Winners to Be Announced at Real Estate Investment World Asia Conference

For more information, contact:
Trisha Riggs, 1-202-624-7086; [email protected]
John Fitzgerald, +852 69012865; [email protected]

HONG KONG (April 19, 2011) — Nine outstanding developments have been selected as finalists in 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 of the Asia Pacific competition will be announced June 22 at the Real Estate Investment World Asia 2011 conference in Singapore.

“The finalists collectively provided good evidence and comfort that a global trend to inspire and challenge is alive and well,” said jury chairman Ross Holt, chief executive, LandCorp, Australia. “Each of the finalists displayed both enthusiasm and scrutiny in designing civic facilities for all to enjoy, getting the best from master planning, better utilizing waterfront environments, and accommodating to the lifestyle of a changing population. The incorporation of all of these best practices help assure industry professionals that our development future is in good hands.”

The finalists (developers and architects in parentheses) are:

• Alila Villas Uluwatu, Bali, Indonesia (Developer: PT Bukit Uluwatu Alila; Architect: WOHA Designs) Alila Villas Uluwata is an eco-resort in Bali, Indonesia, with 50 hotel suites and 35 residential villas. Local materials, labor, and construction techniques were used exclusively at the sustainable hotel and villa development.
• China Resources City Crossing, Shenzhen, China (Developer: China Resources Ltd.; Architect: RTKL Associates) One of Shenzhen’s first large-scale, urban mixed-use developments, China Resources City Crossing features a 32-story Class A office tower, a 300-room hotel, 768 apartments, a tree-lined urban open space, and a primary metro station.
• Gubei Pedestrian Promenade, Shanghai, China (Developer: Shanghai Gubei Group; Landscape Architect: SWA Group) The centerpiece of a residential community set in the dense urban fabric of Shanghai, the 700-meter-long, 60-meter-wide Gubei Pedestrian Promenade uses multi-functional plazas, gardens, three retail pavilions, flexible seating, and a contiguous canopy of trees to link cross-city pedestrian flows, mitigate the heat island affect, and catalyze new development in adjacent districts.
• Mandurah Ocean Marina, Mandurah, Australia (Developer: LandCorp; Master Planner: Taylor Burrell Pty Ltd.) The 62-acre Mandurah Ocean Marina is an integrated development, mixing maritime, residential, commercial, and recreational uses. Built on a strip of underutilized state-owned land in Mandurah, Australia, the marina fulfills a thirty year community vision and has become an economic boon for the area.
• Marina Barrage, Singapore (Developer: Public Utilities Board, Singapore; Architect: Architects Team 3) Marina Barrage is a dam that creates a freshwater lake in the heart of Singapore, creating a reservoir for drinking water, a tidal barrier to prevent flooding in low-lying areas, and a water recreation venue. The development—part municipal project, part educational facility— exemplifies Singapore’s approach to sustainable water management, collecting rainwater runoff from approximately one-sixth of the city-state’s area.
• Mokuzai Kaikan, Tokyo, Japan (Developer: Tokyo Mokuzai Tonya Kyodo Kumiai; Architect: Nikken Sekkei) Mokuzai Kaikan, headquarters for the Wood Wholesalers Union in Tokyo, is designed to revive the popularity of wood as an urban architectural material, once a staple of Japanese building design. The 3,440-square-meter office building uses Japanese cypress timber throughout the project, from interior and exterior finishes to structural support.
• Paddington Reservoir Gardens, Sydney, Australia (Developer: City of Sydney; Architect: Tonkin Zulaikha Greer) The site of a former water reservoir that was decommissioned in 1899, Paddington Reservoir Gardens—with sunken gardens and ponds, surrounded by a pre-cast concrete boardwalk—is the preservation of a “civic ruin” in Sydney, returning a site of heritage significance to use for the first time in 140 years and offering much-needed open space in a dense urban district.
• The Pinnacle @ Duxton, Singapore (Developer: Housing and Development Board, Singapore; Architect: Arc Studio Architecture + Urbanism/RSP Architects Planners & Engineers) The Pinnacle @ Duxton is a series of seven 50-story residential towers connected by two continuous and open skybridges. The sustainable residential project, with green roofs, sky gardens, and built using modular construction, is home to 7,400 residents—many of them young families—in 1,848 modern apartments, helping to redefine urban high density living in Singapore.
• Subi Centro, Subiaco, Australia (Developer: Subiaco Redevelopment Authority; Master Planner: TPG Town Planning and Urban Design) Subi Centro, an 84-hectare master-planned community, replaces light industry and underutilized land in the Perth suburb of Subiaco with more than 200,000 square meters of office space, 16,000 square meters of retail, 1,000 mixed-income residential units, and five hectares of linked parks and open space. The transit-oriented development required the sinking of more than a kilometer of the Perth-Fremantle rail line and the creation of an underground station.

The competition is part of the Institute’s Awards for Excellence program, established in 1979, which is based on ULI’s guiding principle that the achievement of excellence in land use practice should be recognized and rewarded. 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 the 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 2011 ULI Awards for Excellence: Asia Pacific finalists were selected by a jury of renowned land use development and design experts. In addition to jury chair Holt, other jury members are: Albert Chan, director of planning & development, Shui On Development Limited, Shanghai; Mark Fogle, chief executive officer, Amur Capital Partners Ltd., Hong Kong; FUN Siew Leng, group director for urban planning & design, Urban Redevelopment Authority, Singapore; Keith Griffiths, chairman, Aedas Limited, Hong Kong; Paul Husband, managing director, Husband Retail Consulting Ltd, Hong Kong; Hokyu Lee, chief executive officer, Level 5, Seoul; Tomohisa Miyauchi, director, ISSHO Architects, Tokyo; Rita Soh, director, RDC Architects Pte Ltd, Singapore; and Rocco Yim, executive director, Rocco Design Architects Ltd., Hong Kong.

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

About the Urban Land Institute
The Urban Land Institute (uli.org) is a global nonprofit education and research institute supported by its members. Its mission is to provide leadership in the responsible use of land and in sustaining and creating thriving communities worldwide. Established in 1936, the Institute has nearly 30,000 members representing all aspects of land use and development disciplines.