PRC Magazine #74

Let nature take its course Schotten & Hansen creates flooring and furniture from the finest-quality timber, lovingly handled to transform spaces and age beautifully.

Discerning designers with a client specifying wooden floors will want the boards under their feet to be strong, durable, beautiful, natural looking and, most of all, unique. These qualities are promised by Schotten & Hansen, whose commitment to high-end, customised flooring is the essence of their business.

The Southern German firm has a 30-year tradition of tailor-made timber work, always by hand, with meticulous attention to each order – from the layout for each room covered down to the selection, sizing and treatment of every plank. Individual care and craftsmanship by hand are bywords for a company that always pursues perfection.

www.hopsze.com

MARMOLEUM MODULAR OFFERS YOU AN ENDLESS CHOICE IN SHAPE, SIZE AND COLOUR TO CHOOSE FROM. creating better environments

www.marmoleummodular.com

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UBS urges investors to join renewables revolution The world’s largest private bank predicts large-scale power stations will soon make way for electric cars and new solar technologies. Analysts at UBS say that big power stations in Europe could be redundant within 10-20 years as electric cars, cheaper batteries and new solar technologies transform the way electricity is generated, stored and distributed.

In a briefing paper sent to clients and investors in late August, the Zurich-based bank argues that large-scale, centralised power stations will soon become extinct because they are too big and inflexible, and are “not relevant” for future electricity generation. Instead, the authors expect it to be cheaper and more efficient for households and businesses to generate their own energy to power their cars and to store any surplus energy in their own buildings even without subsidies. The authors said that power is no longer something that is exclusively produced by huge, centralised units owned by large utilities.

By 2025, everybody will be able to produce and store power.And it will be green and cost competitive, i.e., not more expensive or even cheaper than buying power from utilities, urging their financial clients to “join the revolution.”

Solar-powered houses and entire villages, like the one above in Germany, could make Europe’s big power stations redundant in 10-20 years, UBS argues.

DLN to design major university campus in Indonesia Dennis Lau & Ng Chun Man Architects (DLN) will plan and design the new campus of the University of Pembangunan Jaya, in Indonesia, which upon completion in 2025 will house 10,000 students. Their approach to this project is an environmentally friendly one that focuses on passive design features that both reduces lifecycle energy consumption and increases contact of building users with nature, incorporating modest and easily procured construction.

DLN Director, Alexander Lush, said: “We have sought to minimise reliance on engineered systems. The orientation, disposition, layout and detail design of the buildings are all calculated to exploit the potential for natural shading and ventilation.

This approach has also resulted in a campus where every space is in close proximity to nature and aligns with the ambition to create an exemplary campus. It is a University of gardens.”

Emerging markets driving global construction industry Leaders from the construction, finance and insurance industries came together in Hong Kong on 16 September to discuss the shift of the global construction industry and the importance of managing risk as entities expand their infrastructure footprint. Hosted

by AIG – a leading construction insurance provider – the discussion took place in conjunction with the launch of new research by AIG which found that for the first time construction in emerging markets is now outpacing developed markets. AIG’s Global Head of Construction, Daniel Abramson, says this shift is in significant part being driven by emerging countries in Asia where population growth and urbanisation is creating the need for more construction investment. “Last year 52% of the world’s construction came from emerging markets. By 2025 we expect this figure to grow to by more than 60 per cent with big infrastructure projects in China and India set to lead the way.”

Despite the rapid rise of emerging markets, Hong Kong is also experiencing strong growth particularly in the infrastructure construction sector which now accounts for 47 per cent of the industry. Largely being driven by the government’s investment in water infrastructure as it looks to reduce its dependency on mainland China’s water resources, the sector is expected to grow from HK$82.6 billion last year to HK$130.4 billion in 2018. AIG is the marketing name for the worldwide property-casualty, life and retirement, and general insurance operations of American International Group, Inc. More information at: www.aig.com.hk.

Solar is at the edge of being a competitive power generation technology. The biggest drawback has been its intermittency; this is where batteries and electric vehicles (EVs) come into play. Battery costs have declined rapidly, and the bank expects a further decline of more than 50% by 2020. By then, a mass produced electric vehicle will have almost the same price as a combustion engine car. But the bank does not expect power companies or the grid to disappear: UBS says they have a future if they develop smart grids which manage electricity demand more efficiently and provide decentralised back-up power generation.

Rocco Design Architects unveils CITIC Financial Centre The CITIC Financial Centre is the headquarters building of CITIC Securities Company, located in Shenzhen. The programs include offices, conference facilities, hotels and residential apartments. The project is located at the western gateway area of Shenzhen Bay flanking a green public space to the west. Architecturally, the centre is a response taking conditions of both the city’s development and urban planning into consideration, for instance, requirements of building height, creation of a city interface and public space, inspirations for later architectural designs and attempts of a three-dimensional greenery.

The complex, with a GFA of 241,000m2, consists of a tower and two slab blocks. The tower is located to the site’s north. The frontal slab block gently slopes downwards to Shenzhen Bay, granting the upper floors of the tower a magnificent harbour view, while the layering edges of the building are posed against the blue sky. The downward sloping slab blocks outline rooftop green terraces in three varied heights. They connect with the vertical green wall and mid-air garden which become a threedimensional green belt passing through the site. Along with flanking a lush park, the whole site is endowed with an open greenery view.

Contract awarded for Kwun Tong Town Centre Project The Urban Renewal Authority (URA) Board decided to award the contract for the development of the Kwun Tong Town Centre Project (Development Areas 2 & 3) to a consortium, Union Score Investments Limited, consisting of Sino Land Company Limited and Chinese Estates Holdings Limited, in a meeting held on 1 September. The Kwun Tong project is the largest redevelopment initiative ever undertaken by the URA since establishment. With a total area of about 5.35 hectares, the project is divided into five Development Areas and will be implemented in phases. Development Areas 2 and 3 that are being put up for tender occupy a site of about 21,754m2. The new development targets to deliver some 1,700 residential units of a total gross floor area of about 138,980m2, a total non-domestic gross floor areas of about 33,220m2 for retail shops, a twolevel public transport interchange for franchised buses and public light buses, a hawker bazaar and a refuse collection point. A public open space of about 6,400m2 will also be provided.

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RICS Hong Kong Awards 2015 - Now Open for Nominations The real estate industry’s most prominent awards, the RICS Hong Kong Awards 2015 is open for nominations until 12 December, 2014. A total of 12 award categories are open to honour achievements in Hong Kong’s land, property, construction industries and the built environment. Now in their fourth year, the RICS Hong Kong Awards celebrate excellence, professionalism, achievement, and overall contribution to our built environment. To recognise achievements from emerging sectors, five new awards have been introduced this year, namely; Industrial / Data Centre / Logistics Team of the Year; Property / Facility Management Team of the Year; Sustainability Achievement of the Year; Refurbishment / Restoration Team of the Year; as well as Construction Project Team of the Year.

The Awards are open to everyone working within the property profession. Nominations are free, for details please visit www.ricshkawards.com. The Awards presentation ceremony will be held at RICS Hong Kong Annual Dinner 2015 on 13 March, 2015. For advertising opportunities in MODUS Asia, the official Member’s magazine of RICS Asia, contact Bryan Chan at Bryan@ rofmedia.com.

Hong Kong to host World Sustainable Built Environment Conference 2017 The Construction Industry Council (CIC) and Hong Kong Green Building Council (HKGBC) are delighted to announce that Hong Kong has been chosen to host the World Sustainable Built Environment Conference 2017 (WSBE17) in June 2017, a pre-eminent conference on sustainable building and construction operating in a three-year cycle. With intense competition from America, Africa, and Asia, Hong Kong’s proposal stood out with its unique edge of alignment with the spirit of the SBE Conference Series. The support received from the HKSAR Government, the contributions from the industry and academic stakeholders, together with Hong Kong’s distinctive position in connecting the massive sustainable developments of China with the world, were the major winning factors of the bid.

US$130-million contract for sewage treatment works AECOM recently announced that it has been appointed by the Drainage Services Department of the HKSAR Government to provide investigation, design and construction supervision consultancy for the relocation of Sha Tin Sewage Treatment Works (STSTW) to caverns in Sha Tin, Hong Kong.The consultancy's lump sum fee is around US$32 million while the total contract value, including site supervision costs, amounts to US$130 million.

With a sewage treatment capacity of 340,000m3 per day, the relocated STSTW will be the biggest cavern sewage treatment works in Asia when complete, serving a population of over 800,000 in Sha Tin. This project also marks a new milestone in large-scale cavern development in Hong Kong as part of enhancing land supply strategy to free up land for housing and other beneficial uses. The investigation and design works are scheduled for completion in phases from 2017, and construction works will commence afterwards.

AECOM will also assist the government in public engagement activities and provide preliminary design for the upstream sewerage networks and pumping facilities related to the relocation of the STSTW to caverns. To design a sustainable sewage treatment works located inside caverns that will meet the demands for the next several decades, AECOM’s cavern and process teams will work out advanced sewage- and sludge-treatment technologies to minimise the size of needed caverns, energy consumption, carbon footprint and sludge production, in order to optimize the cost of the entire life cycle. AECOM will organise pilot studies to ensure that state-ofthe-art technologies work well for local sewage characteristics, including high salinity due to the use of seawater for flushing in Hong Kong.

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Swire Properties named Best Office/Business Developer Swire Properties recently welcomed the recognition from the internationally respected financial magazine Euromoney, which named the company as the Best Office/Business Developer in Hong Kong in its Real Estate Survey 2014. Swire Properties Chief Executive, Martin Cubbon, said: “We are delighted and honoured to be chosen as the best developer in the office/ business category in Hong Kong, particularly by industry experts and corporate end-users from around the world. This award gives us the encouragement to continue to provide the highest standards of design and services as we continue with our expansion plan for our office portfolio in Hong Kong, mainland China and Miami.”

Swire Properties is a leading developer, owner and operator of mixed-use, principally commercial properties in Hong Kong and mainland China. Its attributable property investment portfolio, including property under development, totals 7.5 million m2 of which 4.6 million m2 is office space. The company owns mixed-use developments in six cities, namely Hong Kong, Beijing, Chengdu, Guangzhou, Shanghai and Miami. In Hong Kong, Swire Properties launched a seven-year redevelopment plan for TaiKoo Place early this year. The redevelopment will provide 609,600m2 of leading edge office space and a new landscaped square of about 21,000m2.

Completion of the first building is scheduled in 2018.

New London ‘hotspots’ identified for home buyers and investors Knight Frank has launched the Eastern Opportunity report. It highlights The Royal Docks and Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park as the next biggest residential areas in the Capital, especially for investors seeking value beyond the core areas of prime central London. The report examines key residential, infrastructure and public realm development that is currently taking place and in the pipeline throughout the East of London. The defining factor to Royal Docks’ potential for future growth is the forecast population increase; with a rise of 103% set to take place between 2013 to 2028. This figure represents a surge of 14,500 people into the area. By comparison wider London is set for growth of just 16% over the same period. The research shows how the city is expanding to the East, by re-defining the central point of London – it has moved 1km east in the last 10 years.

Knight Frank Partner, Raul Cimesa, said: "The area, Europe’s largest regeneration site, with Canary Wharf and the City as its commercial heartbeat, will see this historical and once industrial part of London transformed into a new thriving destination. Abundant in parks, river walkways and docks, the state-of-the-art transport facilities, new retail amenities, high quality product and specified homes will offer owner occupiers a quality lifestyle and good future opportunities for investors.” For more information contact: angela.fung@hk.knightfrank.com.

Major urban research building repositions Adelaide as innovation city Woods Bagot worked with the South Australian Government to establish the 25,000m² South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute (SAHMRI). The institute’s nine research modules will house up to 700 researchers looking at ways to foster innovation and improvements in health services, leading to improved health outcomes for the whole community. The sculptural qualities of SAHMRI’s form aim to inspire and promote the building’s function. The transparent facade showcases two internal atriums, while the building’s form is further expressed by its unique triangulated dia-grid facade inspired by the skin of a pine cone.The form’s articulated skin adapts and responds to its environment, becoming a living organism that responds to the position of the sun. The SAHMRI design and construction team are working collaboratively to deliver a flexible, adaptable, healthy and sustainable facility which is on target for a LEED Gold rating. A new video of SAHMRI is now available in the News section at www.woodsbagot.com.

Kai Tak Fantasy International Ideas Competition shortlisted submissions The Energising Kowloon East Office (EKEO) of the Development Bureau launched the Kai Tak Fantasy (KTF) - International Ideas Competition on Urban Planning and Design in November last year, and 80 submissions were received up to February this year. First-stage adjudication has been completed and four submissions were shortlisted.

They were showcased at a roving exhibition which commenced in June and ran for two months, with public opinions on the design concepts collected. In parallel, the "A Place for You" video contest was held. The 90-hectare KTF, comprising the former airport runway tip in the Kai Tak Development, the Kwun Tong Ferry Pier Action Area and the enclosed water body in between will become a tourism and entertainment destination for the enjoyment of the local community and visitors, and will have synergy with various Energizing Kowloon East initiatives.

