Magazine Issue 6 Oct / Nov / Dec 2013 - Ascendas

THE
ASCENDAS
MAGAZINE
N.04.13
ASCENT
MOST IMPROVED
IMPROVED
MOST
EDITORIAL
EDITORIAL
SILVER
MOST IMPROVED
IMPROVED
MOST
DESIGN
DESIGN
HONOURABLE
HONOURABLE
MENTION
MENTION
CONTENT MARKETING
MARKETING
CONTENT
AWARDS 2013
2013
AWARDS
AWARD OF
OF
AWARD
EXCELLENCE
EXCELLENCE
APEX AWARDS
AWARDS 2013
2013
APEX
34
THE NEXT
GREEN THING:
URBAN
FARMING
18
OFFICES
DESIGNED FOR
WORK AND PLAY
FO RE WO RD At Ascendas, we have a mission to create total
business environments that inspire people to excel. The word “total”
is encapsulated in the work-live-play concept of our integrated
developments, such as the International Tech Park Chennai (ITPC),
which recently won the FIABCI Prix D’ Excellence Gold Award. It is
indeed a delight and honour to be recognised by the International
Real Estate Federation for our business space solutions.
In this issue, the article, Future Space: Now Ready for Occupancy,
highlights our properties in India, from our agship International Tech
Park Bangalore (ITPB) to a new integrated industrial
township being developed in Chennai.
INSPIRING
The design story, A Better Second Place, features
new concepts in office design, including our own
corporate office in Singapore. As a microcosm of
our overarching philosophy towards work-live-play
spaces, liveable offices offer employees a exible and conducive
environment where they can effectively work independently, or in
collaboration with others.
EXCELLENCE
We also take a look at another trend in office buildings around
the world: urban farming. In Eating Out of Rooftops, we highlight
companies that are optimising their open and spare areas, embracing
“agri-tecture” in an aesthetic yet functional way – by planting and
harvesting their own meals from these very spaces.
So what do you enjoy about your work environment, and which
aspect of it inspires you to excel in what you do? For the tenants of
ITPC, it could be the convenience of having a wide range of amenities
next to their office, seamless telecommunication networks, and 24/7
security. Or much like our staff at Ascendas’ corporate office, it could
be the exibility of collaborative, multi-use areas.
We would certainly like to hear from you. We hope you will nd this
edition interesting, and do share your workplace experiences with us
at ascent@ascendas.com.
Manohar Khiatani
President and CEO
THE
ASCENDAS
MAGAZINE
N.04.13
ASCENT
MOST IMPROVED
IMPROVED
MOST
EDITORIAL
EDITORIAL
SILVER
MOST IMPROVED
IMPROVED
MOST
DESIGN
DESIGN
HONOURABLE
HONOURABLE
MENTION
MENTION
CONTENT MARKETING
MARKETING
CONTENT
AWARDS 2013
2013
AWARDS
AWARD OF
OF
AWARD
EXCELLENCE
EXCELLENCE
APEX AWARDS
AWARDS 2013
2013
APEX
34
THE NEXT
GREEN THING:
URBAN
FARMING
18
OFFICES
DESIGNED FOR
WORK AND PLAY
PHOTO
LUC BOEGLY /
COURTESY OF
CHRISTIAN
POTTGIESSER
ARCHITECTURESPOSSIBLES
LOCATION THE
OFFICES OF PONS
+ HUOT, PARIS,
FRANCE
O C T/ N OV/ D EC CO NTE NT S 04 THE HOTLIST Lifestyle news you
should know about. 06 ASCENDAS NEWS Key global and local highlights,
plus events and happenings at our offices. 12 PROFILE Mike Wiluan talks
about growing Innite Studios beyond Singapore. 14 FEATURE Ascendas’
new President and CEO talks about building the company up as a leading
provider of business space solutions in Asia. 18 DESIGN Offices are being
designed to be “liveable”. 26 PERSPECTIVE Ascendas’ India properties
exemplify its unique approach to providing business space solutions.
32 MONEY Carbon credit trading is one way companies can be
environmentally accountable. 34 FOOD Farm-to-fork dining is much easier
when urban farms are right on your rooftop. 40 SPACE Ascendas provides
spaces for regional artists and local designers to share their creations.
