Aspen Vision City - Model Unveiled

Penang-based property player Aspen Vision Development Sdn Bhd (Aspen Group) is targeting to have its shares floated — either on the Main Market of Bursa Malaysia or the Catalist board of the Singapore Exchange (SGX) — by the fourth quarter of this year, according to Aspen Group co-founder and chief executive officer Datuk M Murly (pictured).

“Basically, for the SGX, we are in advanced negotiations with the regulators over there. But at the same time we are also going to apply for a listing in Malaysia. We are not seeking a dual listing, it’s more of an either-or situation, and as we are a Malaysian company our preference would be to list on our local bourse, Bursa Malaysia,” he told reporters after the official opening of Aspen House, the group’s new corporate headquarters today.

He shared that the group’s advisers are targeting to submit its application for listing to the Securities Commission after Chinese New Year.

On why the group is choosing to list in the current weak economic condition, Murly said the group is taking a long-term view with its decision.

“Listing is about the future, how we want to position ourselves within the next five to six years. We have already established ourselves since our incorporation three years (ago), and I believe it is quite a feat for a three-year-old company to have achieved close to RM1 billion in sales.

“The property market, like any other sector, is not exempted from tough market conditions with the credit problem being the biggest issue. But we believe if we continue to build homes that people can afford and price it right, it will be relevant to the market. It all boils down to strategy and the type of product,” he said.

The group achieved total sales of RM900 million for its financial year ended Dec 31, 2015 (FY15), and has unbilled sales of RM1.3 billion, which will continue to keep it occupied for the next three years.

Since its incorporation, the group has secured approximately 265 acres of land spread across the northern and central regions of Malaysia, with an estimated gross development value (GDV) of RM10 billion.

The group’s biggest project to date is Aspen Vision City, a 245-acre freehold mixed use development in Bandar Cassia, Batu Kawan. The project will be developed by Aspen Vision Land Sdn Bhd, which is owned by Aspen Group and Ikano Pte Ltd, the operator of Swedish furniture store IKEA in Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia.

The project carries a total GDV of RM8 billion comprising a central transport hub, an international school, condominiums and suites, hotels, medical centre and healthcare facilities, shop offices, apartments, a central island park, office towers, a shopping mall, and commercial and retail spaces.

Vertu Resort, the first residential development in Aspen Vision City and touted to be the first resort-inspired high-rise in mainland Penang, carries a GDV of RM620 million.

Aspen Group will preview Vertu Resort from Jan 20 to Jan 31 this year. The development is slated for completion in 2019.

Source: The Edge Property

Premier Tower Inspired by Beyonce

Sydney has a building described as a “squashed paper bag” and soon Melbourne will have a tower inspired by Beyonce. The Texas-born superstar apparently inspired the design of the 226m-high Premier Tower, which will replace the iconic but long-­shuttered Savoy Tavern on Spencer Street, according to architects Elenberg Fraser. 

 

“Art and science? You betcha. For those more on the art than science side, we will reveal that the form does pay homage to something more aesthetic — we’re going to trust you’ve seen the music video for Beyonce’s Ghost,” the architects said.

The undulating glass shape of the apartment and hotel project, which was designed on behalf of Singaporean developer Fragrance Group, pays homage to the fabric-wrapped dancers who appear in the music video, directed by Belgian director Pierre Debusschere and released in 2013.

Fragrance purchased the site, opposite South Cross Station, in June last year for $44.5 million, just a week after buying another development site, at 555 Collins Street, from Harry Stamoulis for $78m.

The 1800sq.m. Savoy Tavern, at 134-160 Spencer Street in West Melbourne, was previously owned by businessman Mark Rowsthorn after he purchased it from the Republic of Nauru in 2005 for $9.9m.

The project has development approval for a 68-floor tower with 660 apartments and a 160-room hotel, but the Elenberg Fraser-designed building rises to 78 floors in anticipation of aviation authority approval for additional storeys.

But even if Fragrance, headed by billionaire developer Koh Wee Meng, is granted approval for the additional height, the tower will still be somewhat shorter than a nearby project being developed by his brother, Koh Wee Seng.

Aspial has commenced the construction of the 317m, 108-floor Australia tower, designed by Fender Katsalidis Architects, at 70 Southbank Boulevarde, which will be one of Melbourne’s tallest once complete.

Fragrance had originally intended to build a 90-storey tower on the Savoy site, with an end value of $700m, before reducing the size of the project to its present level.

