DEVELOPMENT/TOP 15
CREAM OF THE CROP
Property can be so much more with considered architecture, smart design and heritage-
sensitive restoration. Here are a few developments and developers to keep an eye on.
1
Best mixed use
District15, Hong
Kong
Look skyward in Hong Kong
and the neon-lit names of
major property developers
are written all over the
cityscape. But cast your eyes
to street level and youll spy
skilful work by smaller firms
such as District 15.
We want to create
neighbourhoods, says
Alexander Bent, who
founded the firm with Dinesh
Nihalchand. Opened earlier
this year, their project
Warehouses on West is a
row of 10 former industrial
buildings in Sai Ying Pun
that are now home to a co-
working space, a yoga studio
and restaurants.
The pair hope that
the development will
renew interest in the area
something theyve had
success with in the past.
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Editor Megan Gibson Q&A
When we first bought 222
Hollywood Road there were
only coffin-makers there,
says Nihalchand. People
thought we were crazy.
Today there is a diverse mix
of tenants. Crucially, some
coffin-makers still remain.
5
It is not about destroying a
neighbourhood, says Bent.
It is about encouraging
people to check out different On a mission
areas. Tegan
The two native
Hong Kongers have built
Martin-Drysdale,
relationships with agents president,
who now come to them Redbrick,
first when they find an
undervalued building with
Edmonton
character. Their next project,
Since 2012, developer
due to open this summer,
Tegan Martin-Drysdale has
is another mixed-use
been tackling urban sprawl
development, designed by
in Edmonton and wants to
Auckland architecture firm
change how cities are built.
Fearon Hay. Nowadays,
2 3 4
creativity is more important
Why is urban sprawl
than ever because the
a particular problem in
market is so tough, Most unexpected development Best hotel transformations Best new office complex North America?
says Bent. You need to
differentiate yourself. jch Koa, Dubai UDS, Tokyo Les Magasins One hundred years ago we
were focused on being close
district-15.com; Gnraux, Paris to amenities so we made our
warehousesonwest.com Dubais property portfolio has moved on Japanese urban planning company UDS,
from the boom days in the mid-2000s but which is owned by Odakyu Electric Railway, cities dense. The introduction
When BETC, Frances of the car meant it didnt
most developments are still imposing, takes an unusual approach to its work. largest advertising agency,
maximised for sales yet lacking the detail to Instead of seeing its projects in isolation, matter that you lived close to
first began renovating a where you worked and there
justify the price tag. I was fed up with the the UDS team looks at how properties can warehouse overlooking the
way the market is going, says Koa founder contribute to the surrounding area. We want was a huge housing boom.
canal in Pantin with a new
Mohammed bin Zaal. Dubai has styled itself to create a space people can visit, says home for its HQ in mind, it
as a crossroads for art and design in the Masayo Hattan. We host art events in the Explain infill developments.
seemed like a risk. Now that You take an existing layout of
Middle East, he says, but housing stock Hotel Anteroom Kyoto so that people other Les Magasins Gnraux has
hasnt kept pace. Developers must ask than guests can visit; in our offices we have a city with existing roads and
been restored by architect densify them in some way. It
themselves who theyre building for. cafs on the ground floor so that people in Frdric Jung and the production facilities. Different
The son of a major developer, Bin Zaal the community can also come in. can be as simple as taking
company has moved in, the typographies for east a single-family home and
ran his fathers business, Al Barari, and made The UDS portfolio is diverse, covering risk has proven worth taking. and west wings improve
his mark by creating smaller ventures like The everything from renovation to creating adding a basement.
Part of the moves navigation, while vintage and
Farm, a restaurant that champions regional childrens play centres. With 400 employees, success stems from the staff bespoke furniture divide the
produce. After setting out on his own he including a design team of 20, the firm has How do infill and narrow-lot
being closely involved in the massive building into smaller, homes help?
commissioned T Zed Architects to create created dozens of hotels, restaurants and development. This approach cosier spaces.
Koa Canvas, a mixed-use development with a offices and runs 19 of those businesses. The Narrow-lot homes dont
has given a distinct collective Beyond the aesthetics, the impact the community
co-working space. Construction is underway company reopened the Hotel Kanra in Kyoto
photographer: tktktkktktktktk
spirit to the building, one move has also proved wise were not putting a tower
and the blueprints include oak floors and high (pictured) last year, increasing the number of that is still evolving, says for its location. BETC is the
ceilings. There are 40 unique floor plans too, rooms and adding a spa. Upcoming projects next to a small house. I also
Rmi Babinet, founder and latest among a number of like diverse housing: a mix of
unlike the usual repetitive blocks. Cookie- include a Muji Hotel in Beijing and a satellite president of BETC. This is businesses to make its home
cutter developments worked in the past but space for Shiga Prefecture in Nihonbashi, single-family homes, semi-
evident in the details: it has in Pantin, and the firms detached and apartment
the younger generation dont want that, says Tokyo. UDS will also run the shop, caf, a research library, rooftop arrival is a sign of confidence
Bin Zaal. We want to focus on quality. cl restaurant and gallery. fw buildings is ideal. tle
vegetable garden, in-house in the area. tj redbrickinc.ca
koa.ae uds-net.co.jp radio station and multimedia betc.com
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10
Best creative spaces
Warehouse 30,
Bangkok
In the Thai capital, where
the shiny and new is often
all the rage, Duangrit
Bunnag is a contrarian
voice. The architect-turned-
developer plays pied piper
to Bangkoks bohemian
set who flock to his Jam
Factory, launched in 2013
on the Chao Phraya River.
