SHENZHEN, GUANGZHOU, HONG KONG – Plans for the 2016 CTBUH Conference, which will be held progressively across three cities in the Pearl River Delta region of China – Shenzhen, Guangzhou, and Hong Kong – are now well underway, beginning with initial meetings of the Conference Steering Committee in all three cities. The meetings were kindly hosted by three of the top Diamond sponsors in the tallest building in each of the three cities, where the Conference social networking receptions will take place. Over 60 representatives of CTBUH member firms based in the region began to work out the details with CTBUH Executive Director Antony Wood and Events Manager Jessica Rinkel-Miller, who traveled to China for two weeks of meetings in support of the Conference.
(Left) View of Shenzhen from the boardroom in Ping An Finance Center; (Center) View of the Guangzhou Skyline from Chow Tai Fook (CTF) Finance Centre; (Right) View of Hong Kong’s Tsim Sha Tsui District from the New World Centre
The first steering meeting took place on January 12 in Shenzhen at the Ping An Finance Center, hosted by Ping An Financial Centre Construction & Development. With fantastic views of Shenzhen from the Ping An boardroom as a backdrop, the group learned about the conference plans in more detail, and committed to seeking further support among their networks. After a productive meeting, delegates were led on a construction tour of the building by Thomas Tsang, Executive Director, Ping An Financial Centre Construction & Development, and other Ping An colleagues. Antony and Jessica also met with Ping An to discuss logistics of the Conference Networking Reception taking place in the Ping An Tower on Sunday, October 16.
(Left) The first steering meeting taking place in Shenzhen at the Ping An Finance Center; (Center) CTBUH Executive Director Antony Wood poses with Thomas Tsang, Executive Director, Ping An Financial Centre Construction & Development, during the tour; (Right) Steering Committee of Shenzhen tour around the finishing parts of the Ping An Finance Center
On the following day, January 13, the second steering meeting was held in Guangzhou at the Chow Tai Fook Finance Centre, hosted by New World Development. Delegates were once again invited on a construction tour of the building by Kevin Quan, Project Manager – Architecture; Eddie Chung, Project Director – Architecture; and other colleagues of New World Development. The tour also included detailed discussions on the Conference Program and Networking Reception taking place in the Chow Tai Fook building on Wednesday, October 19.
(Left) Second steering meeting in Guangzhou at the Chow Tai Fook (CTF) Finance Centre; (Right) The Guangzhou Steering Committee take a tour of the unfinished part of the CTF Centre
The third and final steering meeting took place on January 15 in Hong Kong in sky100 of the International Commerce Centre (ICC), hosted by Sun Hung Kai Properties. Delegates enjoyed spectacular views of Hong Kong from the meeting room and were also welcomed to explore the observation deck following the meeting. Antony and Jessica then met with Sun Hung Kai, represented by Steven X.G. Chen, Deputy Project Manager; Lewis Lam, Assistant General Manager; and Patrick Leung, Senior Technical Services Manager, of Sun Hung Kai to discuss the details of the Conference Program and Networking Reception taking place in ICC’s sky100 on Thursday, October 20.
(Left) Final meeting in sky100 of the International Commerce Centre (ICC) in Hong Kong; (Right) The Hong Kong Committee gather to take a group photo after the meeting
Several other meetings were held over the two-week trip. Following the Shenzhen steering meeting, the January 12 agenda included a meeting with Shenzhen Parkland Real Estate Development Co., Ltd., represented by Zhouwen Chen, Senior Deputy General Manager, and other colleagues, and a tour of their One Shenzhen Bay development. The tour included residential and hotel towers and the public spaces interspersed between. The day finished with a meeting at Shenzhen Overseas Chinese Town Co., Ltd.
Aside from the steering meeting in Guangzhou, January 13 and 14 saw meetings with Kingold Group, represented by Jason Xu, Associate Vice President; Guangzhou R&F Properties, represented by Weiqun Chen, Chief Engineer, and Christine Zeng, Operations Manager; Yue Xiu, represented by Xiao Dong Chen, Director; and the Guangzhou Design Institute, represented by Helong Zhou, President, and other colleagues.
(Left) CTBUH and Parkland during the tour of One Shenzhen Bay; (Right) CTBUH with Kingold Group, R&F Properties, and Guangzhou Design Institute
The Hong Kong meetings kicked off at New World Centre with New World Development’s Eddie Chung, Project Director – Architecture; Kevin Quan, Project Manager – Architecture; David Chan, Associate Project Director; and other colleagues. This meeting resulted in a fascinating tour of the construction stages of the building, including floors being fitted out, empty floors and levels still being built, and also the roof, which featured fantastic views of Victoria Harbor and Hong Kong Island.