The Head of the EKEO, Ms Brenda Au, said: “The competition aimed to solicit creative and innovative urban planning and design proposals for KTF. It has attracted submissions from Hong Kong, the mainland and overseas by planners, architects, engineers, landscape architects, surveyors and other professionals. The submissions are all distinctive, demonstrating the design theme of KTF through various creative approaches.We sought to understand the public’s views, on which designs they think may best unleash the creative potential of KTF, demonstrate the unique identity of the place and create synergy effects with the transformation of Kowloon East.” More information at: www.kaitakfantasy.hk.

Asia-Pacific real estate professionals to gather at MIPIM Asia In and outbound investment trends, developments in the Asia retail sector and a focus on regional real estate, will be at the heart of discussions as part of MIPIM Asia’s central theme, ‘Bridging the East and the West for global real estate’. The 9th edition of MIPIM Asia will be held in Hong Kong, on 2 and 3 December, 2014 and will bring together CEOs and industry professionals connected to Asia Pacific real estate. The Opening Keynote will be delivered on 2 December by Head of Global Demographics & Pensions from Credit Suisse Securities (Europe), Dr Roy Amlan, addressing ‘Why Global Demographics Matter: Asia and Real Estate’. Dr Amlan will explore how demographics affect the future of real estate in the region and their implications on property investment.

This year’s conference programme includes a notable line up of over 90 featured speakers and keynotes from around the world. The MIPIM Asia conference programme will culminate with the ‘Meet the Chairmen’ panel on 3 December. Key industry figures, such as Cheung Kong (Holdings) Executive Director, Justin Chiu, Gaw Capital Partners Chairman, Goodwin Gaw and Hsin Chong Construction Group Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Dr Wilfred Wongf, will share their viewpoints on the real estate perspectives for the year ahead. For further information on MIPIM Asia conferences programme, please visit: www.mipimasia.com/en/the-programme/conferences.

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Benoy experiences sustained growth in Malaysia

National Arboretum Canberra Taylor Cullity Lethlea

As Benoy strengthens its presence in Malaysia, the international award-winning practice has welcomed Associate Director, Nina Stiff and Project Coordinator, Shen Fei Lam, to their office in Kuala Lumpur. As part of Benoy’s global network, Kuala Lumpur provides a vital on-the-ground presence in Malaysia and the burgeoning Southeast Asia region. Capitalising on the firm’s ‘One Benoy’ approach and the accessibility of resources and talent between its studios, Kuala Lumpur taps into the immediate support of the larger Hong Kong and Singapore studios and also London to reinforce the greater British brand as a whole. Major current contracts in Malaysia include Sime Darby’s transport-oriented development in the heart of Subang Jaya and the Sabah Government’s 314ha Tanjung Aru Eco Development masterplan. Further developments in the capital including Four Seasons Place and the Puchong Prima Mixed-Use Development have followed alongside upcoming projects in other states.

Puchong Prima Mixed-Use Development

Third Asian-based WAF concludes in Singapore World Architecture Festival (WAF), the largest annual festival and live awards programme for the global architecture community, recently concluded in Singapore. WAF has three central pillars of activity. The first is a wide-ranging conference programme, featuring keynote lectures, dozens of expert-led talks and seminars from thought-leading architects and designers from across the globe.Architects of every shortlisted project in the 28 award categories are invited to attend the festival to give a live presentation to a panel of judges, asserting their case for why their project should win. The winners of each category are put forward to compete for the coveted World Building of the Year award, presided over by the festival’s ‘super-jury’, with the presentation of the award being the culmination of WAF 2014.This year’s super jury members were Richard Rogers (chair), Rocco Yim, Julie Eizenberg, Enric Ruiz Geli and Peter Rich.

Across three festival halls all award entries were displayed in a unique awards gallery and where sponsors and suppliers interact with delegates, make new contacts and showcase their services and products. PRC Magazine will present a detailed showcase of this year’s Festival in our December 2014 issue.

2-3 DECEMBER, 2014 GRAND HYATT, HONG KONG

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Bridging the East and the West for Global Real Estate FOR MORE INFORMATION Claire CHAUSSIDIERE claire.chaussidiere@reedmidem.com

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LANDMARK showcases the ultimate home experiences

Urban Agriculture Workshop & Seminar Platinum, a consortium for LEED Professionals in Hong Kong, recently held a two part event a workshop and seminar on urban farming and agriculture. 25 professionals became temporary farmers harvesting vegetables from the roof top farm on the Bank of America Tower. The urban farm is a project among JLL, Time to Grow Hong Kong and the Bank of America Tower. Vegetables planted in raised beds were harvested after a half year growing season. The participants were impressed at the great results of the harvest juxtaposed with the very commercial environment. Following the harvest the participants were joined by an additional 20 professionals in the industry for a seminar, which looked at the opportunities and challenges in implementing green and agricultural spaces into a city setting. Four speakers, Brian Brenner, Regional Director of Markets and JLL HK CSR Representative, Andrew Tsui, of Time to Grow, Sean Quinn LEED AP BD+C, Head of Sustainable Design at 10 Design and Rowena Gonzales LEED AP ID+C, Creative Director at Liquid Interiors, talked of their successes, obstacles and ideas in creating green spaces in Hong Kong and globally. Greening an urban space involves planning, technology, stakeholder involvement and education to either retrofit existing buildings or to build new. More information at: www.platinumhk.org.

Stylish landmark - KP Tower - now available for lease A newly-completed 24-storey mixed-use commercial development by Kam Ping Properties & Securities at 93 King’s Road, North Point, has obtained its Occupation Permit and is now available for lease. Kam Ping Senior Vice President, Roy Pang, said: “We believe that KP Tower will raise the bar for retail and office spaces in the Fortress Hill and Tin Hau area, and will complement the significant ongoing development of the area with the imminent completion of more top quality hotels and residences nearby. We are confident that, with its core location, excellent transport connections and eyecatching architecture such as its signature orange cladding, KP Tower will become a new landmark in the area.”

A truly exquisite home is an expression of a family’s essence and the embodiment of its signature style. LANDMARK, the epitome of top-tier luxury shopping, answers every facet of home and gifting needs, so it launched the “1001 Curated Collections,1 Name” campaign to celebrate its array of designer homewares, one-of-a-kind pieces and decadent antiques. As part of this campaign, LANDMARK showcased its iconic home pieces in an exclusive photography exhibition named “Home Heroes” at LANDMARK ALEXANDRA directed by the notable photographer Mr Sean Lee-Davies, which ran until early October. He said: “It was my pleasure to collaborate with LANDMARK on this inspirational photography exhibition. Throughout the creative process, my vision was to take a minimalist approach and add an element of fantasy to allow each iconic art piece to make its own dramatic style statement.”

Hongkong Land Executive Director, Raymond Chow, said:“LANDMARK has a rich heritage with luxury brands, combining the most exquisite artisan products with a unique curated collections shopping experience akin to a treasure hunt of discovery. As the trend leader among retail destinations in Hong Kong, LANDMARK offers all the high quality craftsmanship and fine furnishings tastemakers need to delight every corner of the home.” More information available at: www. landmark.hk.

The tower provides a total GFA of approximately 15,240m2. Twenty floors of prime office space are provided on 5/F–27/F, with each floor averaging 592m2 and featuring full-height glass windows and column-free floor plates. In addition, a four-storey retail podium from G/F to 3/F provides retail space ranging from approximately 593m2 per floor to 986m2 per floor, featuring expansive shop frontages with excellent exposure. JLL is the building’s sole leasing agent and marketing consultant. Show suites are now available for visit by appointment.

JCube Mall interior revamp creates all-new shopping experience Major retail developer CapitaMalls recently turned to award-winning green design firm Pomeroy Studio to design their latest concept retail concessions in Singapore’s ultra-hip west coast mall, JCube. The designers sought to bring a new retail flavour to Jurong through the refurbishment of 3,050m2 of retail space.

‘J.Avenue’ is inspired by popular shopping districts found in Tokyo and Seoul and features a total of 70 shops selling fashion apparel and accessories. Phase 1 opened earlier in September much to the delight of the young and trendy who frequent the mall. The roll out of the concept into other phases is scheduled by the end of the year.

Pomeroy Studio Associate Principal, Chloe Li, who has consulted for several years with CapitaMalls on other AEI projects such as Raffles City Singapore, said: “The concept seeks to balance, social, spatial, cultural and economic parameters. Socially, the concept gives tenants the flexibility to present their brands and goods in inventive ways and help shape their retail community. Spatially, it seeks to evoke a ‘street-like’ atmosphere and shopping experience. Culturally, it reinterprets the street culture of Harajuku and Hongdae. And economically, it provides a platform for young entrepreneurs and first time shop-owners on short-term leases to quickly display their products. The net result is an engaging retail experience that is constantly changing, and therefore vibrant and highly engaging.”

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Evidence links office design with staff health and productivity

New World Guiyang Hotel opens in Guizhou Province New World Guiyang Hotel opened in September as the first New World Hotel in Southwest China, introducing the brand’s signature modern Oriental hospitality to residents and visitors to the capital of Guizhou Province, an increasingly popular Chinese summer resort city.The hotel’s 306 rooms, 281 guestrooms and 25 suites, range in size from 45 to 623m2 and more than half offer scenic views of nearby Jiangjun Mountain. The Presidential suite on the 18th floor is the largest in the city and the only one with an outdoor constant-temperature swimming pool. Its 230m2 balcony and garden provides panoramic views of the city. The deluxe hotel, located adjacent to the Guiyang International Exhibition and Convention Centre in the Guanshanhu central business district, is designed to celebrate the scenic destination whilst offering a convenient home base for business travellers since Guiyang is the financial centre and transportation hub of Western China. New World Guiyang Hotel overlooks one hectare of rolling green landscape interspersed with winding walkways and water features. The majority of the hotel’s façade is glass, allowing natural light to flood into the hotel interior. Décor blends contemporary style with subtle Chinese influences, such as the modern lobby chandeliers whose design is inspired by traditional lamps and lanterns. More information at: www.newworldhotels.com.

A new report from the World Green Building Council (WorldGBC) finds “overwhelming evidence” that office design significantly impacts the health, wellbeing and productivity of staff. The report entitled, ‘Health, wellbeing and productivity in offices: The next chapter for green building’, finds that a range of factors – from air quality and lighting, to views of nature and interior layout, can affect the health, satisfaction and job performance of office workers. The report, sponsored by JLL, Lend Lease and Skanska, also presents a simple toolkit that businesses can use to measure the health, wellbeing and productivity of their buildings and inform financial decision-making. Understanding the link between workers and their workplace helps to drive the business case for higher quality, healthy and greener buildings, valued by investors, developers and tenants alike. With salaries and benefits typically responsible for 90 per cent of an organization’s expenditure, any higher construction or occupation costs are far outweighed by even small improvements in staff performance. The report can be downloaded from the WorldGBC’s website: www.worldgbc.org/activities/healthwellbeing-productivity-offices.

Cushman & Wakefield appoints Marc Shamma’a Cushman & Wakefield, the world’s largest privately held real estate services firm, has announced the appointment of Marc Shamma’a as the Strategy & Workplace Director.

Based in Singapore, Marc will be responsible for providing consultancy as well as strategic leadership and direction for the project management design teams across Asia-Pacific and providing clients with advice on workplace strategy, its impact on design and portfolio strategy accompanied by change and communications management. Head of Corporate Occupier and Investor Services in Asia Pacific, Richard Middleton, said: “With companies in Asia Pacific taking a more holistic view to workplace strategy, considering both cost benefits as well as people and wider organizational benefits, Marc’s expertise offers our clients the opportunity to see the space they occupy not only through lens of cost reduction, but as a way to improve staff productivity and satisfaction by making their offices great places to work.”

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GREEN SHOOTS TAKE ROOT IN SINgAPORE Held at the National Design Centre (NDC) for the first three weeks in September, overlapping Singapore Green Building Week 2014 and supported by the DesignSingapore Council, the event showcased global design projects. The expo took over the centre’s roof terrace, converting it into a communal gathering space; engaged students in research and dialogue; saw professionals engaged in dialogue sessions; and included a design seminar and tour at the National Library.

The exhibition and related events celebrated the incorporation of greenery and open spaces within buildings to promote social interaction.

INSIdE THE DESIgNER’S STUdIO The curator, professor Jason Pomeroy, said the motivation to curate and stage Design Green came about after repeated questions if skyrise greenery, vertical urban greenery, skycourts and sky gardens were feasible in high-density urban environments. After more than 10 years of research and authoring a book on the subject, he thought it was important to bring these issues to a broader audience.

“I thought it would be a great way to bring some of the ideas from the book to life by staging the events within the NDC, which is quite a remarkable colonial structure. We took over the ground and first floors to host the exhibition that not only explains the socio economic, cultural, physiological, technological and spatial benefits of sky courts and sky gardens, but also gave case studies of works, past, present and future,” says Pomeroy.

