved the way for greater oxygenation and humanisation of our high-rise, mixed-use developments today and in the future.

So where has our thinking arrived at now? We are heading in the direction that landscaping and good public realm design should pervade every aspect of contemporary mixed-use development. And this is not just at ground level – habitable zones at any level of the building should benefit from a touch of green placemaking.Tall and dense development need not mean isolation from public realm and open spaces. Modern landscape design know-how means that ‘Streets’ and ‘Squares’ in the sky are totally viable and realistic, creating visual spectacle, adding value, and making concentrated living more attractive.

If we know this however, where can we experience these design ideals in action?

Singapore to Hong Kong Fortunately for us today, we can see the idea of ‘Hanging Gardens’ as something beyond the fading images of ancient Babylon; just take a trip to modern day Singapore and look around. When I look from Benoy’s studio windows there, I see the strategies that we have mentioned are already a comprehensive reality. Manicured parks at ground level, fully landscaped podium decks with public gardens and sports facilities, open places cut into buildings 30 storeys up and tree-lined promenades and jogging trails linking towers; it is a three-dimensional Garden City in action.

These designs are enriching lives and importantly, are promoted by enlightened government planning rules which allow for landscape creativity without compromising floor space. Singapore sets a great example, evolving as it has from its Garden City underpinnings – it is Eden in the making.

Benoy’s Design Fellowship The modern day interpretation of the Garden City concept is what our global team is currently exploring through the 2nd Annual Peter McCaffery Fellowship at Benoy this year. Utilising the principles and planning codes which have been so successful in Singapore on a live site in Hong Kong, our designers are advancing their thinking of what our urban contributions for mixed-use tall buildings should be. We are investigating the best ways to integrate new public spaces into high-rise, creating people places in the sky as well as connecting to and revitalising the streetscape.

We need to move beyond designing two-dimensional, ground-based urban solutions, to well-landscaped, three-dimensional connected spaces which will have a marked impact on how we will live tomorrow.

And taking a leaf out of Singapore’s book is a good start.

Benoy ’s 2nd Annual Peter McCaffery Fellowship which investigates new thinking for Hong Kong’s future tall buildings will be showcased at an exhibition event later this year. For more information, please contact Brittany.

Downes@benoy.com. Simon Bee will also present a collection of the global team’s entries at the PRC ‘Build4Asia’ Cocktail Event on 5 May 2016.

Images: Preview of the designs submitted by Benoy’s Global Team as part of the 2nd Annual Peter McCaffery Fellowship.

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JERDE: SOCIAL SUSTAINABILITY

A new way to approaching land-use and the consumption of resources within urban areas is needed if the Asia-Pacific region are to deliver cities that people love to live in and sustain high-levels of growth.

The driver of global economic growth is undoubtedly the Asia-Pacific region, and the biggest factor in providing that point of difference is urbanisation. Over the past two decades, concentration of people, and market forces, in cities has helped enhance their lifestyles and in turn fuelled the expansion of the region’s cities.

When considering the power of urbanisation, environmental concerns and the highest-value use of scarce resources such as land are among the key concerns. Often what is overlooked or is at least harder to quantify are the social aspects of a philosophy that approaches greater sustainability.

© Destination Brisbane Consortium 2015. All rights reserved. Images are artist’s impression. Subject to planning approvals.

Text: Alex Yong, Images: The Jerde Partnership

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FORWARD PLANNING

A study on Sydney’s Circular Quay took a fresh look at creating an urban gateway for international visitors to one of the world’s great cities. It identified the infrastructural constraints and pointed to potentials to deliver an experiencebased, more vibrant and integrated urban gateway to the city’s business district.

For a prime water front district in Australia’s biggest city, the experience through Circular Quay is constantly disrupted by flyover, highways and transportation infrastructures which are several decades old. The study pinpoints opportunities and recommend surgical interventions to recreate people centric places and bring vibrancy back to a CBD which is usually sleepy after hours. There are opportunities to enhance Sydney’s spirit and authenticity by creating a global destination at the water’s edge – a Times Square on the waterfront for the South Pacific. The development should also work to improve the city’s physical and social fabric to attract global talent to the country.

