Westpac opens new offices in Hong Kong and Shanghai

 

*Pictured left: iaction’s interior design fitout of the new Westpac office in Shanghai’s IFC Two Building.

Australian owned design firm iaction has completed the interior design for Westpac Bank’s new Shanghai office in the Lujiazui financial district’s new IFC Two building. Design incorporates a modern, technically efficient office which was selected for its larger scale, modern features and location in the heart of Shanghai’s financial and banking district. The new A-Grade building boasts a prestigious tenant mix giving Westpac a first class platform to service customers.

 

In June, the bank’s Hong Kong branch moved to a larger office in the prestigious York House in The Landmark. The new fit out includes a large dealing room to deliver Westpac’s expanding financial and capital markets capabilities in the region.

 

“The relocations signify our focus on the continuous expansion and growth of Greater China business as well as our commitment to Hong Kong and Shanghai, where we have operated since 1971 and 2008 respectively,” said Westpac Head of Greater China, Andrew Whitford.

 

“Our objective is to put Westpac in a position to benefit from Asia growth and also to protect and strengthen our local position in these financial hubs as the focal points of our Greater China and Asian operations.

Marshall Day Acoustics wins Jiangsu Grand Theatre contract

*Pictured left: The Jiangsu Grand Theatre.

 

Marshall Day Acoustics has been appointed as acoustic consultant for the Jiangsu Grand Theatre project in Nanjing. The project is one of the largest performing arts projects in China with a budget of RMB 2 Billion on a 200,000m2 site. The completed theatre will include a 2,300-seat opera house, a 1,500-seat concert hall and a 1,000-seat drama theatre. A fourth building houses conference facilities. Marshall Day has started design work in collaboration with architect ECADI and theatre planner Kunkel. The brief includes room acoustic design, sound insulation and noise & vibration control.

 

JPW wins Suzhou News Group project

*Pictured left: JPW’s Suzhou News Group Tower.

Johnson Pilton Walker has been appointed to design the new Suzhou News Group headquarters in Suzhou with a circular office tower, which appears as a rolled newspaper but also reflects the modern digital media age. The tower is combined with a commercial podium to form a 136,000m2 project connected to a new subway system. The sloping podium roof forms a stepped landscaped garden providing access for the local community. Each tower office floor combines two double height winter gardens providing a physical connection between the interior and exterior and vertical connectivity from floor to floor.

*Pictured left: JPW’s Wuzhong project on Tai Hu Lake.

Johnson Pilton Walker is also designing and developing the landscape and urban spaces for a new Lakeland park with a connecting water street linking urban spaces to the Tai Hu lake front promenade and civic plaza. The project was won through a competition process and will create a variety of urban spaces and ecological gardens within a new city plan. The water street is designed to be an active shopping street with a central canal as the key focal point and connecting device linking each precinct.

CK Designworks wins Beijing Mall contract

*Pictured left: CK Designworks’ multiplex mall in Beijing.

 

CK Designworks Shanghai office has been appointed by leading Chinese commercial developer, the Jin Shen Group, to develop its newest multiplex mall near Beijing International Capital Airport. The total 400,000m2 project includes a 5-star 200-room hotel, one major shopping mall and an Australian style open environment shopping street.

 

BHI Architects Winner: Changxing Urban design

*Pictured left: BHI’s winning Changxing urban design.

BHI Architects has won an international WAN award for its urban design of the Changxing eco city project. The 60km2 project uses urban agriculture and sustainability systems embedded into community growth – using a model of sustainable urbanism for the reorganisation of land into ecological corridors. The project allows for ongoing community use of valuable agricultural land and maintains a village lifestyle and social connections.

The project includes food and water security systems and embedded agriculture connecting source to local population demand with a focus on increased use of organic farming practices and pollution reduction as well as increased environmental awareness and healthier food consumption.

 

Aurecon’s Mapletree development in Shanghai

 

*Pictured left: Aurecon’s Vivo-City Mapletree development in Shanghai’s Minhang district.

International engineering, management and specialist technical services firm, Aurecon, is developing and implementing sustainability strategies to improve the financial and environmental performance of a new mixed-use development in Shanghai’s Mapletree Minhang Development Project. Using smart engineering, the project hopes to achieve energy savings equivalent to powering 1875 homes, reduce CO2 emissions equivalent to planting 200 trees as well as saving water to the equivalent of 15 Olympic size swimming pools over a year. Aurecon has provided electrical and mechanical engineering systems to deliver best practice in sustainability so that the structures within the development perform efficiently, economically, safely and sustainably.

Designed to deliver a Grade-A office alternative, the development will target new benchmarks in sustainability for office and public spaces and ultimately provide a lifestyle and entertainment destination to over 300,000 residents within a 3km radius.

The project, designed to accommodate 20,000 people, will incorporate a host of quality facilities including VivoCity, a shopping centre, a cinema, an open-air rooftop garden, children’s playground and amphitheatre.

 

Spaceframe secures Wirtgen contract and celebrates 30 years in China

*Pictured left: Artist’s rendition of Spaceframe’s Wirtgen Facility.

 

Spaceframe Construction & Engineering (China) has been awarded the opportunity to design and build a 32,000 m2 manufacturing facility

for Wirtgen, the German multinational heavy equipment provider.

As an active Design & Construction provider, originating from Brisbane, Spaceframe have designed and built over 300 projects with a focus on safety, reliability and integrity.

 

This year the business also celebrates 30 years in China.

Recent important projects for Spaceframe include the expansion of the Boeing Tianjin factory in Binhai New Area in 2010. The investment of over US$20m raised production capacity by around 60 percent and involved sustainable design and construction principles to acquire LEED Gold accreditation. In 2009, Spaceframe was awarded the design and construction of the main structure, building envelope and cold storage works for Novo Nordisk’s US$ 400m insulin production plant in the Tianjin Economic Development Area – the world’s most modern insulin formulation and filling plant.

The award of this new Wirtgen project is another step in the great success of the company and its efforts to adapt in new markets and showcases Australian and Queensland industry capability and tenacity to deliver in the very competitive market of Australia’s number one trading partner.

Ground Breaking for the Wirtgen Project is expected in August 2013, followed by company birthday celebrations that will include all staff from offices in Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin and Changsha and sites in Chengdu in September. ■

*If your organisation has news you would like included in Building Bulletin, please contact the editor, Sophie Loras: sophiel@chinaconnections.com.au