News Archives

Century City Mall Opens

10 April, 2014/in News /by Editor

Reading Time: 2 minutes

Broadway Malyan-designed Century City Mall opens in Makati City, Philippines

The 1bn Philippine Peso ‘Century City Mall’, designed by global architecture, urbanism and design practice Broadway Malyan, has opened to the public, making it the newest retail development in the City of Makati for nearly a decade.

Broadway Malyan delivered an integrated package of design services, covering architecture, interior and landscape design to wayfinding, on the 17,000 square metre retail centre.

The Mall hosts a wide range of luxury retail, fashion and lifestyle brands, includes four state-of-the-art cinemas and features a roof top garden with al fresco dining and a bar, complementing a series of ‘green paths’ オンラインカジノ that thread through the scheme.

Tenants include Rustan’s Supermarket, fashion and beauty stores Desigual, Fresh/H20, Beauty Bar, Hush Puppies, Philip Stein, Swarovski and Victorinox, and food and dining establishments Azurro Bistro and Restaurant, Early Bird Breakfast Club, Pepper Lunch, Starbucks Coffee, TWG Tea, Mochi Sweets and US burger joint CaliBurger.

Century City Mall is one of several buildings that Broadway Malyan has designed and which are now being built as part of the landmark mixed-use Century City scheme developed by Century Properties in Makati City.

Distinguished by our global reach with 16 studios across world centres, unrivalled diversity with 500 design experts and distinctive client focus with over 75% income from repeat business, Broadway Malyan creates world-class and fully-integrated cities, places and buildings to unlock lasting value and deliver a ‘return on design’.

ABB and Philips Join Forces

10 April, 2014/in News /by Editor

Reading Time: 2 minutes

ABB and Philips join forces in commercial building automation for energy efficiency and increased functionality

Philips’ lighting systems will connect seamlessly with ABB’s building device controls, reducing the cost of renovation of mid-and small-sized commercial buildings

Amsterdam, the Netherlands – ABB, a leading power and automation technology provider, and Royal Philips (NYSE: PHG, AEX: PHIA), the global leader in lighting, today announced a collaboration to simplify the integration of connected lighting systems and building device control for commercial buildings. Combining Philips’ wealth of expertise in LED lighting systems with ABB’s knowledge of building automation will benefit systems integrator, commercial building owners, facility managers and the people who work in these buildings.

Philips’ connected lighting system will interface seamlessly with ABB’s automation software to offer the ability to control a commercial environment including lighting, blinds, building access and heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC). The introduction of the solution from ABB and Philips will make it much simpler to reconfigure spaces. In a hotel this could mean altering the lighting scene after combining several separate rooms into a large meeting room, just through one click. Or in a shopping complex, a building manager can simply reconfigure the access, HVAC and lighting when a single unit is split into smaller ones.

Eric Rondolat, CEO of Philips Lighting, said: “Philips’ LED lighting combined with controls can deliver up to 80% energy savings compared to conventional lighting, while providing high quality light for a comfortable, more productive work environment. Together ABB and Philips will support our customers by making it easier to introduce the latest technology to drive energy efficiency and increased functionality.”

Tarak Mehta, head of ABB’s Low Voltage Products division, added: “The future is the ability to reconfigure spaces at the touch of a button, while reducing energy consumption. ABB and Philips will work together to offer a simple, scalable solution to streamline the introduction of this technology in commercial buildings.’’

Currently, re-configuring different building systems requires entering lines of code for each separate element. By enabling the control of all the different elements of building automation through compatible software, building management is simpler and more affordable to install and maintain.

Heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) and lighting constitute 70% of the energy consumption in commercial buildings and the introduction of building device control can improve energy efficiency by approximately 30%. Upgrading to more energy efficient systems represents a significant opportunity for building managers to save on operational costs.

National Heart Centre Completes in Singapore

1 April, 2014/in News /by Editor

Reading Time: 3 minutes

National Heart Centre in Singapore (Photo credit: Broadway Malyan)

National Heart Centre Singapore – Back of Building (Photo Credit: Broadway Malyan)

The landmark National Heart Centre in the centre of Singapore, designed by global architecture, urbanism and design practice Broadway Malyan, has completed onsite and is set to provide a new centre of excellence for patients.