 

Source: The Australian

Elenberg Fraser’s admission that their curvaceous new building design Premier Tower was inspired by the video for popstar Beyoncé’s song Ghost has elicited strong reactions across the globe.

The building, developed by Fragrance Group, boasts an undulating form made up of a series of cantlivers. News of its link to the prominent popstar was reported on Dezeen, The Guardian, The Chicago Sun-Times and The Huffington Post.

The Huffington Post described the building’s resemblance to the singer as “uncanny”.

“The grandness of the building is striking enough, but there’s something else — this building’s got curves,” the article reads. ”But these aren’t just any curves, of course. They are Beyoncé curves.”

The response from The Guardian‘s Oliver Wainwright, though, was much harsher, noting that that the Fragrance Group is, “by no means the first developer to deploy the crass metaphor of a writhing female form to sell a pile of expensive flats.”

He compared the project to the Chinese practice MAD’s Marilyn Monroe-inspired project and Frank Gehry’s 1992 Fred and Ginger building in Prague, which was modelled on Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers dancing.

“Still, for creatively challenged architects and their attendant marketing consultants, the world of celebrity-shaped buildings offers endless possibilities,” he wrote.

Source: ArchitectureAU
 

Shibuya Skyscraper

Tokyu Corporation has unveiled a new skyscraper planned will rise adjacent to Tokyo's Shibuya Station. A collaborative design by Japanese firms Kengo Kuma, SANAA and Nikken, the 230-meter mixed use tower will feature an unprecedented, 3,000-square-meter public sky deck that promises "views of Mt. Fuji" (on a clear day).  

The Shibuya tower is planned to open in 2019, a year before the Tokyo Olympics.

Source: Archdaily

Southbay City

MAH Sing Group’s iconic development, Southbay City in Batu Maung, Penang, combines the best of living, working, entertainment and leisure in one vibrant township of the future.

The RM2.09bil mega project sits on a prime location easily accessible via the Sultan Abdul Halim Muadzam Shah Bridge, Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu Expressway and Penang Bridge.

The integrated undertaking, which is currently being completed in phases, was earlier voted winner at the Cityscape Asia Real Estate Awards 2010 under the Best Waterfront Development (Future) category.

Among the components in its overall masterplan is Southbay City itself, which will have retail outlets, shorefront restaurants, luxurious residential suites, offices, hotel and resort, along with other tourist and recreational attractions.

Within it is Southbay Plaza, a mixed development of 206 residential suites housed in a pair of majestic 31 and 32-storey towers, and 47 retail outlets.

The commercial floors will have an ideal mixture of brands in one to three-storey units. Limited units are still available in a variety of layouts with key features like column-free interiors, 26ft (7.9m)-wide frontages and 12ft (3.6m) walkways.

Meanwhile, the waterfront residences boast high ceilings and have layouts ranging from two to 3+1 bedrooms.

To maximise privacy, each floor will have only five or six units.

Resort-inspired facilities and green features include an infinity pool, viewing deck, gymnasium, library and lush gardens.

Legenda@Southbay offers luxurious three and four-storey resort bungalows in a nearby gated and guarded precinct close to the sea and cushioned by greens.

There are 76 residences with built-ups between 6,460sq ft and 7,300sq ft, built on land sized from 7,500sq ft.

They are arranged in two distinct rows ending in cul-de-sacs.

Each home comes with six en suite bedrooms, private lift, home automation system, solar hot water, water filtration and rainwater harvesting systems, personal pool with spacious deck, multiple-decked balconies and outdoor terrace.

A Residents Clubhouse with infinity and wading pools, gymnasium, community hall and relaxation lounge will be a popular gathering spot.

Legenda was awarded the coveted Asia Pacific Residential Property Awards (in association with Bloomberg TV) for ‘Malaysia’s Best Architecture’.

Phase 2 has been completed with limited units available.

The Loft@Southbay is touted as a private gateway to an enchanting sea. There will be 156 luxurious serviced suites split evenly between two 30-storey tower blocks, or three units per floor. Only limited numbers are still available.

There are three options with built-ups ranging from 1,378sq ft to 1,680sq ft, with open plan layouts and high ceilings for an airy interior. Large windows will open to panoramic views of the waterfront.

Approximately 2.5 acres (1.01ha) is dedicated to leisure and recreational decks, with unique features being the multi-layered swimming pool of The Cascade, and a sky bridge connecting a lounge and gym on Level 15.

Another top-notch development by Mah Sing Group is the ultra luxurious resort-themed Ferringhi Residence, spanning 61.03 acres (24ha) in Batu Ferringhi.