“We also wanted to engage with practitioners to bring their expertise to a broader audience which was the discussions entitled Inside the Designer’s Studio.

This was very much for the general public who are increasingly seeing greenery in their urban habitat, whether it is in Singapore or elsewhere, such as in Europe or America. With this interest we decided to put on an exhibition that would appeal to the public through photographs, models and so on. And we were very heartened to see not only academics and professionals but also very curious members of the general society.”

Text: Mike Staley Images: Ansel Media

The inaugural Design Green | Skycourts and Skygardens exposition, curated by Pomeroy Studio, focused on broad aspects of skyrise greenery through: The Exhibition, The Discussion and The Installation.

The exhibition wasn’t just about creating a curated exhibition, but brought the concepts to life. An edible garden featured rosemary, basil and other herbs that found their way into the drinks served during the evening performances. “This relates directly to the communities that exist in tall structures, with the idea of creating a communal space where residents can come together to participate in these green activities, such as planting and using their own herbs.”

The interaction was enhanced by a solar canopy on the centre’s roof that generated enough energy for four performances by a Hong Kong DJ. Pomeroy wanted to challenge the idea that a rooftop should be a bland space for elevator or air-conditioning equipment. He helped demonstrate that it is easy to activate these spaces with appropriate greenery and activities that provide a focal point for the community to come together.“We also wanted to engage with academia.

So we went to Singapore University of Technology and Design,Tianjin University and the University of Nottingham to hold a three day masterclass whereby we hypothesised that Orchard Road in the year 2050 may be a very different space, in that there would be no more public space,” he says.

“So how could you recreate these social spaces in the sky on the rooftops of existing buildings? This provided a unique opportunity for the masterclass students from different parts of the world to come together over a three-day period, attending lectures by professors from these institutions, as well as champions of industry."

“Within this short period of time the students came up with some remarkable solutions.The immediate feedback from both professors and students was that it was a really enjoyable exercise to have three different universities with different specialisms from three different parts of the world to tackle a very contentious issue which is the role of rooftops as potential public space in 2050.”

The public offered enthusiastic feedback on Design Green, illustrating that these issues are prevalent around the world, and that the future planners, engineers and architects currently at university must be equipped with the tools to challenge the “business as usual” approach in the building of urban spaces.

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“Part of the reason for this masterclass was also to enforce the reasons that these changes need to take place. There are still members of society who are unaware of the whys and wherefores, even though they might have heard about some issues in a general sense, such as climate change.”

Pomeroy says the premise and definition of sustainable development began only with the publication of the United Nations World Commission on Environment and Development report, Our Common Future, in 1987. That highlights that today’s students were the first to be born in a period where recycling, reusing and reducing consumption was implicit. While that is encouraging, it still needs to be taught and that requires a framework.

The final segment of the exhibition was Inside the Designer’s Studio.The discussion was based on the popular American television series Inside the Actor’s Studio, that sees in-depth conversations with Hollywood actors in front of a live audience of student actors.

“We were very lucky to be able to welcome Mike King [see report this issue], the principal engineer from Arup who was responsible for the Singapore Sports Hub,Andrew Grant, the landscape architect for Gardens by the Bay and Ken Yang, celebrated architect of the National Library of Singapore. Each one of them was given the opportunity to present their ideas for a greener urban habitat for 20 minutes before engaging in a Q and A with the audience, and it was absorbing to hear these individuals open up about their own craft.”

THE FUTURE OF DESIgN GREEN As Professor of Sustainability at Nottingham and Venice universities, Pomeroy says he will continue to engage leading universities. Design Green will become a bi-annual event that we will continue to develop three fields of research: vertical urban theory, zero energy development and modular construction.

“We are perfectly positioned as designers and thought leaders of the sustainable built environment to bridge the gap between design and research. Balancing a creative vigour in our design projects with an academic rigour in our evidence based research and the ability to translate academic research into realistic commercial design and vice versa allows us to provide focused but empirical commentary on sustainability within the urban habitat, which is applicable throughout Southeast Asia, and dare I say it, globally.”

Design Green is about collaborative knowledge sharing that will benefit future generations. *For a detailed review of Mike King’s Inside the Designer’s Studio presentation, please turn to page 56 of this issue.

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Build Eco Xpo 2014 generates record Green Build business transactions

Southeast Asia’s premier business event for the exchange of global expertise and technologies for sustainable building, Build Eco Xpo (BEX) Asia, concluded with more than US$110 million expected in green building business transactions.This year, BEX Asia also continued to record positive exhibitor sentiments across new and returning exhibitors.

Held from the 1 to 3 September, 2014 at Marina Bay Sands Expo & Convention Centre, the seventh edition of BEX Asia, themed “Building Today, Sustaining Tomorrow”, saw more than 400 exhibiting companies from 35 countries, including Australia, Canada, China, Hong Kong, Korea, Malaysia, United States and United Kingdom. It is a one-stop sourcing destination for cutting-edge products, innovative technologies and sustainable designs in building materials, energy efficiency systems, fittings and fixtures.

More than 200 business meetings were set up over the three-day event to facilitate the exploration of partnerships between exhibitors and visitors during and beyond BEX Asia, which was held in conjunction with the International Green Building Conference organized by Building and Construction Authority (BCA).

At the ‘Green View’, a platform for experts to share their insights on the industry, overwhelming response was recorded with more than double the expected participation rate. The ‘Green View’ featured green building topics that range from façade optimization to the Internet of Things and intelligent buildings.

Speakers included Mr Hiroshi Kojima, Director, GIPV Group System Solution BU, AGC Asia Pacific, Mr Brent Boekestein, Director, Global Markets for Redwood, Commscope, Mr.Veera Sekaran, Managing Director, Greenology, and Mr Oon Wee Chin, President, UTC Building and Industrial Systems, Southeast Asia.

“The build green industry in Southeast Asia is expected to reach US$40 billion and there is a huge potential for growth. I am happy that BEX Asia has provided a platform for companies and visitors to be equipped with the dynamics to capitalize on the green evolution and embrace sustainable communities for a better future,” said Louise Chua, Business Development Director and Project Director, Reed Exhibitions, organizer of BEX Asia 2014.

Building on the green momentum, a newly launched Mostra Convegno Expocomfort (MCE) Asia 2015 will be co-located with BEX Asia 2015 in Singapore.

MCE is Europe’s largest trade event dedicated to the cooling, water, renewable energy and heating sectors of the green building community.To be held from the 2 to 4 September, 2015, MCE Asia will be the answer to the industry’s demands for more green technologies in the HVAC environment.

Information and Images: Build Eco Xpo

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27 – 30 October 2014

29 Oct – 1 Nov 2014

29 Oct – 1 Nov 2014

Hong Kong International Lighting Fair (Autumn Edition) HKCEC, Hong Kong

ECO Expo Asia AsiaWorld-Expo, Hong Kong

Organized by the HKTDC and held at the HKCEC, this is the largest autumn lighting fair in Asia. Exhibits include advertising lighting, commercial lighting, household lighting, LED & green lighting, lighting accessories, parts & components, outdoor lighting, smart lighting & solutions, testing, certification & inspection, along with Hall of Aurora for branded lighting.

The fair is an international trading platform showcasing the latest innovations in environmental protection from around the world. It is also a premier venue for environmental professionals from governmental and non-governmental as well as commercial spheres, to meet and make quality business contacts. Areas of specialty covered at the fair include Air & Water Quality and Eco-friendly products.

Website: www.hktdc.com/ex/hklightingae/28 Email: exhibitions@hktdc.org

Website: www.ecoexpoasia.com Email: ecoexpo@hongkong.messefrankfurt.com

Visit PRC booth 6-D24

12 – 13 November 2014 Green-CREP The 3rd Annual Commercial Building Architecture-DesigningPerformance Summit Langham Place, Guangzhou The 3rd Annual Commercial Building Architecture • Designing • Performance Summit (Green-CREP3) with the theme of “New Concept, New Technology, New Experience, New Value”, will be held on 12 and 13 November, 2014, in Langham Place Guangzhou. Organized

by Linver Insights and co-organized by The American Institute of Architects (AIA). Green-CREP3 will start with 4 Asia Leading Cases Studies and 40 Specific Q&A Sessions on day one. The 4 selected cases are: Lifestyle Hub in the west of Singapore (JEM); First international entertainment hub in China (Sea World, Shenzhen); Highest tower in the world (Burj Khalifa); Biggest city commercial, culture, art museum (Shanghai, West Bund).

14 November 2014 RICS HKIS Joint Valuation Conference 2014 Harbour Grand Hong Kong Co-organised by both RICS and HKIS, the Conference aims to foster a professional discussion on a wide range of relevant topics pertaining to valuation.

Topics include the convergence of international standards, intellectual property and business valuation, opportunities around the world, the impact of macro policy standards on valuation, and more.

Through the joint effort of both organisations, the Conference hopes to inspire and engage industry experts in a stimulating and intellectual exchange.

HKTDC Hong Kong International Building and Hardware Fair AsiaWorld-Expo, Hong Kong

As one of the world's most effective trading platforms for the building and construction industry, HKTDC Hong Kong International Building and Hardware Fair specialises in advanced building and construction materials, technology and services, promoting meaningful, longterm relationships between trade visitors and reputable suppliers. A highlight of the Fair is ‘BIM Day’ held on the fair's opening day, 29 October, covering a range of topics about Building Information Modelling. Co-organised by CIC and HKIBIM, the BIM Conference, an annual event, will be held from 9:30am to 5pm. BIM Day will also see a BIM-related Exhibitors’ Forum, showcasing their own BIM technologies.

Once again, the Green Building Materials zone is a fair highlight for 2014. On the final day of the fair, 1 November, the public can visit, to view products and give feedback.

Pre-registration for free admission badge is available at the website below, on or before 6 October,2014 (for overseas buyers) or 22 October (for buyers from Hong Kong). A host of forums will take place during the fair, check the website for more details.

Website: www.linver-insights.com/crep3/ index_en.html Email: marketing@linver-insights.com

Website: http://ricsasia.org/jvc2014/

28 November 2014

2 - 3 December 2014

5 - 7 December 2014

CIC Conference 2014 Harbour Grand Hong Kong

MIPIM Asia Grand Hyatt Hotel, Hong Kong

GuangZhou Design Week 2014 PWTC Expo, Guangzhou, China

This one-day conference will focus on how innovation and safety enhancement in the construction industry would bring us a better society. International experts as well as local government officials are invited to share their experience and insights in adopting latest technology to enhance construction safety. Construction automation in different aspects and innovation on construction safety are the key topics of the Conference.

Website: https://www.hkcic.org/eng/conference2014/index.aspx Email: conference@hkcic.org

Website: www.hktdc.com/ex/hkbdh/18 Email: exhibitions@hktdc.org

This December and for the 9th year running, MIPIM Asia will gather 800 of the most influential Pan-Asian property players together with leading global investors and retailers for efficient networking, premium conferences and the prestigious MIPIM Asia Awards competition. During 2 intensive days, explore Asia Pacific inbound and outbound investment flows, regional development opportunities and projects, and retail real estate trends.

Website: www.mipim-asia.com/

Guangzhou Design Week is the first annual international design and brands expo in China since 2006, jointly endorsed and promoted by ICSID, IFI and ICOGRADA since 2007. “To Promote Design by Business ” as mission, Guangzhou Design Week is running the operation mode of “365+3(days)”, which means 3-day fair and 365-day intensive B2B business events and branding promotion!

With more than 8-year operating history, Guangzhou Design Week has become the most influential and largest annual commercial activity in the Chinese design industry.

Website: http://www.gzdesignweek.com/

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RICS APPOINTS a new managing director for Asia-PACIFIC AND AIMS TO increase itS regional focus

In its role as global advocate and advisory body, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS and its 118,000 members adhere to a mandate to serve the public good in all areas relating to property and construction valuation, measurement and professional ethics.That’s easier said than done when the membership body is made up of engineers in the UK, developers in India, construction firms in Brazil and beyond.

Which is why RICS has just appointed Will Myles the new regional managing director for Asia-Pacific. It’s a new position designed minimise RICS’ previous “bottom-up view” and better meet individual market needs in one of the most diverse regions in the world. Encompassing north Asia, south Asia, ASEAN and Oceania,“My role is to get synergies across those markets.We can deliver services to members better with a more regional view. We can take learning from one country to another and we can serve our global members that are structured in Asia-Pacific,” explains Myles.

Based in Singapore, Myles hit the ground running with RICS’ current initiative, one less about policy and more about property transparency and an exemplar of what RICS does.The International Property Measurement Standards (IPMS) is currently on the drafting table and ultimately, ideally, will be exactly what it says: a comprehensive, standard guideline for measuring footage of a given property.

RICS is shepherding a coalition of roughly 50 international organisations through the process, a full 100 percent more than they thought they’d start with.“In many areas of the world the ‘how’ of what’s measured differs, which means sometimes you can’t have confidence in what’s being measured,” Myles points out.