Broadway Malyan acted as lead design consultant on the 48,000 sq m 12 Storey building, with support from local consultancy Ong & Ong, and the design philosophy based on the principle of putting patients, staff and visitors first.

The patient-focused environment builds on traditional hospital design, emphasises light and features open spaces with a mixture of green courtyards, sky-gardens and landscape views to create a welcoming and calming environment conducive to patient wellbeing and the healing process.

This sense of openness carries through to the external finish, with the façade appearing to be stripped back to reveal the gardens and courtyards and better connect people to the wider environment.

To improve the patient experience, the design team organised the complex and diverse range of clinical functions in a way that satisfies vital clinical needs, while minimising travel distances and creating efficient circulation around the building.

Ed Baker, Singapore-based Director at Broadway Malyan, said: “Our expert design team wanted to challenge people’s perceptions of healthcare and taking the patient experience as our starting point, working in close partnership with the Ministry of Health, we have incorporated the complex, specialist medical needs within an exciting and dramatic space. The resulting environment is better for patients, staff and visitors and stands as a vision for the future of healthcare facilities in Singapore and beyond.”

Broadway Malyan was selected through an open competition for the £175m million project and has provided a wide range of services, including architectural, landscape architectural and interior design services, with the project winning the MIPIM Asia Futura Project Award in 2010.

The project forms part of Singapore’s general hospital redevelopment masterplan – the largest of its kind in the country – with the Broadway Malyan-designed 17-hectare mega healthcare city recently launched in Singapore.

When complete in 2030 it will serve 30,000 patients, visitors, staff, students and residents a day, double the current 15,000 who visit Tan Tock Seng Hospital. The floor space will be increased from 250,000 to 600,000 sq m, the number of beds will be increased by 25 per cent to 2,200 and ten buildings will be physically connected, including Tan Tock Seng Hospital.

The practice’s Singapore-based team of design experts is also delivering high-profile healthcare projects in India, including a 110,000 sq m and 500-bed high-level Cancer Institute in Lucknow, the capital city of the state of Uttar Pradesh, and the 30,000 sq m and 300-bed Fortis Children Hospital in Delhi.

Distinguished by Broadway Malyan’s global reach with 16 studios across world centres, unrivalled diversity with 500+ design experts and distinctive client focus with over 75% income from repeat business, they create world-class and fully-integrated cities, places and buildings to unlock lasting value and deliver a ‘return on design’.

2014 Pritzker Prize Laureate Revealed

25 March, 2014/in News /by Editor

Reading Time: 4 minutes

Shigeru Ban

“Shigeru Ban is a tireless architect whose work exudes optimism. Where others may see insurmountable challenges, Ban sees a call to action. Where others might take a tested path, he sees the opportunity to innovate. He is a committed teacher who is not only a role model for younger generation, but also an inspiration.” — Pritzker Jury 2014

Shigeru Ban, a 56 year old architect, has been announced as the 2014 Laureate of the Pritzker Architecture Prize. Established by the Pritzker family of Chicago in 1979, the prestigious award is widely regarded as “the Nobel Prize” in the architecture profession.

Ban is the seventh Japanese architect to become a Pritzker Laureate since– following Kenzo Tange in 1987, Fumihiko Maki in 1993, Tadao Ando in 1995, the team of Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa in 2010, and Toyo Ito last year.

According to the jury, the Pritzker Prize recognizes architects who both display “excellence in built work and who make a significant and consistent contribution to humanity.” Shigeru Ban, whose approach is as innovative as it is humanitarian, “reflects this spirit of the prize to the fullest.”

“He is a force of nature,” said the jury chairman, Lord Palumbo, “which is entirely appropriate in the light of his voluntary work for the homeless and dispossessed in areas devastated by natural disasters.”

“Receiving this prize is a great honour, and with it, I must be careful,” said Ban, who splits his time between offices in Tokyo, Paris and New York. “I must continue to listen to the people I work for, in my private residential commissions and in my disaster relief work. I see this prize as encouragement for me to keep doing what I am doing – not to change what I am doing, but to grow,” commented Ban on receiving the award.