(Left) View of the Central District of Hong Kong from the New World Centre; (Right) CTBUH with New World Development during the tour of New World Centre
Antony and Jessica continued their meetings in Hong Kong with developers including Hysan Development, represented by Sunny Chan, Director, Projects; Kerry Properties, represented by Wilkie Lee, Executive Director; Henderson Land, represented by Augustine H.M. Wong, Executive Director, and Shu-ki Leung, Deputy General Manager; and Sino Land Company, represented by Gordon C.K. Lee, Executive Director, and David W.L. Ng, Executive Assistant to the Chairman. Other productive meetings with CTBUH member organizations included CBRE, represented by Andrew Nicholson, Executive Managing Director, and Wendy Michael, Client Solutions Director; Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP (SOM), represented by Brant Coletta, Partner, and Silas Chiow, Director; and Arquitectonica, represented by Peter Brannan, Director, Hong Kong Office; as well as meetings with local non-profit organizations China Real Estate Chamber of Commerce Hong Kong Chapter Limited (CRECCHK), represented by Ivan Ko, Chairman; and the Urban Land Institute, represented by John Fitzgerald, Chief Executive Asia Pacific.
The journey and initial meetings concluded with the early impression that the 2016 Conference will be a great success.
Steering Committee Meetings Attendance
| Name | Company | Position |
|---|---|---|
| SP Chin | AECOM | Executive Director |
| Ellis Heung Kwan Leung | Andrew Lee King Fun & Associates | Deputy Director |
| Francis Au | Arcadis | Director |
| Wei Zhang | Arch. Design & Research Inst. Of Tsinghua Univ. | Senior Architect |
| Anthony Lai | Arquitectonica | Associate Director |
| Terry Howells | Arquitectonica | Marketing & Graphic Designer |
| Anthony Chiu | Arup | Associate Director |
| Ian Milne | Atkins | Senior Design Director HK |
| Peng Mei | BIAD | Technical Assistant |
| Peter Dampier | BuroHappold | Integrated Marketing Director |
| Quanhong Li | Callison RTKL | Vice General Manager |
| Feng Xiao | Capol | |
| Andy To | CBRE | Managing Director |
| Fang Xie | CCDI | Vice General Manager |
| David Hui | Cushman Wakefield | Executive Deputy General Manager |
| Sammy Hui | Dow Corning | Business Development |
| Yves Ngakoutou | Eight Partnership Ltd. | Senior Consultant & Business Development |
| Yongqiang Chao | Fortune Lighting System | Design Manager |
| Chiyu Luo | GDAD | Deputy Chief Engineer |
| James Zheng | Goettsch Partners | President |
| Huijing Huang | Guangzhou Design Institute | Chief Architect |
| Abdo Kardous | Hill International | Senior Vice President |
| Martin Tsoi | Hong Kong Housing Authority | Chief Structural Engineer |
| Jianqiang Li | ISA Architecture | Director Engineer |
| Chun Jiang | Jiang Architects & Engineers | Managing Director, Design Principal |
| Samuel So | JLL | National Director and Head of STB Group Greater China |
| Cassie Liu | JLL | Senior Secretary |
| Florence Chan | KPF | Director |
| Kelvin Li | Leigh & Orange, Ltd. | Director |
| Winnie Kwan | LERA | Partner |
| Christine Bruckner | M Moser Associates Ltd. | Director |
| Thomas Sit | Meinhardt | Regional Director, Singapore Office |
| Jonathan Wall | NBBJ | Asia Projects Director, Principal |
| Kevin Quan | New World Development | Project Manager |
| Eddie Chung | New World Development | Project Director |
| David Ho | New World Development | Head of Design |
| Stefan Pfeffer | P&T Group | Associate Director |
| Ye Zheng | Parkland | Design Director |
| Thomas Tsang | Ping An | CEO |
| Yan Wang | Ping An | Vice President |
| Jinfeng Ding | Ping An | Department Head, Integrated Management Division |
| De Xiong (TH Yung) Weng | Ping An | Deputy Chief Engineer (Structural) |
| Yuanyuan Guan | Ping An | Administrative Senior Manager |
| Stephen Lai | Rider Levett Bucknall | Managing Director |
| Joseph Lau | Rocco Lim | Founding & Managing Partner |
| Andy Leung | Ronald Lu & Partners | Managing Director |
| Kelvin Wong | RWDI | Regional Project Manager |
| Jianhe Luo | SCUT | Vice President |
| Silas Chiow | SOM | Director (China) |
| Steven Chen | Sun Hung Kai | Deputy Project Manager |
| Lewis Lam | Sun Hung Kai | Property & Facility Manager |
| Patrick Leung | Sun Hung Kai | Senior Technical Services Manager |
| Kenny Chung | Tencent | |
| Simon Chan | TFP Farrells | Senior Associate |
| C.T. Tam | Thornton Tomasetti | Senior Associate |
| Murilo Bonilha | UTC | General Manager |
| Matthew Potter | Wilkinson Eyre | Director |
| Vince Pirrello | Woods Bagot | Asia Executive Chairman |
| Vincent Tse | WSP | Parsons Brinckerhoff | Managing Director |
| Derek Tsoi | WSP | Parsons Brinckerhoff | Technical Director |
| Edmond Ho | WSP | Parsons Brinckerhoff | Director (Buildings, China Region) |