“For the occupier or investor there can be uncertainty over what’s being purchased.” Currently standards are all over the map: some states have no standard, some have one, some have three. In a Hong Kong office for example, all common space is included, Australia uses office area plus columns and RICS’ standard is net — office area only. According to one figure 85 people fit into an office and 110 fit elsewhere. “The aim is to try and eliminate [variance] and create certainty in the market and confidence in the buyer,” stresses Myles. “It simplifies business and provides so much more transparency and confidence if you can apply the same set of standards everywhere.” The IPMS is just one in suite of initiatives Myles, an engineer by trade, will oversee in the coming months, but which includes expanding the IPMS to retail and residential structures, as well as “Other [sectors] of the value chain, like construction measurement standards, so that while you’re building something the measurements are standardised as well.”

Though he’s new to the job, Myles has a few items on his wish list for the next year or five as regional MD. Not surprisingly, more work in China is at the top of the list. “I’d like to see us continue our push into China where there is a lot of potential. We’re a finite organisation and sometimes it’s frustrating that demand is there but we have to make choices on where to focus. In north Asia we gained 1,000 new members last year so it’s definitely an area of growth for us,” says Myles. “We have different strategies for different markets to meet their specific needs. In India we’ve teamed up with Amity University and set up a school for the built environment to provide courses in management for instance. In that sense we’re supporting the development of the market.” Myles would like to see the programme roll out into other schools over five years tailored to each market.

RICS’ work with the built environment and its mandate to serve the public is crucial in Asia, where factors including urbanisation, the growing middle class, growing inequality and resource scarcity are drivers that affect management and construction as well as the adoption of big data and new technology. “These are all things that affect our industry. With our member and stakeholders I suppose we’re trying to shape public opinion, and for us we’re trying and foresee how we need the adapt as a profession. We can’t just go and adopt the same approach everywhere,” explains Myles, summing up precisely why his job is vital and how it will demand flexibility. The construction boom in the Middle East means quantitative and building surveyors are in demand. Tokyo will require something else in the run-up to the Olympics in 2020 — which RICS can apply from its work in London for the 2012 Games.

Myles is well aware of RICS’ roles as a consultant, and that its members — individual and institutional — could see their interests clash over new policy ideas from time to time. He is, however, unfazed by the idea. “We’re not here to work with bodies if they’re not receptive to what we’re offering … We are here to serve the public interest. That is always first and foremost in our mind,” Myles finishes. “There is always going to be more than one way forward and all you can do is work through the differences.”

Text: Elizabeth Kerr Image: RICS

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Reprovisioning The Mark Due to the long term decline in manufacturing activities and increasing demands from alternative uses such as office, hotel and residential, nearly all industrial land in Kowloon was rezoned for non-industrial uses several years ago. Following the rezoning, more than 1,000 industrial buildings became eligible for change of use.

However, between 2001 and 2009 there were only 37 cases of lease modification for change of use (34 for re-development and three for wholesale conversion).

In 2010, therefore, the government introduced a range of measures to facilitate redevelopment or wholesale conversion of older industrial buildings into alternative uses, in order to promote higher value economic activities. Kowloon East is a particular focus, with the government encouraging development of a new business district, called “CBD2”.

Taking advantage of the wholesale conversion scheme, a fund managed by Pamfleet acquired an industrial building at 164 Wai Yip Street in Kwun Tong with the intention of re-positioning it as a quality office property. The building, which will be re-branded as “The Mark”, has a gross floor area of approximately 6,470 square meters, and the typical unit sizes will range from 1,630 square feet (half floor) to 3,500 square feet (full-floor). SME tenants such as professional and consultancy firms related to tourism, engineering and infrastructure development, are expected to form the target audience. According to the Trade and Industry Department, there are about 320,000 SMEs in Hong Kong, accounting for over 98 percent of all businesses. Kowloon East has been a major absorber of leasing activity in recent years, as new supply has been filled by growing and expanding businesses hungry for space in more affordable decentralized districts.The current vacancy rate of office space in Kwun Tong remains below 5 percent.

The original industrial building was built in 1995 and consisted of 21 storeys with car parking on the ground, first and second floors. Pamfleet’s refurbishment programme includes replacing all existing windows, installing new building services with individually controlled A/C units, upgrading lift systems, re-configuring the car park, providing new washrooms, redecorating common areas and creating a Grade A entrance. In addition, a dedicated floor of meeting rooms and other tenant-only facilities will be provided.

Pamfleet has applied for BEAM Plus certification for The Mark, which will foster a quality and sustainable design. This certification is taken into consideration by the Buildings Department when granting exemptions on artificial lighting and mechanical ventilation due to structural constraints in providing the required natural lighting and ventilation in compliance with the latest office code. The renovation is underway and will be completed by December.

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Changing Cityscapes The rise of the global supercity signals a shift in the future of office markets

According to Knight Frank’s newly released Global Cities 2015 report, more than 1.1 billion people will be living in the world’s biggest cities in the next 15 years, and most of them will be working in offices. That, according to the inaugural report, will send prime office rents to record highs.

As defined by Knight Frank’s report, global cities are the ones that are a must for airline routes, five-star hotel brands and often home to major multinational branches. “Premium pricing for real estate is found in cities with the most highvalue knowledge workers, which attract the world’s leading corporations.These are the Global Cities,” the report states. The 15 global studies in Knight Frank’s report are located in Europe and North America and also include six from Asia-Pacific: Hong Kong, Mumbai, Shanghai, Singapore, Sydney and Tokyo (South America, emerging Africa and the Middle East were excluded).

Over the next five years, office rents in San Francisco will experience the biggest jump in rates: a just over 36 percent increase. The highest-ranking Asian city is Singapore in fourth (25 percent), Sydney ranked fifth (22.3 percent), with Mumbai and Tokyo rounding out the top ten (14.9 and 13.4 percent respectively). Despite its relatively middling position, Mumbai had the best office yields as of 2014 (over 10 percent), with Tokyo near the bottom of the list and Hong Kong dead last (2.9 percent). With limited supply of new offices, as of the year end of 2014, Hong Kong is expected to have the lowest vacant office space among the 15 top cities in the world. According to Knight Frank Research, Hong Kong has the lowest prime yields among the 15 top cities in the world as office property prices had surged in previous years.

What those offices look like will in turn influence the needs and physical demands of office property. Technological progress (such as tablet computing and the Cloud) and the IT sector itself are among the key drivers, shaping size, design and location demands, in turn defining prime office space. In 2006 perpetual property investment leader London’s office take-up was dominated by the financial sector at four million square feet. In 2013 the take-up rate for technology, media and telecommunications (TMT) industries exceeded three million square feet, with the traditional financial sector dropping below two million square feet.

“The 21st century has experienced seismic shifts in the way business is conducted, particularly in the relationship between work and home. This has put the office at the forefront of today’s city economy, and led to its transformation as a place to work,” the report states. Technology combined with dense urban living has put new emphasis on the skyscraper, once the purview of a select few cities and increasingly the only response to a rising demand for core central business district addresses around the world. Notable, however, is that San Francisco office towers have jumped ahead of four Asian cities, moving to fifth place from ninth last spring, largely on the back of the rapid growth of California’s tech sector and the resulting demand in San Francisco.

In addition to what will likely be increased investment value in commercial space, residential markets are going to feel the trickle down benefits of the booming office market and the trend to urbanisation. Knight Frank’s prime residential forecast for moderate to strong price growth includes five of the six Asia-Pacific global cities, in addition to Bangkok, Delhi, Beijing, Bangalore, and Jakarta.The full Knight Frank report can be downloaded at www.knightfrank.com/globalcities.

Text: Elizabeth Kerr Images: Knight Frank

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Regal Homes Sets up House London residential developer Regal Homes begins serving Asia from its new Hong Kong office

Independent United Kingdom (UK) developer Regal Homes is no stranger to Asia, and Asian investors are not unfamiliar with Regal. To demonstrate its continuing commitment to Asia-Pacific and as a way to maintain ties with existing clients and cultivate potential buyers Regal opened its first permanent overseas office in Central Plaza in Hong Kong in October. “We’ve built a very strong client base here and we feel that to service our current clients within this region it was very important to have a presence here on a day-to-day basis,” explained Regal Homes co-founder and CEO Paul Eden. Sixty percent of Regal’s buyers hail from Asia (Brunei, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur) with the bulk of those coming from Hong Kong.

The Hong Kong office is designed to assist investors with new sales and facilitate resale and management of their London properties. Neither Eden nor co-founder Simon De Friend see a demand for London real estate abating any time soon, underpinning their faith in a full time presence in the region. “With the pound still working in favour of Asian buyers, capital returns in the city are predicted to far outweigh the Capital Gains Tax in the UK, and we expect the transaction level will continue to soar,” said co-founder De Friend in a statement. Sales and marketing director Michael Goldmann goes further, adding,“We haven’t seen any noticeable impact on sales,” in the wake of the tax.

London is in the midst of a local buyer renaissance, with lending improved and new mortgage regulations making financing for the local market easier. In the past few years, developers have relied heavily on overseas sales to generate capital to complete projects. With that changing, is there going to be enough stock to go around? “Of course. We look at both markets very carefully. The London market has improved; the demand is huge … We believe there is enough stock to go around,” says Eden. “I was standing on the top floor of [Shoreditch Square 2] last week and when the concrete frame went up I [saw] maybe two or three cranes in the background. Today you can probably count about 18. The whole industry has really sped up… and there’s no question the construction side of things has increased.”

Regal Homes specialises in upmarket flats in London’s high-value prime regeneration districts and near transport links, and as a rule keeps developments small and manageable (as an independent Regal is its own contractor), typically between 50 and 125 units per project. Over the next three years Regal will be adding 1,400 units to its current portfolio of 2,000, often simultaneously launching sales in the UK and abroad. Among Regal’s current projects are two cross-laminated timber (exceptionally strong and resilient dried industrial lumber stacked at right angles and glued over the entire surface) buildings in Dalston Lane, which will be the world’s largest CLT structures when complete.A Wenlock Road project, Banyan Wharf, in the emerging Shoreditch area will be the location of a sustainable development, built using a cross drill plate design with rotated floors on every level for better light and dual aspect views. Also in Shoreditch is a 47,000-square metre mixed-use project comprising commercial residential and retail space.

The newest development to go to sale is St Pancras Place at rejuvenated King’s Cross. Situated on Gray’s Inn Road a few minutes’ walk from King’s Cross station, St Pancras Place will feature 46 studio to three-bedroom flats and houses ranging from 37 to 113 square metres. Designed by Material Architects, the low-rise project will ultimately feature natural stonework in bathrooms, Grohe, Neff and Bosch appliances or fixtures, oak veneer floors, underfloor heating and stainless steel ironmongery. Crucially for investors the address is approximately four minutes from Camden Town and Oxford Circus, nine minutes from the financial district, under 20 minutes from Temple and the London School of Economics and Kings College and just over 30 from City Airport. St Pancras place is scheduled for completion in February 2017.

Text: Elizabeth Kerr Images: Regal Homes

www.regal-homes.co.uk

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The Future of Retail

It comes as no surprise to anyone that retailing is a fine art. The where, what and how of a major multinational’s decision to open a shop in Jakarta, Beijing or both has dozens of elements to consider. Laypersons may boggle or outright scoff at the presence of multiple Chanel stores in Hong Kong but there’s method to that madness, and with Asian shopping patterns currently in flux, the method is more crucial than ever.

Logic would dictate that developers or mall owners would be scrambling to attract tenants like Chanel to all their properties, but in the ultra-competitive retail sector — particularly in emerging markets such as China, Indonesia and the Philippines — high-end brands are not always the most lucrative option with which to ensure the best real estate investment.

“In the last two decades people have complained that all the malls look the same; it’s the same tenant mix. So starting about 10 years ago landlords became aware they had to do something different — starting with the toilet revolution,” explains Joe Lin, executive director of retail services at CBRE Hong Kong. “If a mall is in a less user-friendly location or it’s very, very large they have to create something new. An example is APM. No one went shopping in Kwun Tong when it opened 10 years ago. So a ‘teen’ shopping centre, with late night shopping, was a new idea they were forced to come up with.”

Asia-Pacific’s most robust retail markets since 2009 have been Indonesia, China and Hong Kong, with Korea, Japan Australia and Singapore forming a second market cluster. Rental value growth is slowing in Singapore and Hong Kong but it is accelerating in Tokyo, Mumbai, Shanghai and Delhi, with Jakarta and Beijing forecast to experience a regional best 4 percent rise in rental values by year’s end.

Development will follow the shoppers and what kind of shopping consumers do Text: Elizabeth Kerr Images: Courtesy of Swire Properties & Benoy

As consumer patterns change, developers and tenants look to maximising investment with physical creativity and more targeted shopping experiences

will dictates what shops go in what malls, as well as what those malls will look like for maximum ROIs says Adam Cook,Asia-Pacific retail lead for Jones Lang LaSalle.