A little of Ban’s background and his works

As a boy, Shigeru Ban observed traditional Japanese carpenters working at his parents’ house and to him their tools, the construction, and the smells of wood were magic. He would save cast aside pieces of wood and build small models with them. He wanted to become a carpenter. But at age eleven, his teacher asked the class to design a simple house and Ban’s was displayed in the school as the best. Since then, to be an architect was his dream.

Ban began his career in the office of Arata Isozaka, after being educated in America at the Southern California Institute of Architecture, and then New York’s Cooper Union School of Architecture.

He founded his own Tokyo practice in 1985 with little experience and went on to complete a number of residential projects in Japan such as Three Walls (1988), Curtain Wall House (1995) and Naked House (2000).

Curtain Wall House – Tokyo, Japan, 1995

Naked House – Saitama, Japan, 2000

In all parts of his practice, Ban finds a wide variety of design solutions, often based around structure, materials, view, natural ventilation and light, and a drive to make comfortable places for the people who use them. From private residences and corporate headquarters, to museums, concert halls and other civic buildings, Ban is known for the originality, economy, and ingeniousness of his works, which do not rely on today’s common high-tech solutions.

His first designs for paper-tube structures were used to provide temporary homes for Vietnamese refugees after the Kobe earthquake in 1995.

“When you finish a roll of tracing paper or fax paper, there are always paper tubes left over,” he said. “They were so strong and so nice, so I kept them. Then I went to the factory where they made them, and I saw they could make any length and any diameter.” Paper and cardboard have long been part of an architect’s toolbox for drawings and models of buildings, but for Japanese architect Shigeru Ban they are good enough to make the real thing.

Paper Log Houses – Kobe, Japan, 1995

In 1995, he founded a non-governmental organization called Voluntary Architects’ Network (VAN).With VAN, he has tackled disaster relief in Turkey, India, China and Haiti. Since then the architect has travelled to sites of natural and man-made disasters around the world to develop low-cost, recyclable shelters for affected communities.

His most recent disaster-relief project involved erecting a magnificent cardboard cathedral after the earthquake in Christchurch, New Zealand, resulting in an elegant A-frame next to the ruins of George Gilbert Scott’s stone building.

Cardboard Cathedral – Christchurch, New Zealand, 2013

Cardboard Cathedral Interior

Leveraging Building and Construction Opportunities In Myanmar with BuildTechYangon

18 March, 2014/in News /by Editor

Reading Time: 3 minutes

SPHERE Exhibits partners Singapore Business Federation (SBF) to bring building and construction expertise to Myanmar through an off-shoot of BuildTechAsia (BTA) – BuildTechYangon (BTY).

The Myanmar’s construction industry growth is expected to remain driven by the government”s increasing expenditure on improving Myanmar”s public infrastructure, and the rising interest of domestic and foreign real estate developers on constructing residential units to meet the population”s housing demand. In view of the growing interest for this sector, the Singapore Business Federation is partnering SPHERE Exhibits to co-organise the BuildTechYangon trade show in Yangon to help Singapore businessmen gain a foothold in this fast growing sector in Myanmar.

Supported by key government and industry authorities from both Singapore and Myanmar, the inaugural BTY2014 will be held from 22 to 24 May 2014 at the Myanmar Convention Centre in Yangon.

BTY2014 will focus on building and construction machinery and equipment; building and construction materials; building and construction specific electrical and mechanical engineering; and facilities management. Special attention will also be paid to precast, prefabrication, formworks and scaffolding to address immediate needs that will speed up affordable housing as well as commercial high-rise building construction in view of the growing economy.

With the involvement of the International Enterprise (IE) Singapore, BTY2014 will see a strong Singapore contingent taking up a 500 square meters country pavilion. The Myanmar Construction Entrepreneurs Association (MCEA) and the Union of Myanmar Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry (UMFCCI) have also pledged their support and will encourage the local building and construction sector and potential buyers to attend the show to advance their competencies.