Bukit Bintang City Centre

CHALLENGING THE NORM

Traditional urban planning is losing relevance. Older ways of thinking about the built environment scarcely satisfy the aspirations of global citizens. Modern city-dwellers are better travelled than ever before, more sophisticated and have greater access to a broader range of information than any other generation that has gone before.

The existing planning codes and parameters used in the blueprints to plan traffic flow, lot size, height control and other infrastructure do not fully take into account the cost of future resources. A more sustainable foundation would see terra firma as a natural resource that enjoys an intimate relationship to the remainder of the city’s resources and its people.

More efficient transportation systems will mean fewer resources spent on constructing roads, parking and areas that are otherwise devoid of life. That will leave more space for greenery, open parks and meandering connective space that will all contribute towards bringing nature back to the urban environment. Other innovations will help ease transportation woes and among them the driverless car will arguably have the greatest impact in designing a city and the places we inhabit.

RESHAPING BRISBANE

At the most basic level, architects and designers are shaping the behaviour of people as they interact with places. If we consider a city is a series of places or environments that interact with each other and can change over time, then cities also have a variable effect on individuals, in effect, shaping how they evolve.

If that is the case – and I believe it is – the design of cities should be driven by a greater respect for adaptability and for building resilience. Implicit to both of these needs is an understanding that social sustainability is the foundation of good planning.

The biggest integrated resort project recently undertaken in Australia, Queen’s Wharf in the City of Brisbane, is designed to reassemble the unravelled fabric of that city’s Central Business District. The design will reconnect the waterfront along the Brisbane River with the Botanical Gardens, the downtown CBD district, and the South Bank cultural venues creating a river-front destination physically a condensed version of the Bund in Shanghai.

Connection to the water and bringing together both sides of the River with their complementary offerings, including new amenities at Queen’s Wharf integrated resort, is critical in recreating the identity unique for Brisbane.

Walkability will be given priority.The pedestrian networks will weave through the water front and re-stitch the inland fabric including existing heritage sites. The historical Treasury Building – currently housing a casino and hotel complex – will be preserved, repurposed and woven into the broader mix of amenities.

Unlike the orthodox use for an up-scale destination, with exclusivity hardwired into the design, Queen’s Wharf is designed to fully embrace the city’s communities by blurring the line between the inside and the public realm.

Instead both are part of the destination – physically and programmatically.

On regional terms, the revitalized Brisbane CBD will complement the famed beach front destinations like Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast and enhance Queensland’s attractiveness to both locals and visitors.

Northstar Changsha Similarly, in the bustling centre of Kuala Lumpur, another development involving The Jerde Partnership, the Bukit Bintang City Centre, integrates high-density development with the local landscape in a concentration of offices, apartments and lifestyle destinations.

In breaking the mould of an internalised shopping mall and its affiliated developments, the design connects with the adjacent streets. The development is partially covered to provide protection from the weather and to work with local climatic conditions.

The common language here is one of openness, inclusive and connectivity.

More than half of the land is dedicated to open space, park, greenery, plaza and connecting paths. These paths are open to the community in a physical representation of creating a place for the people and a stage for the city.

The benefits should be extraordinary, as the city creates a home for the project, nestled against the adjacent cultural offerings, food market and heritage buildings. .

ASPIRATION

Sustainability as a philosophy encompasses environmental, social and economic themes. Each is an interrelated part of the whole, instead of individual components. Public places are the stages in the city of the future.

The visions from these stages directly influence their desirability and ability to attract global talent.

While architects can deliver buildings that check all the boxes on the “green list”, creating a place that people love with a longer lasting impact and social sustainability impact requires a deep understanding of people’s aspirations.

More than trying to guess what people want, farsighted ideas dedicated to place-making can shape an environment better than people imagine and sustain social participation.

The way to create sustainable cities comes through a respect for the evolution of place-making and integrating authenticity with modern day needs and the constraints of urban planning.

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Custom Designed for Informed Users The Jockey Club’s communications and technology centre leverages the global design capabilities of Arquitectonica to deliver a world-class facility

The Shatin Communications & Technology Centre (SCTC) is the ultimate blend of elegance, class and usability, providing one of the world’s best jockey clubs with a state-of-the-art operating facility.