“Consumers absolutely drive [design and development], and that’s part of a strategy. So it’s a mix of flagship stores, high street stores, mall portfolios, kiosks, travel stores, and that’s part of that formula for success for retailers,” says Cook, whose job as a retail consultant and representative it is to manage, design and fit out stores or malls and implement retail strategies. “Where is your consumer, how can you make money and how do you meet them in retail that matters?

You can’t open the same footprint on every street corner and be successful …

We help retailers find the right mix.We also help shopping centres identify their correct mix and positioning.” In other words H&M can't go next to Chanel.

Physical retail space is undergoing a reformation across Asia-Pacific. Street level boutique retailing is rare in Asia where true high streets are few and far between, the climate discourages it and the shopping culture is unique. A global brand’s product may be the same in Delhi as in Dover, “But as far as building a store network that responds to customers it's very different,” says Cook. “Clients are learning this the hard way. The type of store they’re used to building in the United States isn’t necessarily the right type of store for Asia. And from country to country it’s very different if you compare Japan and Hong Kong — where it’s much more about the luxury sector, some fast fashion and value all the way down the economic food chain — to developing countries or even India for example.

There you’re either luxury or an extreme value player. Indonesia is extremely hot right now but there are a lot of things that make Indonesia very difficult.”

Difficult, but a popular investment choice for developers and investors that can find space. With the exception of two Lotte Group malls already underway, Indonesia has imposed a moratorium on mall construction until 2017. Vacancy rates in existing properties sit at 2 percent.

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But key to a successful retail investment now is the ability to differentiate one property from the next; themed and targeted malls are on the rise. This is particularly critical in mainland China, where entire city blocks can be the site of a series of new malls, each architecturally similar, with similar stores, which frequently open with lower than 50 percent occupancy and hurting rental values. APM is a prime example of the kind of reinvention designed to attract specific consumers, as is Swire Properties’ recent makeover of Pacific Place.The developer decided high-end retailing was the best fit for that facility and British retailer Marks & Spencer’s lease was famously not renewed. Will there be more of this kind of design and planning in the future? “Absolutely, and the ones that are doing that are showing better profit across the board,” Cook comments.

“There may be less foot traffic in shopping centres that reposition themselves as luxury destinations but the new customers spend ten times as much on a single transaction.” Ultimately the investment structure behind Pacific Place’s move was the right one for them as it drew a customer base that generates income and the tenants now are higher margin tenants than Marks & Spencer. Cook also points to Japanese developer Aeon’s work in Vietnam, and its three-property portfolio.

Aeon plans are for one mall dedicated to luxury good, one that is more familyfocused and one for pets. “Malls that are struggling to attract tenants are those that are mixed in the middle. If you’re buying a multi-thousand dollar handbag you don’t want to walk through a discount fashion brand to get there. Similarly if you’re a teenage with a hundred dollars to spend … there’s no point in having you parade past Gucci or Prada. It’s inaccessible to you,” says Cook.

Despite the popularity among shoppers and developers for the massive shopping centre, they are losing traction with consumers looking for fresh perspectives, resulting in a move to more CBD retail and restaurant development. “You’re starting to see a more mixed-use type experience that refreshes the urban

landscape,” notes Cook.“It’s a huge trend in Singapore right now; it’s always been that way in Australia. It’s starting to spread. You see it in the Gangnam and the different shopping areas in Korea, and Korea is really setting the fashion and retail tone for Asia right now.” Mixing outdoor with urban space and a move away from generic design is increasingly valuable. Curated retail, where developers are more proactive in tenant selection and creation is also on the rise. Cook is quick to point out that retailers are also under pressure to have a range of strategies at the ready in order to cater to a given facility’s personality and signature: street level, mall or airport as just a few. “If [a retailer] just has one store type and one product mix that will only fit with maybe 5 percent of the available properties you can be in. If you want to maximise your ROI and have a real portfolio you need an adaptable design that scales and flexes to those various strategies and investment levels.”

Currently, Cook believes that repositioned and repurposed existing malls rather than newly built shopping centres may be the better investment in some markets in addition to consumer specialisation. CBRE’s Lin agrees. “Shopping malls are very competitive … Tsuen Wan Plaza, Citywalk, City Landmark and Discovery Park are all doing a different scale of renovation to make their malls look unique and upscale, to attract shoppers. So the refurbishments and tenant mix rearrangement will attract better stores and brands.” A June Colliers research brief goes further, theorising that in Hong Kong for example development of discount outlet shopping facilities at border crossings would make up for lost spending in the city’s core districts.

Even though remodelling is a smart choice in spots like India, the Philippines and Indonesia, developers (like Swire in China and Taubman Asia) continue to look to new build centres precisely because retail space remains a sound investment.

“Interest rates are so low it makes sales interesting. Institutional investors are putting retail in their mix because they can, and recent trends are showing us that investors find retail a relatively safe place to house cash,” states Cook. “It’s a good deal right now and a fairly safe investment strategy. I predict you’ll see more malls changing ownership for established investment players you’ll see a lot more of. And frankly in Asia so many malls are so poorly positioned it’s easy to go in and mix up the positioning and see a nice increase in just a few years’ time.”

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APM Mall, Kwun Tong, Hong Kong. 香港觀塘 APM商場

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Ryder’s BIM enabled design excellence Recent UK project wins underscore the 130 strong practice’s range of expertise.

Newcastle Freeman Hospital’s cardiothoracic expansion and a new HK$2.65bn district general hospital in Scotland in collaboration with US firm NBBJ and Laing O’Rourke are just two examples underpinning its credibility in healthcare. Designs are also progressing on an HK$870m residential scheme opposite Lord’s cricket ground in London for the over 55s and people with dementia. Also in London the practice has landed a large-scale science park, building on its successful project for Liverpool Science Park.

Ryder’s Hong Kong office, led by director Richard Dorkin, has been established for several years as a regional hub to deliver excellent projects for the ASEAN region and China. Building Information Modelling (BIM) - the intelligent use of data to support a whole life approach to the delivery of excellent buildings – is embedded into Ryder’s design culture and is its unique selling point. Ryder’s approach applies BIM at the outset, therefore enabling technologies and applications to be used by multiple stakeholders.

In the emerging Hong Kong market, Ryder continues to support BIM adoption, within the context of an evolving economic landscape and the proposed ASEAN common market. It has adopted the discipline as an integrated part of its design offer since 2006, bringing strategic vision, advanced technical proficiency, and ability to listen and engage with the client to enhance the design vision and its long term viability.

BIM Academy Complementing this approach is the Ryder/Northumbria University specialist joint venture consultancy – BIM Academy – which further strengthens Ryder’s offer. An internationally respected authority in the application of BIM, Ryder’s

Ryder Architecture has established an international portfolio after building on its strong foundations in the UK across sectors including healthcare, education, civic, emergency services, office, infrastructure, transport and science. Founded in 1953 as a multi disciplinary design practice, Ryder has offices in Hong Kong and also Glasgow, Liverpool, London and Newcastle in the UK.

innovative approach currently involves supporting the UK Government project to develop a digital plan of work tool set to transform the procurement of buildings and infrastructure.

Ryder’s acclaimed refurbishment of Manchester Central Library, highlights its capacity to deliver award winning BIM enabled architecture, both on time and budget, working closely with a major public sector client. Manchester City Council was focused on BIM benefits at the construction phase, but lacked awareness of a long term facilities management (FM) strategy. Ryder worked with them, developing their FM strategy, training their personnel and fast-tracking their proficiency. By illustrating the benefits of reconfiguring the design and construction with BIM rich data, the client was keen to integrate this into a new, city wide estate management system.Through tapping into the client’s enthusiasm, Ryder’s BIM expertise has paved the way for a more holistic vision for the whole of Manchester’s property portfolio.

Working with BIM Academy, Ryder has highlighted the relevance of BIM to developers. In the case of Greenwich Peninsula, the developer wanted to use BIM to give more transparency and agility to the design option appraisal process and deliver efficiency throughout the design, construction and operational stages.

BIM Academy's role as the client advisor facilitated this process. Ensuring a building’s operational costs are managed is vitally important to developers and occupiers. BIM Academy supported the aspirations of Sydney Opera House to produce virtual and data rich design for FM tailored towards the building’s life cycle. The project involved a detailed consultation process with Sydney Opera House personnel on current and future operational needs, a review of the current disparate systems used to operate the building and consultation with the software market in order to soft test the proposed solution. This led to the creation of a detailed technical specification and model management plan, enabling a delivery solution that meets Sydney Opera House’s long term aspirations.

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Information & Images: Ryder Architecture

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Procurement Intelligent procurement is vital to achieving economically and environmentally sustainable solutions for buildings, both in terms of capital cost, energy, carbon and long term flexibility. Clients who are bought into BIM will make better informed decisions for the building’s life cycle and Ryder’s expertise facilitates and unlocks this. In the case of its work on the new district general hospital in Scotland, BIM was an integral part of an intelligent procurement process with an informed client in a collaborative design and construction culture. By developing a BIM approach closely with the client and contractor, a detailed functional analysis of the developing design is now possible.

Richard Dorkin

Dorkin explains, “The increasing use of augmented reality allows the project stakeholders to test drive the building in a virtual environment engaging the building users in the process. “Our approach is about transparency and including third parties in the design and construction solutions, creating efficiencies by inputting design information once and using it multiple times as the project progresses.

“For example, hospital design and its operation puts a large burden on the Hospital Authority budget and our considered long term design approach is critical to providing value for money, as well as design excellence. In the UK, the National Health Service is now requiring refined virtual modelling and data analysis during the design phase to virtually test a hospital’s operational costs and lifecycle needs in respect of material specification and building services maintenance. We apply the tools available within a BIM environment to test and report impact of design from work flow analysis to water consumption.”

Expansion and partnership As a practice Ryder has the mindset, approach, experience and expertise to significantly contribute to the diversity of Hong Kong’s already rich architecture through the application of a design process that considers building function, form, aesthetics and most importantly performance design in a holistic way.

By forging lasting relationships with a global alliance of like minded architectural practices and other consultant disciplines, Ryder is able to expand its reach and provide its people with opportunities for exchanges and learning from sharing international best practice, ensuring its people are always adopting the very latest skills and offering the most current and relevant advice to clients.With TFP|Farrells in Hong Kong the offer has very much been focused on the health care market.

In Australasia with i2C, Ryder is working to explore opportunities and further refine its BIM specialist offer, building on the successful work in Sydney. In Qatar, Ryder is scoping stadium and retail opportunities.

As Dorkin concludes,“BIM should not just be about buildings, or design. Ryder’s approach is about unlocking BIM as a decision making tool, facilitating efficiencies, long term viability and design excellence.”

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One West Regent Street

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www.ryderarchitecture.com

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When luxury is thrown a curve The newest addition to Swire Properties’ residential portfolio has a spectacular organic shape that draws on its regal location “Mount Parker Residences is a product unique not only for its product quality, but for its striking location, which offers both the convenience of city living and tranquillity from atop Sai Wan Terrace,” says Swire Properties chief executive Martin Cubbon. He told the South China Morning Post earlier this year that the site required an enormous draw on the design team’s experience and creativity to make best use of the elevation.

Mount Parker Residences was designed by Arquitectonica, continuing a relationship between the two that has recently included Brickell City Centre, Miami, which is currently under construction and the award-winning mixed-use Taikoo Hui in Guangzhou. In Arquitectonica’s work at Mount Parker Residences, there is an emergent theme that is evolving into a high-end design language of its own.

Text: Michael Hoare Photography: Brian Zhang, Cathy Lee and Swire Properties

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Above and beyond Peter Brannan, the head of the architecture, design and planning practice in Hong Kong, said that the inspiration for the design stretches back to the site’s origins.

The site sits on an original piece of Hong Kong Island’s waterfront – a former headland – and the design borrows its inspiration from that.

The design also delivers a healthy dose of tension. Brannan highlights the neighbourhood surrounding Mount Parker Residences as being “very rigid in urban plan and building form”.The firm’s design frees the area from the “tyranny of the right angle”, he says, and creates a refreshing, new design language for a neighbourhood that has been a mainstay of Swire’s developments.

Located near City Plaza, between Tai Koo and Sai Wan Ho MTR stations, the 127 metre development features 22 storeys above grade and 3 storeys below grade, with 19 residential floors. There are 90 three-bedroom or four-bedroom apartments, with saleable areas from 115 to 165 square metres.The two penthouse units come with three or five bedroom layouts of 255 and 355 square metres respectively.

The design of the luxury property is carefully crafted to ensure every apartment has a sea view. Gable apartments have spacious living rooms and balconies. Each apartment has a private lift lobby leading to its own apartment, providing residents with maximum privacy. The public and private spaces are well appointed with

marble floors and walls and first-class European fittings in the lobbies, bathrooms and kitchens. The common facilities are of the highest quality including private dining, kitchen and chef facilities.

