Urban Land Institute Announces Four Winners Of 2009 Awards For Excellence: Asia Pacific Competition

Winners Announced at Real Estate Investment World Asia 2009

Four outstanding developments have been selected as winners of the Urban Land Institute’s (ULI) Awards for Excellence: Asia Pacific competition, widely recognized as the land use industry’s most prestigious recognition program.

The winners were announced during the eighth annual Real Estate Investment World (REIW) Asia 2009 conference. ULI Asia, which serves nearly 1,000 members in North Asia and Japan, is a supporter of the event.

This is the fifth year of the Awards for Excellence program in the Asia Pacific region. The winning projects were selected from 35 entries representing ten countries, which were subsequently narrowed to 11 finalists.

The 2009 Awards for Excellence winners (developers in parentheses) are:

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. The hotel “floats” over the airport’s arrivals and departures ramp, while its unique architecture infuses a luxurious tropical ambience to this contemporary business-class hotel.

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. Its distinctive location, characterized by surroundings of raised railroad tracks to the east and an urban boulevard and elevated viaduct to the west, Namba Parks redefines the city’s identity.

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. Located in mountainous terrain, these houses were constructed using techniques appropriate to the region as defined by the Earthquake Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Authority (ERRA).

The Zhongshan Shipyard Park, Zhongshan, China (Zhongshan City, Planning Bureau) 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 design gives much attention to restoring leftover structures, connecting with the existing urban context, and environmental responsibility.

The ULI Awards for Excellence: Asia Pacific program reflects ULI’s ongoing outreach throughout Asia. 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 and honoring best practices that foster the highest standards in land use design and development.

The awards 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 success.

Over the years, the Awards for Excellence program has evolved from the recognition of one development in North America to an international competition with multiple winners. The ULI Awards for Excellence: Europe 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 ULI Awards for Excellence: Asia Pacific winners 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; and Ross Holt, Chief Executive Officer, LandCorp, Australia.

“Perhaps now more than ever, the ULI Awards for Excellence program reminds us of the key difference that responsible land use development can make, it terms of longevity and overall community sustainability,” said Jury Chairman Menda. “These are great examples of success that showcase creativity, innovation, and long-term thinking.”

source : ULI