The design by internationally renowned architectural firm Arquitectonica, sees a dynamic floor-to-ceiling glass façade used to create an eye-catching structure that compliments the Hong Kong Jockey Club’s position as a world leader.

“The façade and form of the building is carefully composed to reflect the grace and movement of accelerating horses along the adjacent racetrack,” says Arquitectonica Hong Kong managing director Peter Brannan.

The unique design technique gives the SCTC an aesthetically pleasing exterior.

The ground floor façade is set slightly back from the perimeter of the building above. Coupled with the soft glow of lights from the entrance lobby and overhanging soffits creates the illusion that the building floats suspended above the ground. The floor to ceiling glass also fulfils a practical purpose, maximising the natural light within the building and ensuring uninterrupted views of the picturesque surroundings.

The sleek rectangular structure is located within the northwest boundary of the Shatin Racecourse, offering sensational views of Hong Kong’s premier racetrack and the nearby Shing Mun River and Ma On Shan mountains. By bringing the lush green of the outside in, the facility ensures the users remain in touch with nature.

Text & Images: ARQ

SHOWCASE PRESENTATION The building itself has evolved from the functional environment of the users and the opportunity to connect with, and promote, Hong Kong, the racecourse and its surroundings. The result is a building that is perfectly suited to its intended purpose.

Arquitectonica prides itself on its ability to ensure its designs are in close harmony with the immediate environment and aims to deliver ecologically sensitive design.

“The building fits perfectly with its surrounds and goes hand-in-hand with horse racing and nature,” Brannan says. “We set out to design a facility that would not only serve its purpose, but also compliment its surroundings and leave a lasting impression on all who saw it.”

Construction on the 10-storey structure started in 2011. The facility houses the HKJC main Telebet centre, an integrated contact centre, IT department offices, a broadcasting services department and post-production centre, the HKJC College and a staff amenities area.

When completed last year, the facility had a GFA of 48,805 square metres which allowed the Jockey Club to combine a number of core operations, that were previously located in various locations across Hong Kong, into a single facility. Built on a pre-existing bus terminus, each floorplate is about 5,000 square metres and there is also a six-metre deep basement housing plant rooms.

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UNDER ONE ROOF

GLOBAL FORCE

The facility is an investment and commitment by the Jockey Club to its future, consolidating its operations within an improved environment that is equipped to meet, and exceed, standards and requirements now and into the future.

Efficient economic and flexible, the building conveys a strong character and identity and promotes the Club’s objectives as an employer of choice with a forward-looking mindset.

With offices across the globe, Arquitectonica is considered one of the pioneers of globalisation in architecture. Boasting a portfolio that reaches to 58 countries and five continents, the firm has a broad reach in Asia, with offices in Hong Kong, Shanghai and Manila.

With first-class staff amenities, including a canteen and gym, and the benefit of easy car and bus access and proximity to the MTR, the building has been designed with the Jockey Club’s pursuit of excellence in mind.

“The building is a statement of what we want to do in creating a wonderful environment for our staff,” Jockey Club chief executive Winfried EngelbrechtBresges told the South China Morning Post last year.

With technology becoming increasingly important to the Jockey Club’s operations, Engelbrecht-Bresges hopes the state-of-the-art facilities will hold the HKJC in good stead moving forward.

Among the building’s many highlights is the rooftop garden and sunken outdoor courtyard, offering a peaceful space for employees to recharge and escape the workplace. The garden has been designed by Arquitectonica in a way so that the trees and plants help cool the building, reducing heat load and energy consumption.

In Hong Kong, Arquitectonica has brought us city defining buildings such as Festival Walk in Kowloon Tong, the Cyberport Technology Campus and the Le Meredien Hotel. The twin towers of the Landmark East office complex in Kwun Tong were one of the firms most recent and most successful initiatives, collecting the Merit Award of Excellence from the American Institute of Architects.

Brannan says the practice strives to deliver innovative solutions to the complex and varied problems and challenges posed by clients.