The building has received a “Platinum (Provisional)” rating under the Building Environmental Assessment Method (BEAM). “All of our projects are designed in response to nature and the elements – building orientation, shading devices, sun, wind, etc.The good practice we incorporate makes sustainable ratings much easier,” states Brannan.

Perched high above King’s Road between Kornhill and Sai Wan Ho, on a 2,540 square metre site that is nestled in a thicket of trees, Mount Parker Residences is a package wrapped neatly in a ribbon of glass and steel. Flow is the word, with the building displaying its seductive curved edges that add to the impression that the development is floating above the landscape.

Fortuitous flow There’s a reason why the construction industry prefers to build on the square.

It’s simple and straightforward, and absolutely ubiquitous. Curves are complex, take real craftsmanship to build and are unique.

Stepping into the Mount Parker Residences is an uncommonly good experience.

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The curvilinear exterior embraces its location, turning towards the harbour.The building feels as if it is turning to embrace you.

The fortunate few residents stepping into this state-of-the-art, five-star luxury property are greeted by naturally flowing curves.The entrance lobby is a sculptural space where walls bend and flow, because nothing says luxury quite like a curve.

William Liu established ARK Associates Limited in 2002. The practice’s ethos is to design signature design solutions within the precinct of a project’s practical needs and the market’s demands. ARK was responsible for the interior design of the development’s public areas, including the ground floor lift lobbies and the clubhouse.

“Because the building was so unique, we wanted to make the entrance an unconventional entrance experience. One of the challenges was that the lobby had separate locations of private lift entries within one space and we had to find ways of directing people to them. What we did was to create walls that bend and flow,” stated Liu. The firm used thick limestone for the entry’s walls. Liu says the premium product was also able to be worked into the arc of the extra-height foyer. A horizontal cut mid-way up the wall creates a dynamic, fluid contrast to the lower section that follows the core.

For ARK Associates, the inspiration for the interiors was partially inspired by Arquitectonica’s design. “We felt it was important to have an interior design

which was complementary to the architecture and bring the inspirational quality of the architecture to the interior experience,” Liu says. “From the onset, flow and movement were key words and concepts that we established for the development of the design.”

Re-evolving ideas The curved, accented metallic “swooshing” lines in Mount Parker Residences are emerging as an Arquitectonica signature. In the four residential towers for Poly Dongrui Plaza in Foshan, the practice’s master plan incorporates similarly organic lines that culminate in public open space in front of the development. Brannan says the true roots in construction more reflective of the natural world are far more ancient than Arquitectonica’s work.

“Architects have been designing curved buildings since time immemorial. There is nothing new in it.The roots of the design are in responding to the programme and the site,” he says. He reels off a host of inspirational buildings to prove his point: the Pantheon, Greek theatres, the Church of Saint Andrew's at the Quirinal, and Frank Lloyd Wright's Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, to name a few.

In this case, the fluid shape of the Mount Parker Residences flexes to suit the site and harbour view. The metallic trim holds the composition in place, as the language extends to the balconies, bay windows and fenestration.

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Joining the club The development’s clubhouse, Club Trio, is – as the name might suggest – three venues spread across the building’s ground floor, first floor and rooftop. In bringing together the clubhouse interiors, ARK also had to work within curved, elongated spaces with specific functional requirements. Finding a language to tie those spaces together was a challenge, Liu said.

“We introduced a long curving library with a special design shelf to display books and decorative items. The library opens onto most of the spaces that are open planned so that spaces merge with one another,” he says. “When you enter the clubhouse you arrive in a library with a lounge area. Within this space is an open gym and the space flows into the function and banquette space and kid’s area.”

Other recreational facilities at Mount Parker Residences include an outdoor swimming pool, and whirlpool bath, as well as a rooftop sky kitchen, sky playground and lounge.

The combined effect of high-level craftsmanship and an exclusive site is an environment that has that otherworldly feel which is often associated with quality design. It’s reflected in the prices for these flats, which at up to HK$32,000 per sq ft, have a top dollar price tag of HK$55 million.

Mount Parker Residences is set to become a major new landmark in Hong Kong’s upscale residential landscape.

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Advancing the Retail Game Jerde Partnership VP, China General Manager, Alex Yong examines the impact of e-commerce, government policy, rapid mall openings and technology on the design of retail developments in Asia, and explores how best to respond by creating bold, inclusive and contextualised experiences in the real world.

The omnipresence of e-commerce and impact on retailers E-commerce has emerged as one of the hot topics in the retail industry in China, Southeast Asia and most parts of the world over the last ten years. There are in fact not many other factors bigger than e-commerce that are affecting the Chinese retail market and the built products seen today. E-commerce has been singled out as such an influential factor because of its global omnipresence. The statistics, such as the revenue and number of people buying on Singles Day in China (11 November), are staggering.

In China, e-commerce has taken up 7-8 percent of the whole retail market and in the US it is fairly steady at 8 percent [Note: According to US census, it is 6.4 percent at Q2 2014].What is amazing for China is the explosion of e-commerce, how it has gone from almost zero percent to its current level in a compressed timeframe. Commodity retailers such as supermarkets and everyday electronics are most affected by this because face-to-face service generates little value at point of purchase and it is so easy to click online and have things delivered to your home. For culture and entertainment content providers, such as books and music, the way to distribute products has changed dramatically and the speed of content generation to delivery is now almost instantaneous.

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However, the impact of e-commerce upon luxury goods retailing in China has not been as great as that in the West, where there is a much larger selection, a more mature infrastructure in terms of how retailers operate, how they deal with premium retail outlets and how they handle out of season products. There has not been such a developed set up to facilitate that in China to date, which still relies on the growth of a minority of the population to snatch up luxury products, though that number alone is impressive.

For the general market – the everyday malls – development of physical retail continues unabated. In major cities there are still a number of huge flagship stores coming up in CBDs and high end areas, and mass market malls are still driven by the familiar operators and vendors. However, the functions of a physical store are starting to change. As the internet becomes the primary place to browse, a physical store becomes the place where customers pick up, exchange, or return online orders. For stores that incorporate multi-channel retailing, customers can place orders there and have them delivered. Moreover, in the future, it won’t be a surprise to see more and more e-commerce brands establishing a presence at shopping centres in order to build omni-channel retail. This is already a trend in the US.

Government policy in China In fact, government policy in China has a much greater influence on development, which is very different to the US. China government policies directly dictate the permissible amount of “commercial” development including retail. Officials will sometimes mandate the type and style of the retail malls and the desired presence in their city. Developers in China often come up with design briefs based on what is permitted or encouraged by the government, whilst there is still a huge disconnect between what is mandated by the official planners and what the market demands. The inherent problem is that the government reacts to two issues, primarily i) Tax revenue needs - land auction is still overly relied upon for revenue, easily over 50 percent in many cities, flooding the market with land, and; ii) Speculative bubbles in residential market – lease requirements and central planning shift a high percentage of development volume to retail and other non-residential products to try and combat the bubble without slowing down land sales. These continue to bring large shopping centres into markets within regions reaching point of saturation. As long as the fundamentals do not change, the process remains less predictable, with moving aspects to the development and required timeframes for building out being very tight.

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Fast development, homogenised markets Many state that what we are seeing in China now is development going too fast, with too few brands or operators experienced enough to fill the market.Almost all of the emergent projects over the past 2 or 3 years are very much like one another with similar offerings, look and feel.There are a lot of opportunities for designers, operators and developers to take advantage of the need for uniqueness.

But blazing a new trail takes bravery and commitment. One needs to look at what is missing in the market and create something authentic and differentiated to fill the gap. Few projects we see in the region depart from the formulaic process, willing to go against convention and create places that work better, offer more choices, and integrate better with the city.

Jerde's place-making approach has strived to break this mould and prove the benefits of a strong identity to its clients.Take Canal City Fukuoka as an example, a project in a smaller city in Japan which opened nearly 20 years ago, and remains one of the top performers today. At that time the retail environment in Japan was dominated by conventional shopping centres – meaning a pretty, well-made air conditioned glass box with everything sealed within, with similar offerings, environments and colour palettes. The operators were familiar and everybody worked to that model. With Canal City, the approach completely broke that apart, creating a permeable urban stage where the public space was interwoven into the F&B, entertainment, boutiques and department stores. Everything is so tightly integrated with the city fabric that one can meander into the heart of the project almost without realizing it. In the first year, it attracted 16 million visitors in a city with only 2 million people. This is the kind of vision that is required in China and the Southeast Asian markets.

Response to cultural context is also a vital element in successfully creating a holistic public entertainment experience in a mall and, we believe, is a notable and significant opportunity in China’s retail development. Jerde brings its wealth of international placemaking experience into play in Asia, with a client base as diverse as the LA Olympics, Paris Disneyland, Lucasfilm, Universal Studios and CocaCola, for whom it has created public places that embody their home city’s cultural identity and provide something specific, authentic and unique for their resident populations. The defining cultural characteristic can range from F&B to sports, performing arts and many more. For instance, sports has long been integrated more so in the west than China because of different lifestyle.

For Chinese projects, Jerde believes there is great potential in capitalising upon deep-rooted cultural elements, such as acrobats and Sichuan’s ‘bian lian’, to create a national stage by integrating these as part and parcel of a retail development.

Integrated technology Putting e-commerce aside, the importance of what technology can do to shopping centres and public spaces is also recognised. More than 10 years ago, when Jerde designed The Arcade at Cyberport, Hong Kong, the practice designed-in forward thinking technologies that are talking points in the marketplace now.

The software (i.e. technology) has now advanced but the basic process of using that technology to engage customers is highly evident. Even the hardware, such as multi-use venues and event spaces that host different kinds of activities such as product launches, music performances and live streaming events, have all been factored into the project.

Technology is fairly easy to duplicate, and this is what it thrives on - the greater the scale the cheaper it is to implement the infrastructure, so that anybody can duplicate that in more or less similar fashion. So then it becomes a battle in whether a physical shopping centre can offer something else that is different, in its physicality, experience, management, design and construction. Can a mall be so inclusive to everyone, be it a student, a CEO or someone who lives nearby, or visitors just flying into town? The future popular project rests on how well you can cater to people whose backgrounds and origins are unknown, how inclusive you can be to everybody and how many choices you can offer to this diverse audience.There is a certain element of unpredictability to it, but if we can create a project that is so openminded, then you start to break the mould and build something much more sustainable.

At Jerde it is embedded within the firm’s DNA to design democratic places, not for the top 1 percent, but majority of the population. Everyone should feel Information and Images: Jerde Partnership

welcome, comfortable and be able to enjoy their environment.The practice wants its projects to be places people gravitate towards, with or without an intent to spend. When places are designed well – places where people want to visit, to interact and meet their friends as well as being effective and seamless places of transaction – both the economic and social values flow naturally.

Challenges ahead The biggest challenge the industry faces is that design of the physical, offline retail environment is a very slow moving part of the industry, whereas changes in the retailer models and consumer expectations of retail environments are moving much faster. Therefore, Jerde believes one has to be nimble in understanding the latest trends and their ripple effects on the physical brick and mortar. Take e-commerce as an example. Five years ago every developer wanted to build a mall of an average size of 1.5 million square feet. But now, the first thing Jerde asks its client is whether they are sure they want to build that big in view of the change e-commerce is affecting upon mass retail markets and the economic challenges to development success in a saturated market of homogenous supersize malls.

Right now, the practice is in the process of developing the right retail solutions with its clients as diverse as large state-owned-enterprises like Greenland and smaller ones who have a greater willingness to take risk such as Powerlong.

Jerde is also working on several smaller projects for mid-sized, second to third tier local developers in China. Given the project scales and fringe locations, they require completely different ways of thinking and design approaches. One of them is the creation of a F&B and retail entertainment street, on a small waterfront town in Tianjin.

Jerde frequently advises clients on retail strategy and collaborates with retail consultants to challenge and establish the positioning of the project before design commences. This helps the designers and also the clients understand what kind of retail developer they want to be. In the West and more mature Asian markets there is clear delineation of whether the client is a long-term retail developer, one that specifically deals with department stores, or one that simply uses retail to increase value in their wider mixed-use products (like Mori group). In the near future, most of the developers in China have to make a decision to go long or short term on retail, to be more specialised and with that, Jerde can craft a more suitable and successful design strategy and physical development for them.

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Celebrating the difference makers The Construction Industry Council-Lighthouse Club Contractor's Dinner and Safety Awards recognise life-saving best practices They are the hard working men and women at the forefront of occupational health and safety in Hong Kong.They’re on site through the chill of winter and the scorching Hong Kong summers, working towards the most fulfilling goal possible in the construction industry: helping to make sure their workmates make it home to their families at shift’s end.They may not seek the spotlight and neither will it fall on them if their jobs are carried out properly. But for one night of the year, the work of safety officers, their colleagues on site and management are lauded for making Hong Kong’s building sites safer.

The Construction Industry Council-Lighthouse Club Contractor's Dinner and Safety Awards has become the preeminent vehicle for recognising good safety practices.The awards are unique for the exceptional level of cooperation between leading players in the industry.

