Viewing posts from : February 2016



February 26 / Marketing, Property

6 Oscar Winning International Property Developments

Photo by Davidlohr Bueso

On the 28th February members of the international movie industry will gather at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood for the 88th annual Academy Awards. Nominees include Matt Damon, Leonardo DiCaprio, Cate Blanchett and Jennifer Lawrence. Millions of viewers will tune into the ceremony from all over the world… but what about those of us who are more interested in the property industry than the film industry?!

No problem. We’ve decided to host our very own virtual Oscars, with a twist. The star-studded winners you’ll meet here are all international property developments. Our six award categories include: Best Use of the Outdoors Indoors, Best Impressive Residential Wine Storage, Best Glamorous Transformation, Best Beautiful Corporate Headquarters, Best Attractive and Environmentally Conscious Office Space and Best Use of an Enviable Roof Top Swimming Pool.

Please put on your black tie attire, smile for the cameras and walk the property development red carpet with us…

Best Use of the Outdoors Indoors

Universidad de Buenos Aires, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales

Photo from rvapc.com

 

Universidad de Buenos Aires, Faculty of Mathematics, Computer Sciences and Environmental Sciences, Argentina

Designed by internationally renowned architect Rafael Viñoly, this impressive new faculty building for Buenos Aires University offers expansive open spaces and a central atrium. We think the real stars of the development are the two interior courtyards, one ellipse and one infinity shaped, designed to allow the trees that pre-dated the development to be protected.

Full details available here.

Best Impressive Residential Wine Storage

the wilhelm

Photo from rubinarealestate.com

 

The Wilhelm, Berlin

This luxury residential development is right in the centre of Berlin. The project is a partnership between a group of developers and architects including interior architect Sibel Huhn. The 165 apartments cover seven floors and we feel the team in charge have made some really good calls. The common areas on the ground floor really impressed us as they include a meeting room, a lounge and a wine vault with humidor!

Full details available here

Best Glamorous Transformation

percy-place-apartments

Photo from uandiplc.com

Percy Place, Dublin

This attractive water side residential development reached practical completion late last year. The four storey building overlooks Dublin’s Grand Canal and contains a restaurant, a cafe, retail space, 6,500 square feet of office space and 12 luxury apartments. We were impressed at how far it’s come from the vacant 0.25 acre car park development partners U + I and Oakmount Property Investments acquired in 2013!

Full details available here

Best Beautiful Corporate Headquarters

bestech headquarters

Photo from chapmantaylor.com

 

Bestech Headquarters, Gurgaon, India

This innovative office space was designed by Chapman Taylor architects to represent an unfolding Lotus flower. The architects set out to create a development that would be an impressive feat of engineering and would stand out from other buildings in the area. We think these aims have definitely been achieved. The Beseech Headquarters will open this year and has already been awarded the International Property Award for Best Office Architecture in the Asia Pacific Region.

Full details available here

Best Attractive and Environmentally Conscious Office Space

ratho park

Photo from muirconstruction.co.uk

 

Ratho Park, Edinburgh

This modern office development has been designed to look great and ease your conscience. The development offers efficient and comfortable office suites over three floors. Led by Muir Construction, this development has been built using sustainable and recycled materials. We particularly like that it’s been designed to maximise natural light and fresh air.

Full details available here

Best Use of a Enviable Rooftop Swimming Pool

wynwood central

Photo from wynwoodcentral.com

 

Wynwood Central, Miami, Florida, USA

This mixed-use development in Miami, Florida, was designed by an inspired team of locals to be a central hub for the Wynwood neighbourhood and act as a catalyst for further regeneration. The building’s 8 stories incorporate retail space, residential apartments, parking, offices and green space. To (literally) top it all off, there’s an expansive roof terrace complete with swimming pool, sun deck and bar. We’re not sure rooftop terraces come much better than this!

Full details available here

If you’re involved in a property development that’s a potential award winner, we’re keen to hear about it. Read about our property marketing services to find out how we could help your development make an impact.

February 22 / Marketing, Property

6 Key Speakers to Look Out for at MIPIM 2016

Photo from the MIPIM press room

The countdown is on for one of the biggest global real estate events of the year. MIPIM 2016 will take place in Cannes, France from the 15th – 18th March. If you’re not yet clued up on this industry-leading real estate show, don’t worry. We recently blogged about everything you need to know about MIPIM.