Here he renovated a cluster
of dilapidated concrete
factories and turned them
into a coffee shop, art gallery,
book nook and the Never
Ending Summer restaurant.
Praised for his avant garde
hotel designs, Jam Factory
propelled Bunnag into the
ranks of Asias hottest
architect-developers. In
March his own hotel brand
Bocage debuted in Hua
Hin, a seaside getaway two
hours south of Bangkok,
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11 13
Best heritage revival Q&A Most innovative approach
Casa Burs, Barcelona Projekt Interim, Zrich
Restoration on the faade of a heritage Six years ago a group of Zrich residents
building can often mask a different reality banded together to find affordable work
inside as developers install characterless studios, eventually renting an empty
apartments. However, in Barcelona a bank that they turned into creative and
painstaking project is proving more than skin business spaces. The experience revealed
deep. Built in 1900, Casa Burs was once an opportunity and the group went on to
overflowing with frescoes and flora-inspired found Projekt Interim, a firm that works
fixtures but apart from squatters the with landlords to fill their properties until
building has been empty since the 1980s. permanent residents and businesses move in.
This combination of desertion and destruction Projekt Interim now operates in Geneva,
has complicated Bonavista Developments Bern and Basel, as well as the hinterlands,
plan to transform the building into 26 homes. converting vacancies into opportunities
Maintaining the value of the interior isnt for artists, musicians, architects, graphic
just about being harmonious with what is on designers, galleries, start-ups and even
the outside, says project manager Manfredo pop-up restaurants to flourish a respite
Navarro. It is also our duty to safeguard the from the onerous property markets of these
finer details of the citys heritage. la Swiss cities. The team has transformed more
bonavistadev.com than 70 buildings, with a variety of occupants
who all signed up through word of mouth,
paying a fraction of the market value.
We lend, we dont rent, says Lukas
Amacher, one of the three founders of Projekt
Interim. Occupants, whether living or working
in the spaces, are not considered tenants.
Part of the reason there are empty buildings
is because of tenant laws, says Amacher.
Landlords vacate a building months ahead
of time because they dont want problems
12
with a property boasting six Vienna is rapidly growing
with tenants refusing to leave. That can
minimalist suites. by 20,000 to 30,000 people
leave empty properties and lifeless streets.
His biggest project to a year. How can it cope?
A living city Temporary users pay the expenses, such
date is a more ambitious The city will continue to
version of Jam Factory. Nine Thomas Jakoubek grow. You can see it in
as heat and electricity costs that landlords
would otherwise have to pay themselves. As
old warehouses behind CEO, BAI, Vienna residential trends: apartment
a result, owners have flocked to collaborate
the Portuguese embassy prices are higher but size is
with Projekt Interim to eliminate those costs
have been converted into Thomas Jakoubek is the smaller. Circumstances have
and also prevent vandalism and especially
a rustic covered market. developer behind both Wien- changed: most young people
squatting, a common concern in Switzerland.
The centrepiece will be a Mitte, Viennas transport dont sit at home. Were not
In turn, occupants gain an affordable, if
concept store showcasing hub and mixed-use building planning for now but for the
short-lived, space to work. Cities, too, boost
Bunnags designs along with that was completed in 2013, next generation.
their vibrancy as daunting rental prices can
creations by like-minded and DC1, Austrias largest threaten the urban lifeblood of creativity. lr
artists. Warehouse 30, as skyscraper. He discusses What could Vienna do
projekt-interim.ch
Bunnag has christened it, Viennas challenges and differently, in your opinion?
will also have studio space, what the future holds. We could do more in the
restaurants and bars. cultural and business areas.
The warehouses have Visitors coming from the We need more mixed use in
a more vintage look than airport arrive in Wien-Mitte. the city.
Jam Factory and date back Whats its backstory?
to the Second World War. Wien-Mitte took 25 years Ideally, is a property
The surrounding area is old to complete because of developer a visionary?
Bangkoks most historic, the sites complexity. We Ideally but its the exception.
filled with churches and predicted visitor numbers Property development
temples that go back gets increasingly complex:
photographer: tktktkktktktktk
would be 25,000 to 28,000
centuries. Bunnag is keen per day in the mall but now the social, economic and
to inject new life into the we have 45,000 per day. We sustainable aspects of a
district: Im dancing with sold it to Morgan Stanley in building all have to be there.
the concept, he says. We 2015 a confirmation that Vienna is a living city and we
will build the space and see we did it right. Property is an have to use its possibilities
what happens. rg investment and these funds intelligently. kb
balp.com secure our future. bai.at
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