The awards are backed by three occupational health and safety organisations – the Society of Registered Safety Officers, Hong Kong Occupational Safety and Health Association, and the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health, Hong Kong Branch – the Construction Industry Council, the Hong Kong government, and a collection of the city’s biggest construction companies.

Among the corporate sponsors, safety partner Hilti Hong Kong should be commended for their ongoing support of all of The Lighthouse Club’s events.

Much of the event’s organisation falls to The Lighthouse Club Hong Kong and its social and safety committees.

If you needed more evidence this dinner and awards have galvanised the construction industry to a common cause, the numbers do not lie. Look no further than the attendance – more than 550 people attended the ceremony on September 12 – which was a new record. And there were more than 500 entries to the awards competition this year, which kept The Lighthouse Club’s Safety Panel engrossed for weeks – again, an exceptional result.

Text: Micheal Hoare Photography: Samuel Lee

Worthy Advocates This year saw five awards given out (see: In the safest of hands), in the four established categories, as well as a celebrated Chairman’s Award. Hip Hing Construction assistant project safety manager Keith Kan took the rare honour, an occasional award determined by The Lighthouse Club’s Safety Committee Chairman Mark Divers. While Mr Divers told the event that although Mr Kan prefers to avoid the limelight, he richly deserved the award for demonstrating a strong commitment to promoting improvements in health and safety over a number of years. Mr Kan has also been instrumental in helping sub-contractors meet ever-increasing safety standards. And, of course, he has been a tireless worker in advocating his workmates are recognised for their efforts to improve workplace safety.

Last year, the awards were expanded to include a new category, project teams.

The Lighthouse Club-Hilti Safe Project Team Awards recognises that site safety is everyone’s concern, from client to frontline workers.This year’s Gold Award in the category went to the MTR Corp, Kier-Laing O'Rourke-Kaden Joint Venture.The team is working on contract 901 of the South Island Line project.The HK$2.40billion contract was awarded in 2011, and covers the creation of the expanded station, as well as the supporting infrastructure needed for the sprayed concrete lining needed for tunnelling.

In a cramped box about the dimensions of a football pitch and extending down about 45 metres beneath some of Hong Kong’s busiest streets, some 400 workers are currently toiling. When it is complete next year, Admiralty Station is set to become the heart of the new 7-km line. A new rail interchange will be built underneath the existing station that comprises of four new platforms, an interchange concourse and pedestrian entrances.

The Lighthouse Club’s Safety Committee received 25 detailed entries in this newest of categories, and narrowed the field to 10 finalists. Three bronze and two silver awards were presented in this category.

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Frontline Successes The Safe Subcontractor Awards category at this year’s awards recognised an exceptional level of safety performance for companies involved in some of the construction industry’s most hazardous activities. It is worthwhile mentioning that sub-contractors are at the heart of the awards. Faced with the financial realities of tight budgets and tighter deadlines, safety here is a paramount concern, and this category is designed to drive subcontractors to redouble their efforts.

The Gold Award winner, Alfasi Asia, is currently engaged to supply and erect the columns and iconic roof for the Express Rail Link Terminus building in West Kowloon. Alfasi Asia will also build the façade and glazing supports at the world’s biggest underground train terminus. All told, there are 9,000 tonnes of steel in the terminal, with another 2,700 tonnes used temporarily during its construction phase.

In the individual categories, there was a clean sweep by Gammon Construction employees. More than 400 entries were received for The Safe Foreman Awards.

From the 10 finalists, Gammon Construction’s Kwok Yuet Ming was the overall winner. Mr Kwok was considered instrumental in creating a safe workplace and had made an outstanding contribution to the industry overall. The Champion Award for Site Safety Professionals was claimed by Yip Kim Sik. The award was presented by the guest of honour, Commissioner for Labour Donald Tong Chi Keung.

Meaning in the Message While the awards are a great complement to the industry’s foremen, subcontractors and safety professionals, there is a serious message reflected in the event, never far from the surface. Hong Kong’s Association for the Rights of Industrial Accidents Victims says 22 construction workers died at work last year, two less deaths than in 2012. There were at least 11 fatalities up to the beginning of August.

There are many more accidents onsite that have an irrecoverable effect on workers, their families and the wider community every year. The Occupational Safety and Health Branch of the Labour Department says there were 3,232 reported industrial accidents last year, an increase of 2.3 percent over 2012.

The Lighthouse Club’s benevolent fund helps support the victims of construction accidents. As an independent charity, outstanding health and safety practices are a core part of the club’s mission to promote fraternity across the construction industry.The dinner and awards ceremony is an important fund raising event for the club. A collection during the evening helped raise an additional HK$52,000 for safety-linked charities.As The Lighthouse Club’s president T.C. Chew told the audience: “The real winners though are our colleagues who are not injured or made ill, and the construction industry being recognised as modern, high-tech, exciting and safe.”

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In the safest of hands Each of the award winners from this year’s Contractor's Dinner is listed below. The judging panel, coordinated by the Lighthouse Club Hong Kong Safety Committee, commended each of this year’s entrants, and the most outstanding of entries claimed official recognition.

The awards are made possible by the support of some of Hong Kong’s leading construction companies, including Gammon Construction Ltd, Dragages Hong Kong Ltd, Hip Hing Construction Co Ltd, Laing O'Rourke Construction Hong Kong Ltd, Leighton Contractors (Asia) Ltd, Bachy Soletanche Group Ltd, MTR Corp Ltd, REC Engineering Co Ltd, and VSL-Intrafor Hong Kong Ltd. The event’s exclusive safety partner is Hilti (Hong Kong) Ltd, a supplier of leading-edge power tools, anchoring and fasteners, fire protection equipment and construction chemicals.

The dinner and awards are also supported by the Construction Industry Council, the Society of Registered Safety Officers, Hong Kong Occupation Safety and Health Association, the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health Hong Kong, and the Lighthouse Club Hong Kong.

Chairman’s Award Keith Kan – Assistant Project Safety Manager, Hip Hing Construction Site Safety Professional Awards The Champion's Award Yip Kim Sik – Gammon Construction Distinction Award Lee Yick Hang – Leighton Contractors Runner-up Awards Chung Yuk Ling Sybil – MTR Corp Chin Ching Hong – Laing O'Rourke Construction Cheung Wing Cheong Chris – Samsung-Hsin Chong Joint Venture Safe Subcontractor Awards The Champion's Award Alfasi Constructions (Hong Kong) Ltd Distinction Awards Associated Engineers Ltd Hong Kong OVM Engineering Co Ltd Bronze Awards CYS Engineering Co Trevi Construction Co Ltd Safe Foreman Awards The Champion's Award Kwok Yuet Ming – Gammon Construction

Runner-up Awards Yau Chung Hon – Sanfield Engineering Construction Ltd Lam Chun Kit – CLP Power Hong Kong Ltd Yau Wing Kin – Chun Wo Construction and Engineering Co Ltd So Kam Yuen – Gammon Construction Merit Awards Wong Wai Kwan – Vibro (HK) Ltd Fung Sek Yan – Hip Hing Construction Shin Lien Chiao – Wo Hing Construction Ltd Hui Tin Shing – Samsung-Hsin Chong Tsui Hong Ming – Fugro (Hong Kong) Ltd Safe Project Team Awards The Gold Award C901 South Island Line Project – MTR Corp, Kier-Laing O'Rourke-Kaden Joint Venture Silver Awards CLP Kai Tak Cable Tunnel – CLP-Atkins China Ltd-Hip Hing Trade and Industry Tower in Kai Tak Development Area – Architectural Services Department-Dragages Bronze Awards Public Rental Housing Development at Lei Yue Mun Phase 3 – Housing AuthorityGammon Construction Imperial Kennedy – Sun Hung Kai Properties Ltd-Sanfield K23 Urban Renewal Project at Castle Peak Road and Hing Wah Street – Hong Kong Housing Society-Chun Wo Development Group, DLN Architects and Engineers-Chun Wo

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Cities Alive.

Rethinking Green Infrastructure Recently the Design Green exhibition in Singapore brought together three renowned keynote speakers, an engineer, an architect and a landscape architect, for a series of discussions entitled Inside the Designer’s Studio.

Broken into two parts, the first part saw these esteemed professionals sharing their thoughts on how they see their individual professions in terms of contributing positively to the green agenda, and specifically the built environment, before engaging in a Q & A in which both the host and members of the audience were able to pose questions to the speakers.

Arup Principal Engineer, Mike King, who is based in Arup’s Singapore office and was responsible for overseeing the stunning Sports Hub Project, presented highlights from the practice’s comprehensive report; Cities Alive – Rethinking Green Infrastructure. This report is a product of collaboration between the Landscape Architecture and Foresight + Research + Innovation teams at Arup and has involved a wide range of specialists within the firm.

Established in London in 1946 by Sir Over Arup, today Arup is an independent firm of designers, planners, engineers and consultants offering a broad range of technical services in the built environment, with 11,000 staff in 90 offices across 38 Countries.

School of the Arts, Singapore (c) Darren Soh

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Foresight

Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park (c) Paul Carstairs, Arup

“Green infrastructure” (GI) is defined as open spaces, natural areas, urban woodland and parks; green streets, squares and public realm; sustainable drainage systems and healthy waterways, cycle ways and pedestrian routes within our city environments; and smaller scale green roofs, walls and facades.

Arup’s Foresight team identifies and monitors the trends and issues likely to have a significant impact upon the built environment and society at large. The Foresight team researches and raises awareness about the major challenges affecting the built environment and their implications.

“The ‘Cities Alive’ GI led approach seeks to create healthier more socially cohesive and biodiverse urban environments and a connected city ecosystem for people and wildlife that also builds in resilience measures against climate change in the form of storm, flood, heat, drought and pollution protection,” states King.

“Arup’s Drivers of Change initiative is an evolving selection of the key global issues and trends driving change in our societies and markets and the built environment. The nine topical sets – urbanization, demographics, poverty, energy, water, waste, food, oceans and climate change – emerged from workshops with thousands of participants around the world. Each set contains 25 cards, which describe and illustrate with text, images, diagrams, facts and figures one issue.”

When looking at some of the drivers of change the most relevant to our Cities is that due to urbanisation.

Consider that the Global urban population is forecast to double between the year 2000 and 2050.This means that180,000 people are added to urban centres, or are creating new cities, every day. 95 percent of this growth will be in the developing world and currently one third of the world’s urban population live in what the United Nations (UN) defines as slum conditions.

“What should our designs try to achieve?

We must take a critical look at the brief, make it more comprehensive. We must look beyond the narrow object and ask ourselves: What will be the ecological consequences?”

—Sir Ove Arup, from “Ove Arup: The Philosophy of Design”

Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park (c) Paul Carstairs, Arup

The cost of inaction King said that by working with the natural environment as a key driver, Cities Alive presents an economic way of addressing the challenges of population growth and climate change in our cities to deliver significant social and environmental benefits.

Population growth, climate change, resource depletion, pollution and urbanisation are all major global challenges facing humankind and nowhere more than in our cities. The quality of our urban environments is particularly at risk and vulnerable. As we move towards a more sustainable future it is critical that cities adapt to and address these contemporary challenges.

Reflecting the scale of the challenges ahead, there is urgency to develop more sustainably and this has become pervasive at all levels of government. The 1987 Brundtland Commission looked to unite countries worldwide to pursue sustainable development, and in 2006 the Stern Review on the Economics of Climate Change discussed the effect of global warming on the world economy. The main conclusion of the Stern report was that the benefits of strong, early action on climate change far outweigh the costs of not acting.

Information and Images: Arup, Singapore

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“The role of green infrastructure in addressing the challenges of the 21st century cannot be underestimated. It is a natural, service providing infrastructure that is often more cost effective, more resilient and more capable of meeting social, environmental and economic objectives than ‘grey’ infrastructure.”

—Green Infrastructure: An Integrated Approach To Land Use, Landscape Institute Position Statement (2013)

The Benefits What does our future look like?

1. Social Benefits: Rethinking Urban Communities 2. Environmental Benefits: Smart and Resilient Environments 3. Economic Benefits: Urban Resource Streams

With population growth and mass global urbanisation how will we expand our current cities and build cities of the future so that they are liveable places to live, work and play – where people can lead happy and healthy lives?

“Social benefits of a nature-inclusive design approach, “Rethinking Urban Communities” considers how we can encourage investment in healthy and sustainable city lifestyles for social cohesion.”

“GI is not a new concept, and not rocket science, much of it is intuitive,” continues King. “The natural world, its biodiversity and its constituent ecosystems are critically important to our wellbeing and economic prosperity, but are consistently undervalued in conventional economic analyses and decision making. GI is one of the most effective tools available to us in managing environmental risks such as flooding and heatwaves.

The challenges are to scientifically quantify the benefits, convincing government, business and developers of the real and tangible benefits and realising the vision.”

