ULI ANNOUNCES 11 FINALISTS FOR THE 2009 AWARDS FOR EXCELLENCE COMPETITION ASIA PACIFIC

Eleven outstanding developments have been selected as finalists in the Urban Land Institute's (ULI) Awards for Excellence: A competition, widely recognized as the land use industry’s most prestigious recognition program.

The competition is part of the Institute’s Awards for Excellence program, established in 1979, which is based on ULI’s guiding principle of recognizing best practice through the awards to promote better land use and development. ULI’s Awards for Excellence recognize the full development process of a project, not just its architecture or design. The criteria for the awards include leadership, contribution to the community, innovations, public/private partnership, environmental protection and enhancement, response to societal needs, and financial viability.

Over the years, the Awards for Excellence program has evolved from recognition of one development in North America to an international competition with multiple winners. The ULI Awards for Excellence: Europe (now EMEA) was added in 2004, followed by the ULI Awards for Excellence: Asia Pacific and the Global Awards in 2005. Throughout the program’s history, all types of projects have been recognized for their excellence, including office, residential, recreational, urban/mixed-use, industrial/office park, commercial/retail, new community, rehabilitation, and public projects and programs.

The 2009 Asia Pacific finalists were selected from 35 entries from 10 countries. The winners of the competition will be announced on June 24 at 8th Real Estate Investment World (REIW) Asia 2009 Leadership Dinner in Singapore. The finalists (developers in parentheses) are:

The Central, Singapore (Far East Organization)
Located next to the Singapore River, The Central is a mixed-use development comprised of 227 live/work units, a 25-story office tower, and a retail podium with riverside shops and restaurants.

China Central Place, Beijing, China (Beijing Guohua Real Estate Co., Ltd.)
Built on a former brownfield site, China Central Place—one of the largest developments in Beijing’s burgeoning central business district—integrates 3 high-rise office towers, two hotels, a shopping center, and over 1,000 multifamily units with gardens, canals, and a new public park.

Crowne Plaza Changi Airport, Singapore (LaSalle Investment Management; L.C. Development Ltd.)
Crowne Plaza Changi Airport is a 320-room business-class hotel built atop a leftover parcel comprising four lanes of busy roads and a circular car park ramp.

Daegu City Centre, Daegu, Korea (Doran Capital Partners; Triseas Korea Property Fund LP)
Daegu City Centre has repositioned a failed discount retail and low-cost office building into bustling lifestyle destination with a 203-room luxury hotel and an upscale retail mall, returning activity to the downtown core.

Guangzhou Children’s Activity Center, Guangzhou, China (City of Guangzhou)
The Guangzhou Children’s Activity Center, a civic facility with 43,200 square meters of educational, performance, and exhibition space where children learn about science, art, and technology, is visited by over 20,000 students daily and provides an iconic gathering place in the heart of the city.

Namba Parks, Osaka, Japan (Nankai Electric Railway Co. Ltd.; Takashimaya Company Ltd.)
A 1.15-hectare park sits atop an eight-level retail center and in the shadow of a 30-story residential and office tower at Namba Parks, reducing the heat island effect and infusing a natural amenity into Osaka’s dense urban core.

Newton Suites, Singapore (UOL Group Ltd.)
A climate-conscious residential tower, 118-unit Newton Suites utilizes a number of green design techniques, including sun shading, rooftop plantings, cross-ventilation, and a vertical green wall that climbs the height of the building.

‘Portico’ Scots Church Redevelopment (Westpoint Corporation)
The ‘Portico’ Scots Church Redevelopment is the conversion of the historic 1920s-era Scots Church and its airspace into a modern, 148-unit cooperative-style apartment building with commercial uses at the lower levels.

Seismically-Resistant Sustainable Housing, Bagh and Jareed, Pakistan (Article 25)
Following the devastation of the October 2005 earthquake in Pakistan, this international relief program constructed 70 sustainable and seismically-resistant homes in remote Northern Pakistan, using local materials, labor, and resources, instilling appropriate construction techniques for this earthquake-prone area.

Visitor Centre at HortPark, Singapore (National Parks Board, Singapore)
An orientation point for visitors to the HortPark in Singapore, the Visitor Centre is an important node in the 23-hectare park, acting as a popular event space due to its airy and flexible design.

The Zhongshan Shipyard Park, Zhongshan, China (City of Zhongshan)
Built on a dilapidated shipyard, the Zhongshan Shipyard Park is eleven hectares of reclaimed wetlands, restored shoreline, and landscaped park space that references its industrial past with salvaged docks and machinery.

The 2009 ULI Awards for Excellence: Asia Pacific finalists were selected by a jury of renowned land use development and design experts: Raj Menda, Managing Director, RMZ Corp, INDIA; Nicholas Brooke, Chairman, Professional Property Services Ltd., HONG KONG; Fun Siew Leng, Group Director, Urban Planning and Design, Urban Redevelopment Authority, SINGAPORE; Fanny W.L. Lee, Managing Director, China, Aedas, HONG KONG; Tomohisa Miyauchi, Director, ISSHO Architects, JAPAN; Ross Holt, Chief Executive Officer, LandCorp, AUSTRALIA.

The jury was overwhelmed by the large number of applications and the high quality of the projects, which struck the judges as particularly significant in the current economic environment. According to Jury Chairman Raj Menda, the awards finalists illustrate that well-designed, well-built projects, with sustainable economic values will hold on in society for decades. “These are great examples of success that showcase creativity, innovation, and long-term thinking,” Raj Menda said. “Perhaps now more than ever, the ULI Awards for Excellence program reminds us of the key difference that responsible land use development can make, in terms of longevity and overall community sustainability.”

More information about ULI’s Awards for Excellence program is at www.uli.org/awardsandcompetitions

Source : ULI