Mr. U Tha Htay, Chairman, MCEA, said: “The building and construction industry in

Myanmar can play a part and contribute to the growth and development of the country’s economy. We can facilitate progress in infrastructure development by embracing efficient building and construction technologies and expertise. In particular, precast and prefabrication will speed up housing and commercial building construction and keep cost economical.”

The McKinsey Global Institute estimates that between 2010 and 2030, Myanmar will need to invest $320 billion in its infrastructure to achieve an 8 percent economic growth per annum, with the majority of infrastructure investment (60 percent) in residential and commercial real estate. Some key construction and infrastructure projects in Myanmar include a new international airport in Yangon, the upgrading of 30 of its 69 domestic airports, and the development of special economic zones – Kyaukphyu, Thilawa and Dawei.

Last December, MCEA advisor and former ambassador Hla Maung projected that urban dwellers will rise 35 percent by 2015. As it is, urban residents have doubled since 1980 from 8 casino million to 16 million in Myanmar.

Mr. U Win Aung, President, UMFCCI, added: “The Myanmar Government is actively implementing reform processes and vital plans and programmes for achieving its aim of building a modern industrial advanced developed prosperous nation in the shortest time frame possible. In order to achieve this goal the state is developing the industrial sector simultaneously along with the priority agricultural sector. Needless to say Myanmar’s infrastructure in almost all sectors is weak. Infrastructure development is gaining increasing priority to contribute toward the country’s economic growth and there are vast opportunities for Public-Private-Partnership in this sector”.

Mr. Ng Cheong Yew, Centre Director, Overseas Centre Yangon, IE Singapore, commented: “Myanmar presents immense opportunities for Singapore companies across various sectors, including infrastructure and urban solutions. The recent revisions to the Foreign Investment Law have also provided greater clarity and certainty for foreign investors. While Singapore companies venturing into the market need to be mindful of the fluid business environment, they should also strive to pursue mutually beneficial investments which create value for the local communities, for example through job creation and skills transfer.”

BTY2014 will be featuring over 120 exhibiting brands from China, Italy, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Singapore and Taiwan, and expecting 3,000 trade visitors. Singapore companies looking to participate in the Singapore pavilion can apply for funding through IE Singapore’s iMAP (International Marketing Activities Programme) which supports up to 50 percent eligible core expenses.

To complement BTY2014, a MCEA delegation was in Singapore for a two-day visit from 5 to 6 March 2014. The delegation of 20 developers and contractors met local authorities and companies to explore business and learning opportunities. They also shared with Singapore companies insights to the building and construction sector in Myanmar in a seminar held on 6 March 2014.

Myanmar MCEA delegates in Singapore (5 to 6 March 2014)

Echo Barrier Backs NEA’s Quieter Construction Fund

18 March, 2014/in News /by Editor

Reading Time: 2 minutes

“Money and time is being needlessly wasted by construction companies who are failing to specify noise reduction measures as part of their site plans” is the message from market leading noise reduction specialists Echo Barrier.

Last month the National Environment Agency of Singapore (NEA) introduced a special S$10million fund to incentivise construction companies to introduce noise reduction solutions into their site management plans. The Quieter Construction Fund (QCF) will offset up to 50% of the cost of purchasing or leasing noise reduction solutions.

In response to the new incentive, the company, which has recently worked with internationally recognised construction projects such as the London Underground and the Sydney Rail Network, is urging Singapore’s construction firms to take advantage of the chance to make noise reduction a priority and reap the benefits.

Echo barrier’s technical director Peter Wilson is a supporter of the fund, commenting: “Not only can noise reduction measures reduce noise complaints, save time and money, but it goes a long way to creating a quieter living environment for local residents.

“We are congratulating the NEA for making this fund available and are urging any construction company, no matter what their size, to take advantage of it.”

In financial terms, upwards of hundreds of thousands of dollars are thought to be wasted annually in noise complaints and disrupted work schedules.

Echo Barrier is one of the world’s leading solutions to the increasingly important issue of excessive noise, offering innovative, effective, practical and low cost solutions for noisy construction sites.

The temporary acoustic barriers are easily fitted to metal fencing or scaffolding structures to reduce both transmitted and reflected sound, significantly reducing the noise emitted from construction sites – typically by 90 – 97%.