Retrofitting the City with Nature

It is important to clearly calculate the costs, the benefits and a sustainable model for the ongoing maintenance and upkeep of the spaces. Identifying and adapting new technologies to enhance the spaces lower the running and maintenance costs and ensure long term viability of GI plans.

(c) Arup

“With The High Line New York, this project captured the public’s imagination and helped redefine and globally influence what urban green space can be; it demonstrates how quality city space can positively utilise obsolete city infrastructure and also how a project of this scale can be successfully managed by the local community.”

“A study in New York states that asthma rates among children age four and five fell by a quarter for every extra 343 trees per square kilometre.

The presence of street trees was linked with a 29 percent reduction in early childhood asthma.”

King adds that studies have proven that residents in ‘high greenery’ environments were 3.3 times more likely to take frequent physical exercise than those in the lowest greenery category. “The UK Forestry Commission reports that a one percent reduction in the sedentary population of Britain is estimated to deliver a benefit of up to £1.44 billion a year to the economy.”

New York’s High Line is a great example of a community-led regenerative project that has strengthened the identity of the area and that every stage of the project was led by the Friends of the High Line with regular consultations with residents and business owners.

Transformation of Industrial Wastelands into the Biodiverse “Lungs of a City”, improved social cohesion and saw a reduction in crime, as well as improving workplace productivity.“Office workers who can see a green environment from their desks experience 23 percent less time off sick than those that have an entirely urban view. Similarly, these workers also report greater job satisfaction.”

“People want to be reconnected with nature and they want to transform underused land to produce clean air and clean water, good microclimates and good food. They recognise the urgent need to capture carbon and to create landscapes teeming with wildlife. At the same time, they want to be protected from flooding and want access to land for health and wellbeing. The landscape profession is best placed to deliver these aspirations — it is what the profession is qualified to do.”

— Merrick Denton Thompson OBE, CMLI ,“Green Infrastructure – An integrated approach to land use –Landscape institute” (2013) All images on this page: Porta Nuova Isola, Milan

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(c) Boeri Studio , Stefano Boeri, Gianandrea Barreca, Giovanni La Varra

Environmental Benefits

Smart and resilient environments enable long-term climate resilience, creating smart and connected landscapes, fostering urban biodiversity.

City trees can also enhance traffic calming measures. Tall trees give the perception of making a street feel narrower thus slowing drivers down. Closely spacing trees has a similar effect by creating the illusion of speed.

The Green Alley scheme in Chicago involves the redesign of streets for heat expansion and water permeability in expectation of increased rainfall. Urban planners are building in climate change resilience now. The city has more than 13,000 alleys that total more than 1,900 miles of area. These alleys consist of enough impermeable surfaces to equal the paved area at about five midsized airports. Rainwater can no longer soak into the ground, so the city is more prone to flooding. Because the cost of retrofitting conventional storm drainage systems is prohibitive, the City has started a programme of building permeable pavements that allow storm water to filter through, “catch basins” to capture water and funnel it into the ground, and high-albedo pavement to reflect sunlight to reduce the heat island effect.

(c) Boeri Studio , Stefano Boeri, Gianandrea Barreca, Giovanni La Varra

Renewing Urban Spaces “If you plan cities for cars and traffic, you get cars and traffic. If you plan for people and places, you get people and places.”

—Arup , SlimCity Knowledge Cards (2011) Cheonggyecheon River in Seoul.

Cheonggyecheon River was erased by a three-lane stretch of elevated highway creating one of the most congested and polluted areas of the city.The prospective Mayor of Seoul (Lee Myung Bak) based his campaign on converting one of the most polluted areas of the city into a park. He succeeded (he became the President).

One of the most polluted areas of the city was converted to a park that attracts 64,000 visitors a day. The ambient temperature of the area fell 3°C. Biodiversity increased by 639 percent. Land prices increased of 30-50 percent and are still climbing.

Some remnants of the old elevated road have been left, as victory trophies of some monumental battle that has taken place between good and evil. These include some of the bases of the elevated motorway, a useful reminder of planning mistakes that should never to be made again.

So resilience to climate change and recognition of the importance of green infrastructure benefits, and the role in resilience to climate change, reflects a growing appreciation for the essential role of green infrastructure.

(c) Arup

The Future

“In the developed world, 2050 will mark the coming of age of a generation of digital adults who will have grown up engaging with smart devices and materials. They will have experienced technological breakthroughs that will redefine how human beings interact — not only with each other, but with their surrounding environment,” says King.

He says that we could be living in cities where everything can be manipulated in real-time and where all elements of the urban fabric are part of a single smart system of an “internet of things”. Designers need to consider the shape and flavour of the future to come and the changes and challenges that it will bring. Ideally, the lifespan of projects should be infinite as the perfect project will be able to adapt, change and mitigate.

“In reality, this may be more difficult, but projects should still engage with strategic long-term thinking for the sake of security and prosperity.”

“In order to secure this future, designers again need to consider who will be using and maintaining their creations in decades to come. By educating users and clients about the role that nature can play in the city, they can begin a trickle-down mechanism which will ensure the wellbeing and security of valuable, urban green and functional space.”

‘Cities Alive’ was produced and published by Arup’s Landscape Architecture and Foresight + Research + Innovation team, Tom Armour, Dr. Chris Luebkeman and Josef Hargrave.

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Digital Revolution

A greater awareness of environmental issues has been the spark for dozens of new businesses that did not exist 15 years ago. Combine that still emerging trend with the impact of information technology and there’s a blueprint for development that is faster, greener and better.

NGIS China Ltd was born into this 21st century crucible. The company specialises in taking enormous sets of data drawn from the built environment and manipulating them into visual formats that humans can better understand.

The firm’s information technology nous is put to good use in creating models and maps of noise and air pollution, in hydrological modelling and urban planning.

Chris Hoar was named NGIS China’s managing director in 2004. At the time, the company was among a handful of smaller independent noise mapping and acoustic consultants. The company was at the leading edge of Hong Kong-based firms specialising in geographic information systems, a broad term that refers to the manipulation and analysis of spatial and geographical data. Over the past decade, the consultancy’s propriety technology and heritage in software development, as well as substantial funding from investors including the Hong Kong government, has evolved into one all-encompassing web-based service, ODEN – a unique modelling software package that has become the company’s flagship offering.

“There’s more that these departments have to do and more to measure than ever before,” he says.

NGIS deputy managing director Raymond Wong says the beauty of the ODEN system lies in its interoperability across platforms, its flexibility, and ease of use. “You see in a lot of big engineering companies, in particular, that there is a tradition of delivering these types of spatial measurement systems in-house.

There’s a belief that only they are able to build something to meet their needs.

What we’ve made and put online is something that’s simple. We’ve made it easy to access and made it easy for any professional to use.”

Specialist Tool for Generalists Manipulating the built environment within each model is as simple as clicking, dragging and dropping objects on the screen, or selecting from menu.The graphical representation of terabytes of complex data in 2-D and 3-D is straightforward enough that anyone can interpret the outcomes.

“ODEN really came about as a way to help government regulatory agencies and developers create better communities for Asia’s expanding middle class,” states Hoar.The software-as-a-service package is flexible enough to be used in a number of situations to accelerate urban planning and environmental assessments.

Until recently, NGIS was installing ODEN’s minimal back-end infrastructure on its clients’ hardware. Hoar says the company is also offering a time-based subscription, which saves clients the considerable expense of purchasing hardware.

“A typical deployment costs more than HK$1 million. A subscription service that uses our hardware is going to be a lot more affordable, with a fee beginning at about HK$30,000.”

He says governments in Europe, Hong Kong, Australia and across Southeast Asia have used ODEN (odensystems.net) to model noise and air pollution, and to accurately test mitigation efforts in real time. NGIS clients have also used ODEN to instantly demonstrate if an architect’s proposal for a tower block meets environmental criteria, or how a planned road would impact the natural environment. He says ODEN is helping the construction industry reduce design iterations, saving both time and money.

“The alternative for companies that need instant modelling is really pretty much out of reach. There’s at least HK$150,000 of desktop software and hardware, which excludes any software development required, and then firms have to find someone to run it.And finding the right people with the practical know-how and technical background is difficult. It’s a highly specialised field with software that almost requires a degree in rocket science to understand what’s going on. You shouldn’t have to be a rocket scientist to get the job done.”

Forward Planning Hong Kong’s Housing Authority and Environmental Protection Department are two of the biggest users of the system, having successfully integrated it into their planning processes. The system has also been sold to governments within the European Union.The German state of Thuringen has about 200 users of the system at all levels of their organization, from community level staff, to consultants and environmental management staff. Most recently, the Chinese Ministry for Environmental Protection has used the system to deal with assessment of an ever-increasing number of project applications.

Hoar says the Environmental Protection Department has deployed the service to assess the environmental performance of planned residential developments.

ODEN has helped the department move the mountain of compliance-related paperwork associated with each planned development. For their needs, NGIS’s software engineers created 3-dimensional (3-D) representations of the planned estates, based on the department’s criteria, with a straightforward legend showing what meets code and what doesn’t.

Hoar told PRC Magazine that increasingly tough legislative requirements to better regulate noise and air pollution have significantly increased the workload for local, state and national authorities. In Hong Kong, it was not uncommon to need 40 or more iterations before a development was given the green light.

Text: Micheal Hoare Images: Oden

And that’s another aspect to the revolutionary nature of this Hong Kongdeveloped product. Other modelling systems are desktop based but ODEN is delivered through an easy-to-use web interface. Users anywhere can log on from wherever they are.

Wong says managers like the system for creating additional resource deployment flexibility. “The big consultancies in Hong Kong rely heavily on local talent and often have to fly-in best-in-class expertise from their international offices,” he says.

“That ODEN is web-based frees companies of the need to have talent on the ground. There’s also support around the clock.”

While Wong says that creates a substantial saving on consultant’s fees, the service is not designed to replace a consultant’s input in the design process. “We see ODEN as being complementary to the existing network and processes. ODEN leaves room for people to focus on doing a better job, more quickly,” he says.

ODEN was initially designed to model, track and help mitigate noise pollution in urban areas.The name is an acronym for on-demand noise mapping, day, evening and night. With feedback from acoustics engineers and academics from around the Asia-Pacific region, developers have since expanded its use to track air pollution and water run-off. ODEN can process noise pollution from transport infrastructure, including road and rail, industrial areas, and airports and aeroplanes, as well as air pollution through its integration with models including Germany’s MISKAM, AUSTAL2000 and the United States’ AERMOD.

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Tech Specs

ODEN supports international standards and methods: European Union Interim Method combinations including GBTT/ISO9613; Britain’s CRTN method used in Hong Kong; German methods VBUS and RLS90; Dutch method RLM2; Propagation method ISO9613; European Civil Aviation Conference Doc 29; ISO Standard 9613, used by the European Union to control aircraft noise; and is ready to handle the EU’s common noise assessment framework, CNOSSOS.

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Guangzhou Cadre International TOD Centre

Information and Images: Atkins

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Transport Orientated Development (TOD) is emerging as an important new building type in both China and South East Asia and Guangzhou Cadre International TOD Centre is one example of this transformational new building type.

In urban and transport integration terms, it brings together places for people to work and live with East Guangzhou’s important transport hub.This project evolves a sustainable model of high density, mixed-use development that Atkins have always promoted. It will be China’s first fully integrated Transport Orientated Development (TOD) project, keeping Atkins at the forefront of TOD design in China.

This mixed-use project integrates a number of transportation facilities and will be a major attraction to visitors, interchanging passengers and the people working or living in the development. The connections between the transportation hub, the adjacent high-speed rail station and the surrounding developments have been optimized to ensure an efficient people flow that benefits the passengers and the 250,000 sqm of commercial property on site.

The transportation hub itself includes the elevated intercity railway station that dramatically punches through the podium of the development, an underground high-capacity metro interchange station and a bus and taxi interchange located at ground level.These three transportation facilities are interconnected via the podium that consists of six levels of shopping mall above ground and two levels of shopping mall below ground.

The shopping mall can be accessed directly from the railway station concourses or via entrances from the three facing elevations of the triangular plot. All the entrances bring visitors into large and dramatic sunlit atriums that accommodate escalators that interconnect all eight levels of the mall.The upper levels of the shopping mall do not have any direct connections to the transportation facilities, but have their own attractions including a multiplex cinema, a food court and large public roof garden surrounded by cafes and restaurants that will draw visitors to these upper levels.

Two tall towers are located on the east and west sides of the podium. The larger 260 metre high tower accommodates a five star hotel, grade A office and SOHO residential apartments. The shorter 182 metre high tower accommodates SOHO residential apartments.The powerful forms of the towers create a welcoming gateway to visitors.

The smooth rock strata-like facades give Cadre City Plaza a timeless quality, while the dynamic curves of the podium creates a visual interest and movement that represent the modes of transport that interconnect on the site.

Outside the development large areas of public space, including a civic plaza at the north-east of the site and green garden areas on the south and west of the site will ensure this landmark project fits well into its context and greatly benefits the surroundings.