“We want to show there are so many different ways to create new environments that are innovative and feel fresh,” Brannan says.

“The Shatin Communications and Technology Centre was designed to facilitate a broad range of the HKJC’s specialty departments. With these ranging from IT and broadcast to a college, we knew we would have to deliver a facility that was both edgy and multi-dimensional and would be relevant for years to come.”

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Pioneering Carbon-Negative Home

The B House Unveiled In Singapore

Pioneering operational carbon-negative home generates more green power than it consumes, costs the same as similar properties in the area, and draws on many of the passive design techniques used in Singapore’s iconic Black and White colonial bungalows.

Pomeroy Studio,has announced the completion of their pioneering operational carbon-negative home: the B House, in Singapore. The home, which is highly water, energy and waste efficient, offsets the energy requirements of its occupants (i.e. operational carbon zero) through the use of solar energy, and provides surplus energy that could in the future be fed back into the grid. The B House employs many of the passive design techniques used in Singapore’s colonial Black and White bungalows; and when coupled with modern technology, results in one of the most sustainable detached modern homes in the region at the same price point as the neighbouring residential developments.

“The owner of the B House was keen to push the boundaries of sustainable design for a private commission of two family bungalows in Bukit Timah, Singapore” said Founding Principal Prof. Jason Pomeroy, continuing “the home sought to ensure that the occupants would never have energy bills again, and greatly reduced water bills. The challenge therefore was to create a zero carbon house at the same cost of a bungalow comparable in scale.

What started as a carbon zero project would eventually become a pioneering operational carbon negative house in Singapore” The B House drew on many of the lessons learnt from Asia’s first carbon-zero prototype home, the Sime Darby Idea House (2010) in Malaysia, which was also designed by Prof. Pomeroy, an expert in sustainable design and zerocarbon development. Whilst the Idea House reinterpreted the techniques embedded in the Malay Kampong House, B House provided an opportunity for Pomeroy Studio to study the traditional Black and White bungalow of Singapore. Such buildings featured generous roof overhangs, large Verandahs for outdoor living and entertaining, and variable shutters that could keep the sun out but allow the air to percolate in. Learning from its passive design techniques and space planning principles allowed for their subsequent reinterpretation for the 21st century tropical house.

The B House has been awarded the Building Construction Authority’s (BCA) Green Mark Platinum Award, the highest award for environment-friendly buildings in Singapore.

Text: Jason Pomeroy Images: Pomeroy Studio, by Robert Such

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Like the Black and White bungalows before it, the B House takes a ‘formmatching-climate’ approach that embraces the climatic conditions of Singapore in order to reduce energy and water use. The house is orientated and shaped to minimise heat from the East and West sun – reducing solar heat gain and maximising cross ventilation through the prevailing wind. Airflow is further facilitated through strategically placed window openings and high ceilings. North and South façades comprise of low, medium and high-level windows and shutters that act like a series of valves in a similar fashion to its historical predecessor. These can be opened and closed in multiple configurations to regulate airflow, prevent rain, and provide shade whilst filtering light during the hottest or wettest seasons. Daylight penetration is further optimised through shallow floor plates that permit all habitable rooms to receive 100% natural light.

Colonial and Asian dwellings were marked by the presence of Courtyards and Verandahs, serving as places of social interaction while also cooling the buildings themselves, as the breeze entering into the home through such spaces would be cooled by the surrounding foliage. The B House features both. Verandahs line both wings of the house, channelling cooler air into the interiors, and the central Courtyard is strategically placed between the more public formal reception area and private areas. This ensures that natural light and ventilation percolate into the interior spaces, and also acts as an outdoor social space.

The passive design techniques drawn from the traditional Asian dwellings provided a low energy base from which Pomeroy Studio were able to incorporate the latest green technologies and practices, giving the house its carbon-negative credential. The design of the house is modular, allowing pre-fabricated modules to be manufactured off-site, improving quality and reducing wasteful off-cuts.This pre-fabricated ‘kit-of-parts’ also increased the speed and efficiency of construction by 50% as compared to a similar sized residential building. Furthermore, materials with low eco-toxicity and high recyclable content were used throughout, and water-harvesting equipment with a water saving system forecasted to save up to 465m3 of water per year.