One of the things that makes MIPIM stand out from other real estate shows of its kind is the impressive programme of conference events. Across the four days of the show there will be more than eighty events to choose from, many of them led by the big players of the property industry.

If a conference programme so big and so varied makes you unsure how to spend your time, we’ve done some of the hard work for you. Below we’ve set out six key speakers you won’t want to miss out on. Want to know more about them? We’ve included links to further details where possible.

Tim Rowe

900513

Tim Rowe is founder and CEO of the Cambridge Innovation Centre. This facility is the largest in the world dedicated to housing early stage technology businesses. Alumni of the centre include Google Android. He’ll be speaking at MIPIM on Innovation Districts: A New Urban Development Model Emerging in the United States.

Over the coming year the Cambridge Innovation Centre will be incubating more than three hundred of Boston’s most promising start up companies.

You can find Tim on LinkedIn and Twitter.

Melanie Epp

1109440

Melanie Epp is Head of Communications at Allianz Real Estate. Her team is based in Munich and is the strategic centre for real estate expertise within the Allianz Group. Melanie will be speaking at MIPIM on Digitalisation in Real Estate: Risk and Chances for Retail and Office.

Allianz Real Estate has a number of high profile retail investment projects currently underway including the Fischapark Shopping Centre in Austria and the Central Shopping Centre in Slovakia.

Professor Greg Clark CBE

937099

Greg Clark is an independent global advisor on cities. He currently holds eight roles in the industry, including Global Fellow at the Metropolitan Programme and Global Cities Initiative, Senior Fellow at the Global Land Institute, Board Member at the London Enterprise Partnership, Chairman of the London Stansted Cambridge Consortium and Visiting Professor at University College London. He will be speaking at four events during the conference including Using Retail and Leisure to Unlock Waterfront Regeneration.

Greg is currently working on co-authoring a range of studies and reports, the results of which can be viewed on his website.

You can find Greg on Twitter.

Melanie Leech

908480

Melanie Leech is Chief Executive of the British Property Federation. The federation is the membership organisation for the UK real estate industry. They work alongside the government and other regulatory bodies to ensure the real estate industry is given the space to grow and thrive. At MIPIM Melanie will be speaking at the Mayor’s Think Tank for Housing the World.

The federations key aims are: to improve legislative, fiscal and regulatory conditions, help members access information and understand policy, and to raise the profile of the industry as a whole.

You can find Melanie on LinkedIn.

Dan Miller

1116314

Dan Miller is the founder of global investment holding company Myrtle Grove Ventures. He also co-founded Fundrise, the first US real estate funding platform. Finally, Dan is also a managing partner of WestMill Capital Partners, a real estate development company. At MIPIM he will be speaking at the Re-Invest Summit 2016: Real Estate Risks and Awards.

You can find Dan on Twitter and LinkedIn.

Louis Paillard

937179

Louis Paillard is an architect and founder of Paris-based firm Louis Paillard Architecte. He is part of the FGP Atelier du Grand Paris which focuses on international and prospective urban capital. At MIPIM he will be speaking at a Case Study Presentation: Disruptive Innovations in Building.

Louis Paillard’s architecture firm are currently working on a student accommodation building in La Defense area of Paris.

You can view the full programme of MIPIM events here. If you’re planning on attending the show, we’d be keen to hear your thoughts and recommendations. Why not share them with us in the comments?

All speaker images from the MIPIM website.
February 15 / Marketing

Why uber-targeted content matters for property marketers

The following article looks in-depth at one of the trends in our Property Marketing Trends 2016.

They say that content is king. But ‘they’ say a lot, and ‘they’ are not always right. In this case, ‘they’ are wrong again. Content is certainly not king. Context is.

Your property portfolio likely looks at a number of different audiences. There will most certainly be a difference in the type of person who is looking for an apartment, versus the person who is looking for the entire block of apartments.

Each audience, however many you are aiming to reach, will have different needs, wants and interests. So you must take into consideration how each audience should be reached. One piece of content does not fit all, but one piece of content can be adapted, changed and delivered in different ways to reach each individual audience.

The context is what matters here. You must ‘uber-target’ content through context such as the channels the audience is on (do they read content on Twitter or LinkedIn, on news sites or blogs), the times they are consuming content (morning commute, late evening etc.) and the keywords that grab their attention.

