DUBAI:Leading Japanese architectural and urban design firm Nikken Sekkei is preparing to showcase multi-billion dollar local, regional and international projects from 12 cities across the world, in the United Arab Emirates, Russia and India, amongst others, at this year’s Cityscape Global event in Dubai World Trade Centre from September 11-13.
This includes one of India’s most successful real estate launches, Godrej Origins’ The Residences at The Trees, in Mumbai. Aimed at upper middle-class locals and Non-Resident Indians (NRI), work began on the development in 2015, with completion slated for 2019.
The 2.6-million strong Indian expatriate community in the UAE pumped $1.69 billion (AED6.20bn) into the Indian real estate market in the first nine months of 2016, according to a report from property consultancy Square Yards.
The one and three-bedroom apartments in the residential towers both come with luxury grade specifications and fittings, with a strong emphasis on sustainable living, promoting an efficient and luxurious lifestyle.
Fadi Jabri, Executive Officer, Principal responsible for MENA, CIS and India regions, said: “Sustainable thinking forms the core of our development proposition. It is reflected in the design and engineering approach from the masterplan right down to each individual apartment.
“This development vision prides itself on saving over 90% of the mature tree cover. It also has IGBG Platinum ratings – the highest for sustainability, for all buildings and adaptive reuse of heritage structures that offer unique place-making and cultural experiences.”
Godrej Origins and a further Class A commercial development Godrej Two are the result of a successful collaboration between Nikken Sekkei and GPL Design Studio.
Jabri said: “When I visited the site five years ago, it was an abandoned industrial zone. It’s amazing what the Godrej team has done to convert this grey site into a stylish, vibrant, cool environment with a strong sense of place.
“We truly enjoyed working with the Godrej Design team, GPL studio, on Godrej Origins and Godrej Two. It was particularly nice to see the appreciation of zen aesthetics on the residential side.”
The company is also showcasing Botanica, a 30-hectare TOD project in north eastern Moscow, Russia, which started almost five years ago and has involved the conversion of an abandoned brownfield site into a vibrant, friendly, sustainable and easily connected residential area.
Jabri said: “Botanica is an example of how we export our Japanese vision into a foreign market by integrating local distinctive features, culture, extreme weather conditions and clients’ requirements to our knowledge and fields of expertise. It also stands as a testament to our successful collaboration with Pioneer, the Moscow City Government, and MKZD railways company.
“Our experience in building Transit Oriented Developments has helped in maximizing the value of the project as the first TOD and large scale residential development in Moscow.”
Botanica consists of four projects – LIFE I, LIFE II, YAUZA WALK, and YE’S BOTANICA – offering Moscow’s residential market a significant leap forward in the shift from quantity to quality.
Its strategic position, serviced by Botanicheski Sad station (within Moscow ring road), and the newly converted passenger railway station, allows different levels of integration and optimization of the area, while the nearby famous Botanic Garden offers a great opportunity for sustainable and responsible living.
Life Botanic Garden I & II residential complexes are parts of the Life brand developed by Pioneer, who are now progressing with Phase II of the project. “Our partnership with Pioneer promoted the use of Japanese residential construction technologies, which embody the idea of convenience and comfort for residences to maximum effect,” said Jabri.
In terms of Dubai-based projects, Nikken Sekkei’s burgeoning portfolio includes One Za’abeel with its two towers reaching more than 300 metres high situated adjacent to the Dubai World Trade Centre. This unique complex will include a residential tower with apartments, a five-star hotel tower with rooms and a commercial tower offering office space.
Forte Towers, which comprises twin towers, one of 70 storeys, the other 50 storeys, and is destined to become the second highest residential tower in Dubai after the Burj Khalifa. Each tower will have one, two and three-bedroom units, ranging from 650 to 1,800 square feet in size and will be situated in the Downtown Opera District.
Other interesting projects include Tadawul HQ (Saudi Stock Exchange) in Riyadh. The construction of this super structure is complete, with preparation ongoing for interior fitout.
The projects on show at this year’s Cityscape Global have been completed by Nikken Group, which includes Nikken Sekkei, Nikken Space Design and Nikken Sekkei Housing. They all fall under the theme of ‘Experience Integrated’, which is the new slogan after the extensive company rebrand from nikken.jp to Nikken.
Jabri said: “When we talk about ‘Experience Integrated’, we are referring to the integration with our clients, integration with our group companies and integration with different regions, which creates constant cross pollination of great minds, resulting in new and exciting buildings and experiences.
“Nikken Sekkei is a major architectural consultancy firm which is very much established in Japan, yet with our overseas expansion, we sensed the need to properly project our company to the world.
“While we have recently established our regional office in Dubai, and expanded our reach in over 20 cities throughout the MENA region, the CIS and India, we realized that we must do more to introduce ourselves.”
Nikken Sekkei can be found at stand no. SAG30. PR