Photo Credit: Echo Barrier

For more information about echo barrier visit www.echobarrier.co.uk

IES Drive Higher standards for M&E Works

14 March, 2014/in News /by Editor

Reading Time: 2 minutes

The Institution of Engineers, Singapore (IES) launched the Mechanical & Electrical (M&E) Resident Engineers (RE) and Resident Technical Officers (RTO) Registry today, in partnership with the Association of Consulting Engineers Singapore (ACES).

Functioning as an accreditation scheme to institutionally recognise M&E REs and RTOs who possess the necessary professional competence, skills and experience to perform their duties, this new registry will assist the built environment sector in ensuring that building projects are completed according to high safety standards and quality.

Although it is not a statutory requirement for M&E REs and RTOs to be accredited, the scheme will help in setting out the necessary requirements for a site supervisor so that qualified candidates can be identified and selected to assist Professional Engineers (PEs) in the supervision of contractors to meet required standards at work sites.

The scheme will also emphasise on the ability of REs and RTOs to implement energy-saving equipment or materials for building projects across the island, paving the way for meeting the target of at least 80% of green buildings by 2030.

For the individual M&E RE and RTOs, the scheme provides a career advancement platform for these supervisors, one through which they can share experience and network with their counterparts, voice their challenges or concerns, and acquire new knowledge through courses jointly organised by IES and ACES.

To be registered, an M&E RE or RTO must possess the required academic qualifications, relevant on-site experience and pass an interview.

“As the people on the ground supervising construction works, M&E REs and RTOs play extremely important roles in the development of safe and high-quality buildings in Singapore. With its rigorous entry requirements, the registry will serve as a competency benchmark for employers and Professional Engineers looking to hire qualified casino pa natet REs and RTOs,” said Prof S.K. Chou, President of IES.

“The setup of the registry is timely and critical in our push for a future-ready built environment by ensuring high standards in the M&E works in the industry. Besides green building development, another area where M&E REs and RTOs can contribute is raising construction productivity. With technologies ever advancing, the M&E sector can work with BCA to explore and introduce innovative and productive mechanical, electrical and plumbing (MEP) technologies, systems and work methods to achieve high degree of buildability and constructability in all construction projects,” commented Dr John Keung, CEO, Building & Construction Authority (BCA), who was the guest-of-honour at the event.

In 2009, IES introduced the Civil and Structural (C&S) REs and RTOs Registry to enable employers to fulfil the statutory requirement under the Building Control Act for C&S REs and RTOs to be accredited. To date, in partnership with ACES through a Joint Accreditation Committee, IES has registered 5,000 C&S REs and RTOs.

Comtech Building Redevelopment

7 March, 2014/in News /by Editor

Reading Time: < 1 minute

Construction begins on SG$350 million Comtech building redevelopment; Singapore

Construction has begun on the SG$350 million redevelopment of the Comtech commercial building in Singapore. Mott MacDonald is acting as building services consultant on behalf of Mapletree Business City Pte Ltd on the project.

The redevelopment of the Comtech building will include the construction of a new 30-storey tower with three stepped podium blocks, providing approximately 125,000 sq m of gross floor area. As the second and final phase of the Mapletree Business City (MBC) integrated business hub it will build on the previous success of MBC, which includes a business park and retail space, office and meeting facilities, restaurants and cafes and a gymnasium with heated pool.

The MBC development has revitalised the Alexandra Precinct of Singapore. Located at the fringe of the central business district, it is designed to support, enhance and exceed the needs of modern businesses.

CheeChuan Tan, Mott MacDonald’s project director, said: “Once the redevelopment of the Comtech building is complete, the complex will be a Grade A business park space with high floor plate efficiency. The project also recently obtained Green Mark Platinum certification, Singapore’s highest sustainability award. This was achieved thanks to a predicted 30% energy saving through the use of efficient chiller plants and lighting.”

Construction of the project is due to be completed in the first half of 2016.