But how on earth do you discover this? Well, there’s a few ways. Possibly the most powerful is social media. By using social analysis, we can begin to deeply understand audiences and dissect them into smaller groups with aligned interests. The channels they use, the times they are online and the keywords in content they read and share all provide a picture of that audience, and feed into a contextual content strategy.

Beyond social, media audits, search analysis and surveys all play a part in building a persona or character that best describes each audience. This picture helps visualise the reader when writing content, and ensures you always go out with uber-targeted materials.

Do you need a hand in performing such research, building personas or creating content? Get in touch.

February 9 / Property

The Six Nations of Property

The 2016 Six Nations Rugby Tournament has begun! So in the spirit of sporting pride, we thought we’d take a look at another way that these six fine nations are currently competing with each other: through property development.

Though these six countries are certainly among the most stable European markets, there’s a significant difference in property prices between them. According to figures from the Global Property Guide, England, Scotland and Wales have the highest overall property buying price with a collective average cost of €25,575 per square metre. Next up is France with a per square metre cost of €13,639, followed by Italy with a comparatively low price of €5,930. At the bottom of this particular league is Ireland with the lowest property price per square metre at €4,156.

Despite these differences in property prices, one thing all six nations have in common is that they’re all investing in major developments in order to boost their economy and improve their cities.

To give you a taste of each property market, we’ve chosen one big upcoming development from each nation.

 

England – the Birmingham Big City Plan

 

6800383698_8408594ae6_z

Image source

 

The Birmingham Big City Plan is a twenty year development project designed to transform Birmingham city centre into a centre for sustainable growth, improved connectivity, authentic character, environmental quality and a diverse residential community.

This plan is particularly ambitious as it aims to increase city centre space by 25%. There are a series of distinct character areas planned and the council is adopting a flexible approach to the evolution of land uses.

Any development on this scale would be expected to take time. Birmingham City Council are managing the process and expect the project to be completed by 2031.

 

Ireland – Capital Dock Development, Dublin

 

20981867754_d5d9723830_z

Image source

 

Capital Dock is an innovative new high rise development located in Dublin’s docklands. The project is being managed jointly by global property company Kennedy Wilson and NAMA.

The site area is 4.8 acres in size and is currently one of the largest undeveloped sites in the CBD. The project will introduce 600,000 square feet of usable space to a prime waterfront location. It will include 313,000 square feet of office space, 204 high-quality residential homes and a  landscaped park and square.

Work is expected to be finished on the site in 2017.

 

France – Reinventing Paris

 

5238554034_3e4fdabd94_z

Image source

 

Anne Hidalgo, mayor of Paris, has set a fantastic challenge for property developers. The city has offered up 23 urban sites for architects and developers to pitch for. They’re looking for a range of ideas: the most innovative and futuristic the better. Though Paris is already a world class city with an impressive reputation, city officials know they need to keep moving forward in order to stay on top.

After the first stage of applications, 650 ideas have been approved. These include work from professionals in more than fifteen countries. The huge range of approved developments include leisure facilities, residential units, office space, hotels and commercial units.

The proposed developments are now under panel discussion and the next round of decisions are expected to be announced in the spring.

 

Italy – ‘Sleeping Beauties’ Revival

 

7144401919_c518b45d18_z

Image source

 

While many countries are looking to improve urban areas, property developers in Italy are approaching the idea of modernisation from a rather different angle. Property teams across the country are undertaking the redevelopment of 20,000 abandoned towns. The aim of this project is to boost tourism, increase employment in the hospitality industry and subsequently improve Italy’s struggling economy.

This significant development project began in the ghost town of Castello di Postigano which had been empty for more than half a century. The restoration project was managed by Naples architecture firm Mirto Srl.

Many more similar projects are now underway.

 

Scotland – the Glasgow Harbour Project

 

11749916945_1dedf57653_z

Image source

 

The Glasgow Harbour Project is a large scale development project set to transform the city’s waterfront area. Within the development there are 77 projects encompassing commercial units, housing, public amenity, infrastructure, leisure, retail and office space. The development project even included a new hospital for the city which opened in April 2015.

The 1.2 billion regeneration is a world-class project designed to revitalise the area and contribute to business and cultural life.