The household energy consumption for a typical family of five in a ‘normal’ home is estimated at 12,500 kWh per year, while a family of five in the passively designed B House is estimated to consume approximately 8,000 kWh per year. The 100m2 of polycrystalline photovoltaic solar panels on the roof are expected to generate 16,720 kWh per year, meaning that the B House effectively acts as power station that provides surplus energy that could be supplied back into the grid for income generation.

By looking to the past to shape the future, the B House highlights the importance culture and tradition plays in addressing many of the environmental challenges facing Singapore and Asia, “The future of sustainability is not just about technology, but, like the B House, draws on the essence of culture and tradition to create built environments that are carbon-free and truly reflect their inhabitants’ way of life” said Pomeroy, adding “We are delighted to have been given the opportunity to design this carbon negative home in Singapore. This project complements our Studio’s continued research into the field of zero-carbon development and its application to commercially orientated projects. We are proud to have been able to push the boundaries of sustainable design at the same price point as the ‘business as usual’, whilst retaining a commitment to the culture of place”.

Design Team Prof. Jason Pomeroy (Principal and Director-in-Charge), Yoshi Shimada (Associate Principal), Deepshi Bhogal (Senior Sustainability Consultant), Mayank Kaushal (Senior Sustainability Consultant), Elizabeth Garcia (Architectural Designer).

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翻譯：John Lo

www.pomeroystudio.sg

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Sympathetic design allows Jinhua to keep its head above water

Jinhua, a city in Zhejiang province with a population of more than 1 million, has an enviable position. The affluent city is situated at the convergence of the Wuyi River and Yiwu River. There, they meet and form the Jinhua River.

This setting has done much to deliver amenity and wealth to the city, but it comes at a price.

The city faces brief annual floods and, until recently, the three rivers divided the city’s densely populated communities.

A way to work with the floods, rather than against them – as had previously been the norm – was needed. In designing Yanweizhou Park, landscape architecture firm Turenscape has also created a space that has been credited with giving the city a new identity. In fact, so good was the work by architect Kongjian Yu – the founder of the practice based in Beijing – the park was named World Landscape of the Year winner at the most recent World Architecture Festival.

Text: Micheal Hoare Images: Yanweizhou Park

To protect a mainland Chinese city from annual floods, landscape architects worked to accommodate the floodwaters, creating a park and wetlands that have helped reconnect the city with its rehabilitated environment

TROUBLED WATERS Turenscape faced a number of challenges when developing the site. They sought to preserve what was left of the native environment, while providing amenities to the residents of the dense urban centre.

They also needed to decide what approach to flood control should be employed. No matter the outcome, the work would have to connect with a recently constructed opera house into the environment to ensure a unique experience for visitors.

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, was how to connect the separated city districts to the natural riparian landscape to strengthen the identity of the city of Jinhua.

The wetland area at the mouth of the three rivers is called Yanweizhou, literally meaning “the sparrow tail”, and beyond this tail, the wetlands have already been overtaken by an opera house.

As a result of the inaccessibility caused by the dividing nature of the rivers, the cultural facilities, including the opera house and the green spaces adjacent to the Yanweizhou, were underutilised.

PARK LIFE The solution, opened in 2014, was Yanweizhou Park. It features a water-resilient terrain with plantings able to cope with the monsoon floods, and a modern bridge and system of pathways that can adapt to the changing water levels and people flows.

The infrastructure of the Bayong Bridge and the associated pathways have reconnected the city’s communities, as well as connecting the people of Jinhua with nature. The bridge itself is elevated above the 200-year flood level. The ramps connecting the riparian wetland park can survive being submerged during a 20-year flood.

Turenscape designed the bridge to reinforce the

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festive, vernacular tradition of the region. The official title for the structure is the Bayong Bridge, or Bridge of Eight Chants, after eight famous poems written in ancient times about landscapes surrounding the site.

PUBLIC PLACEMAKING The design brings elements of a piece of public art with its bold, colourful combination of bright red and yellow tones that are accented by sympathetic lighting at night.