More information can be found at http://www.mottmac.com/

AECOM opens the longest bridge in Southeast Asia

7 March, 2014/in News /by Editor

Reading Time: 2 minutes

KUALA LUMPUR (March 4, 2014) AECOM celebrates the official opening of Second Penang Bridge – the longest bridge in Southeast Asia

AECOM has played a key role in partnering with the contractor to deliver an innovative structure designed to withstand the severe seismic stress of a once-every-2,500-year earthquake.

Second Penang Bridge is a 24-kilometer (14.9-mile) bridge linking the Penang Island and the Malaysia Peninsula and is the largest civil engineering project in the past 20 years in the region. It consists of precast segmental concrete marine viaducts in 55-meter (180-feet) span modules and a cast in-situ concrete cable-stayed bridge measuring 475 meters (1,558 feet).

AECOM’s team in Malaysia, together with engineers from the long-span and specialty bridges group, worked in the design, construction supervision, and construction engineering of this record-breaking project. A special aspect of the project involved applying intelligent construction engineering techniques to enable successful erection of the 240-meter (787-feet) main span cable-stayed bridge over the main navigation channel.

“The Second Penang Bridge is subject to the merciless forces of nature, such as earthquakes, potential tsunamis, and wind, to name a few; and is exposed to a hostile marine environment. These challenges were overcome through meticulous planning and design, and the result is one of the world’s largest sea-crossing projects in recent years,” said Dr. Robin Sham, AECOM’s global long-span and specialty bridges director. “We have helped accomplish an immense human endeavor; creating many innovations along the way.”

Pioneering Bridge Technology

In addition to its large size, this RM 4.5 billion project pioneered new construction methods to minimize the risk caused by seismic activity near the Sunda tectonic plate, including the use of 2-meter-diameter (6.5-foot-diameter) bored piles founded to a depth in excess of more than 120 meters (394 feet) for the cable-stayed bridge, and the use of high-damping rubber bearings for seismic isolation of the marine viaducts.

The whole sea-crossing project introduced numerous innovations, including intelligent bridge geometry control, a lightweight form traveler machine for cable-stayed bridge erection, the extensive use of the statnamic pile-loading testing method and the use of high-damping rubber bearings for seismic isolation. The project also saw the most extensive use of precast hollow concrete spun piles in bridgework, and substantial driven tubular steel piles in a marine environment.

This strategic new link can alleviate the overloaded traffic of the existing bridge and improve the overall connectivity between the city and the Penang International Airport, spurring the area’s economic growth.

Schindler supplies to Poland’s award-winning Warsaw Spire

7 March, 2014/in News /by Editor

Reading Time: < 1 minute

Schindler underlines its reputation as partner-of-choice supplying leading technology mobility solutions to landmark buildings.

Double-deck efficiency: The company has been given the assignment to ensure people mobility in Warsaw Spire’s ca. 100,000 m² of office space. A total of 41 Schindler elevators will be installed, including 17 Schindler 7000 high-rise double-deck elevators; elevators with two stacked cars that can service two floors simultaneously. Schindler will also be supplying its award winning destination control system, PORT Technology.

The Warsaw Spire will be the first building in Poland, and one of the few in Europe, to be equipped with double-deck elevators.

Award winning architecture: The design – that won the “Architectural Design of the year, Poland” in 2011 – redefines urban office space and will include trees, fountains, shops and restaurants. Two 55 meter high buildings will stand at the base of a breathtaking 220 meter spire in the middle.

Warsaw Spire in Warsaw, Poland

Newest energy efficient products: Schindler will also install 27 units of its newest innovation, the Schindler 5500 elevator with its regenerative-drive technology, energy-saving LED lighting and ecoMode operation. And of course both elevators are being designed to fit the interior concept of the architect for color, material and ambiance.

The new Warsaw Spire complex will also receive 4 Schindler 9300AE escalators. The 9300AE uses a special drive system and rise angle to lower energy by as much as 27% compared to earlier escalators.

Large project expertise: Chosen by Ghelamco Poland Sp. z o.o., Schindler will be the sole supplier of mobility solutions for the futuristic office building in the heart of the Polish capital. Schindler was awarded the contract for its large-scale project expertise and for state-of-the-art products using green technology.