Many of the projects are already complete, and the entire development is expected to be completed within the next few years.

 

Wales – Cardiff Central Square

 

71493162_b036534677_z

Image source

 

Wales is seeking to make Cardiff’s central square it’s flagship development project. Plans for the new square are set to bring it in line with some of Europe’s most successful cities. The team behind the project are aiming for excellence in design, quality and diversity.

Plans include office buildings, a new headquarters for BBC Cymru, retail units, a transport interchange, student accommodation and residential units. Professional teams involved in the project include Rightacres Property, Rio Architects and Foster + Partners. Phase five of the project is expected to be completed in 2017.

 

Impressed at the scale of the development projects going on across the six nations? We certainly are. Though we’re certainly tempted to choose the Birmingham development as our winner, that doesn’t seem particularly sporting! Instead, we’re going to award our property development trophy to Italy for their ‘Sleeping Beauties’ revival. The scale, imagination and purpose of this project is seriously impressive, and the quality of the work that’s already taken place has given us confidence that the entire project will be a big success.

Who would you place at the top of the property development league? Let’s discuss it on Twitter. Just don’t ask us for any rugby predications!

February 3 / Marketing, Property

Everything You Need To Know About MIPIM

Photo from the MIPIM Press Room

 

We recently shared our top recommendations for eight can’t-miss international real estate shows over the coming year. One of those recommendations was MIPIM: a four day property event that attracts the world’s most influential property professionals.

If you didn’t get a chance to read the article… or if you still need convincing about just how important this event is, we’ve gathered all the facts you need. After all, with 21,400 attendees, 351 stands, representatives from 89 countries, 2,445 exhibitors and 4,800 investors… we really wouldn’t want to see you miss out.

Here’s everything you need to know about MIPIM.

When and where is it?

MIPIM 2016 will be held from the 15th-18th March. The event will be hosted at the Palais des Festivals exhibition centre in Cannes, France.

What are the attendance fees?

The organisers are offering Early Bird registration until the 25th February. The Early Bird rate is 1,630€ per person, which includes access to the whole four day event including the exhibition, conferences and intensive business networking.

Why is it so important?

MIPIM is important because it’s the only international real estate show on this scale. It’s attended by real estate professionals from a huge range of international sectors, including residential, office, retail, industrial, logistics, sport and healthcare. There will be excellent access to a range of project opportunities as well as sources of capital. In fact, 24% of attendees say their reason for attending the event is to invest. MIPIM could be a crucial step towards securing the funding to move ahead with your next project.

It’s also well worth noting that opportunities begin long before the show opens. Registration gives you access to the MIPIM mobile app and an extensive online database, filled with investors, developers, service providers, councils and local authorities.

What are the highlights?

The MIPIM conference programme is made up of over eighty varied events. Highlights include the MIPIM awards ceremony, innovation workshops, discussion forums, the MIPIM startup competition, and more than forty panels of experts speaking on a diverse range of issues from student housing to social media.

Can you really expect to see stand out property players?

In a word: yes. This is a significant event in the international real estate calendar and many of the most high profile developers, investors and innovators will be in attendance. If you want to swot up on who’s going to be there before the event begins, registered users can use the online database to see exactly which companies and individuals are planning to attend.

What do you need to know about the local area?

Cannes is a popular holiday resort on the French Riviera. It’s best known for its luxury hotels and for hosting high profile conferences and festivals. The Palais des Festivals centre is noteworthy for being the venue for the annual Cannes Film Festival.

Nearby hotels include the Martinez Grand Hyatt, the Marriott, the Barrière InterContinental and the Radisson. The Palais des Festivals website offers a helpful hotel search tool which allows you to check availability.

While you’re there you may want to take some time to explore the local area. Recommended spots include the Palme d’Or at the Martinez Grand Hyatt Hotel which is arguably the town’s most luxurious dining experience, Suquet Hill in the old quarter and the Rue d’Antibes grand shopping experience.

*  *  *

Whatever your role in the real estate industry, MIPIM is an event to take seriously. If you’ll be attending this year, you’ll want to ensure you make good use of your time there. Not sure how to make an impact? Your brand identity is a great place to start. Why not take a look at our portfolio for inspiration?

Newsletter

Get news updates sent straight to your inbox
  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.