Phase 1, consisting of 20 blocks of five-storey Condo Villas with 200 units, has been completed with OC expected soon, while Phase 2 (Ferringhi Residence 2) offers 632 freehold resort condo units.

Of the total, 602 units are in two blocks 10 and 32 storeys high and have built-ups of 1,197sq ft to 1,534sq ft, with 2+1 or 3+1 bedrooms (two en suite bathrooms).

The remaining 30 are in a four-storey block, and have living spaces of 1,438sq ft to 2,875sq ft.

Source: The Star

Angkasa Raya by Ole Scheeren

Ole Scheeren designed a skyscraper Angkasa Raya for Kuala Lumpur. The special feature: A four-story high tropical garden in the middle of the tower.

The Dutch Architect Ole Scheeren, formerly a partner at OMA, designed as a 268 m high skyscraper called Angkasa Raya for Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, that will be situated next to the Petronas Twin Towers – the tallest buildings in the world between 1998 and 2004.

The Angkasa Raya is made up of three cubic volumes that are meant to appear floating above open, horizontal layers. The office of Ole Scheeren planned the ground levels to form an “interconnected spiral of both pedestrian and vehicular circulation and draw the diversity of the streetscape into the building.”

The program of the tower includes shops, cafes, car parks and prayer rooms all to be placed in the lower levels of the building will house. A restaurant, bar and an infinity swimming pool will be located amongst the garden floors. 280 apartments will occupied the stories above the garden floors, while a luxury hotel will be located inside a smaller adjoining block.

 

As the Buro Ole Scheeren explains, the quality of the Angkasa Raya lies in the garden floors and the environmentally responsible design: “Lush green gardens and terraces offer intimacies within the extreme urban density of the surrounding metropolis, while carefully shaded facades and a naturally ventilated atrium underline the environmental responsibility of the design.”

Source: Detail

Sunrise Tower In Kuala Lumpur

Zaha Hadid’s design for Sunrise Tower in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, engages with the city in multiple ways. By exploring potential synergies at different levels and anchoring itself to the existing urban fabric, it creates a platform of services that engage with neighbouring developments, sustaining critical mass and a sense of community. The scheme merges all programmes into one building, distancing itself from the traditional tower and podium typology. Through a detailed landscape strategy the design interweaves tower and ground, extending and connecting the different parts of the site, integrating the new pedestrian routes and internal road system, structuring the fabric of the new development.

The building is designed through a series of independent flows that map the tower and organize different routes for different programmes. Along these routes the lobby and shared facilities floors work as communication hubs, like intersections that enable flexible itineraries and changes between uses. Similarly to the skin, the circulation materializes as a multi dimensional spatial grid, inclusive of the program, treating interior and exterior in a seamless way, thus maximizing the clarity of the scheme and the perception of the different levels. The design of a clear navigation system for lobbies, atria and common areas, enables visual communication as well as access through the cores, ensuring fully accessible environment for all users. The building’s complex programme is distributed through 66 floors in total, 4 bellow ground and 62 above ground, with an absolute height of 280m. The ground lobby is the primary hub of the tower, defining 4 different dedicated lobbies for residential, hotel, offices and general public.

 

 

Source: evolo

Ping-Pong Paddle Hotel Planned In China

China is set to build a hotel shaped like an upside-down ping-pong paddle as part of a new $45.8 million sports complex.
The China Daily newspaper reports rounded guestroom windows will resemble the surface texture of a table tennis racket, while the "handle" of the 500-foot hotel will be an observation deck, allowing tourists to take in a view of the city of Huainan, where the hotel will be built.
"An erected ping-pong racket has a perfect architectural shape for a hotel," Jin Chang, director with Huainan Municipal Bureau of Sports, tells the news outlet.
But the ping-pong racket hotel isn't the only oddly shaped building in the works for the 165-acre sporting complex: there will also be a main stadium shaped like an American football, plus smaller stadiums and gym facilities shaped like a volleyball, soccer ball, and basketball.
The sports bureau has signed an agreement with China Sports Industry Group that guarantees various sports games will be held in the stadiums over the next 20 years.
This is not the first time hotel designers have turned to sports for inspiration. The Jumeirah Beach Hotel in Dubai is designed as a wave to compliment the sail-shaped Burj al Arab, one of Dubai's most iconic images.
In France, the Rugby World Cup was celebrated with the construction of a giant rugby ball hotel in 2007. During the event, rooms cost nearly $10,000 per night.

Source: Aol Travel