Magazines Archives - 2010 Dec

Benoy signs new contracts in China
Story 9 - Property Update

INTERNATIONAL architecture firm Benoy has signed three new contracts in China. The UK-based company’s chairman, Graham Cartledge, CBE, announced the new contracts during the company’s participation in the first official visit to China by British Prime Minister David Cameron last month.

The first project is the Maxon Group’s iconic Tongzhou Centre, Beijing, a 700,000sqm RMB10-billion (US$1.5-billion) mixed-use development in the city centre that will include two high-rise office towers, two serviced apartment towers and a super-luxury hotel.

Benoy’s second contract is to design the 500,000sqm Raffles City, Shenzhen, for CapitaLand. Situated in the heart of the city’s commercial Nanshan district, it will be the first Raffles City in Southern China. The RMB6-billion development will comprise an office tower, retail mall, hotel and high-end residential development.

The architecture firm’s third project is APP’s White Magnolia, Shanghai — “a spectacular centrepiece to Shanghai’s eagerly anticipated New Bund area”. Benoy will design the retail portion of this 400,000sqm development, which will feature a 320sqm office tower, five-star hotel tower, iconic leisure and entertainment pavilion and five retail floors that will connect with Shanghai’s Metro system.

Benoy aims to design an innovative new “ indoor-outdoor” retail concept for White Magnolia, “transforming Shanghai’s shopping, leisure and lifestyle offering” against the backdrop view of Pudong across the Huangpu River.

Cartledge also announced the setting up of Benoy’s office in Beijing which will complement existing operations in Shanghai and Hong Kong. Located in Wangfu Jing, Beijing’s central commercial and retail district, the office will be headed by Benoy director Jun Huang.

Benoy started working in China in 2001 and today it has projects in retail, hospitality, transportation, residential and commercial destinations in some 28 cities across the country. ra

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