The 700-metre span is composed of steel, with fiberglass handrails and bamboo paving. The bridge is 5-metres wide with a series of 4-metre-wide ramps.

The bridge delivers functionality but also serves a number of purposes. It hovers above the remnant and rejuvenated wetland, allowing visitors an intimate connection to nature in the heart of the city.

The ramps leading to the bridge create access to the park that accommodates residents of all physical capacities and is flexible enough to grant access from various locations.

To successfully utilise the parkland around the structure, Yu needed a unique design unlike anything used previously at the site. For a long time, the strategy to control flooding in Jinhua was to build stronger and taller concrete floodwalls to yield cheap land for urban development.

WALLED GARDENS The walls along the riverbanks and flood plains were a very clear barrier that severed the relationship between the city, the vegetation and the water – all the while exacerbating the destructive force of the annual floods.

Prior to Yanweizhou Park’s current design, it too was protected by hard, high walls. The need to conserve the remaining wetland was understood but the strategy to wall in the remaining landscape was failing. More walls were planned to protect the last remaining patch of undeveloped wetland, the 26 hectares that is now Yanweizhou Park. While the floodwalls would create dry parkland above the water, they destroyed the dynamic wetland ecosystem.

Turenscape convinced the city authority to stop the construction of the concrete floodwall and to demolish others, creating a space that instead embraces the annual floods.

The 600-strong practice employed a cut-and-fill strategy to create a terraced river embankment that is covered with native vegetation able to withstand heavy flooding.

FRIENDS OF FLOODING The floods bring fertile silt that is deposited over the terraces and enrich the growing conditions for the tall grasses that are native to the habitat. The natural movement of silt and debris eliminates the need for irrigation or fertiliser. The terraced embankment also helps remediate and filter run-off storm water from the pavement above.

In and around the planting terraces are floodable pedestrian paths and pavilions, which are closed to the public during the flooding period.

In addition to the terraced river embankment, the area inland is entirely permeable to water. The engineering to create this resilient landscape is based on the extensive use of recycled gravel. The gravel has been used liberally on pedestrian areas.

A repeating pattern of circular bioswales – landscaped gullies that channel water and help remove particles from the run-off on its path back to the river – are integrated with tree planters. Permeable concrete pavement is used for vehicular access routes and parking lots.

Across the park, water is moved through layers of mechanical, natural filtration devices. From an inner collecting pond, for example, water from the river percolates through gravel layers that mechanically and biologically improve water quality.The ultimate aim is to create a stretch of river that is swimmable.

WILD LIFE Yanweizhou Park has become a hub for flora and fauna.The meandering vegetated terraces, bioswales and planter beds are filled with native water-adapted species, including poplar trees, Chinese Wingnut and Chinese Redwood, providing a habitat for native birds such as egrets.

A design team that featured Yu as design principal as well as Hongqian Yu, Yu Song, Yuan Fang and Shuiming Zhou, among others, would work with the existing sand quarries to reintroduce wildlife. There would be an approach of minimum intervention to ensure that existing microterrain and natural vegetation was preserved, allowing diverse habitats to evolve through time.

There are attractions for bipeds too. The sinuous bridge is the focal point of the park, its design inspired by the tradition of dragon dances during the Spring Festival.

For this celebration many families bind their wooden benches together to create a long and colourful dragon that winds through the fields and along narrow dirt paths. Musicians sound gongs and beat drums, to the accompaniment of singing, dancing and yelling by villagers. These “Bench Dragons” are flexible in length and form as people join or leave the celebration.

The dragon bends and twists according to the force of human flow.

Like the bench dragon in the annual celebration, the bridge symbolises not only a form of celebration practiced around Jinhua, but also acts as a bond that strengthens the cultural and social identity that is unique to this area.

While the thoughtful design and integrated strategies employed in this rehabilitation and planting address only a small section of the hundreds of kilometres of river embankment, the project showcases a replicable and resilient ecological solution to large-scale flood management that helped a city to rediscover its roots.

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為保護浙江金華市免受每年一度的河水氾濫，景觀設計師 致力解決澇災之餘，設立公園及濕地，讓這片生態已修復 地帶與城市重新連接。

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