Limited spaces available. Join us on 30 March 2009 @ Langham Hotel, Auckland City
International Sustainable Cities Forum
Building Sustainable Cities
Bringing together government and corporate leaders from New Zealand and China to explore the challenges and opportunities of building sustainable cities. Held in conjunction with the 1st Anniversary of the signing of the China-NZ FTA.
New Zealand Institute of Architects – event partner
The International Sustainable Cities Forum is proud to announce the participation of New Zealand Institute of Architects as event partner.
The New Zealand Institute of Architects represents some 90 per cent of all registered Architects in New Zealand. It is a professional body supporting the needs of its members through a range of services and maintaining productive links with the building industry, government and the wider community.
The NZIA has around 3000 members. Approximately seventy five per cent of these are registered Architects working in New Zealand. New Zealand Architects working overseas, Architectural graduates who are not yet registered, Architecture students, technicians and retired Architects make up the balance of members.
Member services fit broadly into the areas of practice promotion and support, and professional development.
The day to day work of the Institute is undertaken by a small management team based in Auckland. A network of eight, informally organised branches throughout the country provides a local focus for members, who use their branch as an avenue for involvement in the Institute’s activities.
Tags: architect, international sustainable cities forum, nzia
China Vanke wins Architectural Record “Best Client” Award
Hiring talented architects, emphasizing innovative design, and delivering quality housing helped China Vanke earn this year’s award as Best Client.
By Frederik Balfour with Alex Pasternack
China Vanke chairman Wang Shi doesn’t fit the stereotype of the wheeling-and-dealing Chinese property developer. Soft spoken, deferential, and exceedingly fit for 57 years old—he has climbed the highest peaks on all seven continents—Wang comes across as a polymath who sprinkles his conversation with references to American psychologist Abraham Maslow’s “hierarchy of human needs,” Spanish architect Antonio Gaudi’s Sagrada Familia church in Barcelona, and the latest green building technologies. With short, cropped hair and a square jaw that lends him a strong resemblance to film director Zhang Yimou, Wang has appeared in television commercials for companies such as Volkswagen, Ping An Insurance, and Motorola, earning millions of dollars that he has given to charity.
He’s also a favorite among China’s architects, a factor that helped his company earn this year’s Best Client award. “I think we are very lucky to work with them,” says Li Hu, partner at Steven Holl Architects, which designed Vanke’s new headquarters under construction in Shenzhen. When Li and Holl presented their “horizontal skyscraper “design with a single building floating over public space, Wang understood the concept immediately, likening it to an American research station built on stilts that he saw on a visit to the South Pole.
Full article in the April 2008 issue.
Tags: architect, best client, vanke, wang shi
Understanding the Chinese
If you haven’t already signed up for a subscription of Bright, the NZTE magazine that goes out to people interested in international business, you should do so.
Key stories in the Summer 09 issue include coping with the international credit crisis; insights on trading in the Middle East; tips on perfecting your sales pitch; the world’s growing bioeconomy; interviews with two members of NZTE’s China Advisory Board; carbon-labeling of exports; staying sharp in the adventure tourism market.
We want to highlight some salient points from the interviews with the 2 members of NZTE’s China Advisory Board, who have in-depth China market knowledge and have lived and worked in China for a long period.
If you have some time, do read the article. The people interviewed were:
David Mahon, Chair of NZTE’s China Advisory Board.
- Worked in Beijing for 25 years, heading a private equity firm Mahon ChinaInvestment Management Limited.
- He says change in China has been so great though that he says it’s largely his last two years’ of experience that are relevant to clients.
Andrew Browne, partner in a corporate communications advisory company, Beijing Brunswick Consultancy Ltd.
- Advises clients on business development acquisition and listing strategies.
- Previously worked for Reuters for 20 years and in 2007 won a Pulitzer Prize.
- Grew up in Hong Kong.
Some quotes from Mahon:
- “If you’re looking around the world and trying to see sources of global growth, China is one of the bright spots”
- “Brand New Zealand is strong but we lack unity. There are all these meat producers and wine producers selling fragments. We need to approach in a unified way – then Brand New Zealand can be protected.”
- “Language is important”. “I learned five words a day – no one can afford not to learn five words a day.”
- “Too often you see companies with a product in China and it doesn’t do well. China demands products unique to China. For example, media is very culturally sensitive.”
Quotes from Browne:
- “What is it that China needs? They need brand, technology, marketing and sales channels. You’ll see a very serious shopping expedition going out in search of all those things.”
- “It’s a truism that China is a complicated country”
- “We each have a vision which is only a tiny slice of the whole. For all New Zealand companies, it’s critical that they meet as many people as they can and get as broad a view as possible. The secret of doing well is asking the right questions.
- The economy has been far too focused on exports and heavy industry. The low-end sweat-shops
along the coast have resulted in excessive use of raw material and energy. In that sense, the old
model has run its course and was looking unsustainable before the credit crisis hit. - “Would you advise a top Chinese company manager coming down to New Zealand to learn a little English? The notion you can send a senior manager to China without language is ridiculous. China is changing so quickly. Language gives you a feeling of engagement and learning about the market.”
- “If you’re an architect, there is nowhere in the world doing building like China,”
- “Take parks. China needs parks; in the West, all the parks are there. Companies in the West that have long become dormant have sprung back into life in China. China is not something
to fear at all. China is creating vast opportunities across the manufacturing and service sectors. - “If you’re a banker, China is your big opportunity. I’ve watched the private equity funds
of the world trooping through the lobby of CICC China Investment Corporation with their hats off.”
There is a brilliant opportunity for Kiwi businesspeople to connect with Chinese investors and businesspeople at the International Sustainable Cities Forum on 30 March 2009 – REGISTER NOW.
It’s the perfect opportunity for those wanting to do business with the Chinese to attend.
Tags: architect, china, international sustainable cities forum, investment, language, new zealand, nzte
International Sustainable Cities Forum 2009 is brought to you by New Zealand Chinese Herald and Euroasia. We also appreciate the support of McConnell Group, Framecad, China Urban Realty Association and The Embassy of the People's Republic of China in New Zealand.