26
THE
ASCENDAS
18
MAGAZINE
34
N.04.13
ASCENT
PUBLISHER
PUBLISHING AGENT
Ascendas Pte Ltd
SPH Magazines Pte Ltd
Crystal Seah
Caroline Ngui
Dennis Pua
Joanna Lee-Miller
Christopher Chan
Senior Vice-President & Head
Group Communications
Anne Than
Senior Manager
Group Communications
Joyce Wee
Manager
Group Communications
Group Editor-in-Chief
Group Editor
Managing Director
General Manager
Editorial & Creative
Sales & Client Management
Dora Tay
Kaz Lim
Senior Editor
Associate Account Director
Chiquit Torrente
Stanley Gan
Associate Editor
Annabelle Bok
Sub-Editor
Jayson Ong
Senior Art Director
Stephanie Teo
Art Director
stangan@sph.com.sg
Senior Account Manager
Neo Pei Shi
Senior Executive,
Client Management
Publishing Services
Alice Chee
Team Head
ASCENT is published by SPH Magazines Pte Ltd
(Registration No: 196900476M) for Ascendas Pte
Ltd (Registration No: 200010635R). Copyright
of the materials contained in this magazine
belongs to SPH Magazines Pte Ltd and Ascendas
Pte Ltd. Nothing in here shall be reproduced in
whole or in part in any form or by any means,
electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording
or otherwise without prior written consent of SPH
Magazines Pte Ltd and Ascendas Pte Ltd. Views
expressed in this magazine are not necessarily
those of SPH Magazines Pte Ltd nor Ascendas Pte
Ltd and no liabilities shall be attached thereto.
All rights reserved. Editorial enquiries should
be directed to e-mail: ascendas@ascendas.com.
While every reasonable care will be taken by
the Editor, no responsibility is assumed for the
return of unsolicited material. All information
correct at time of printing. MCI (P) 062/05/2013.
Printed in Singapore by KHL Printing Co Pte Ltd
(Registration No: 197801823M). For advertising
enquiries, please e-mail jrani@sph.com.sg.
04
THE
HOTLIST
Power to
the People
Smartphones and tablets
are great… until they run
out of power. Fret not,
Sony’s lightweight yet
powerful portable battery
charger will help road
warriors get through the
day. The 5,000mAh-rated
battery can charge most
smartphones up twice, and
in usual Sony style, the
svelte 165gm device comes
in black, blue, pink and red.
Catch the
Last Train
Israeli designer, artist and
architect Ron Arad’s exhibit,
Last Train, was inspired by
the sight of a man using his
ring to etch images onto
the window of a train he
had missed. Invited artists
created works using a
specially developed iPad
app. The images were
then etched on glass by a
custom-made device, using
a Steinmetz diamond ring
attached to a cast of Arad’s
st. Participating artists
include luminaries such as
Ai Weiwei, Antony Gormley
and Francesco Clemente.
55th Venice Biennale, Palazzo
Cavalli Franchetti, San Marco.
Till November 24, 2013.
labiennale.org/en
Available at Sony Stores and
authorised outlets. Price
unavailable. sony.com.sg
Sustainable
Housing
The Sustainable Asian
House celebrates the new
architectural vocabulary
of environmental, social
and cultural sustainability
now emerging in Thailand,
Malaysia,bSingapore,
Indonesia and the
Philippines. The book
explores this localised
architectural movement
toward sustainability via
comprehensively written
text and some 360 photos.
The Sustainable Asian House,
Paul McGillick, $39.95, Tuttle
Publishing, tuttlepublishing.com
Creative Restoration
Boutique hotelier Alex Calderwood,
co-founder of Ace Hotel, is revitalising
east London’s Shoreditch district with the
September opening of his latest property.
Taking over the site, and shell, of an old
Crowne Plaza hotel, the refurbishment
done to create Ace Hotel London marries
the area’s theatre and cinema heritage
with its arty, gritty surroundings. Awardwinning architects Edward Barber and
Jay Osgerby of Universal Design Studio
worked on the facade and interior
redesign of the hip hotel.
For more information, visit acehotel.com/london
Text Shawn Low
Get Your Art On
In an effort to make contemporary art
affordable to all, the Affordable Art Fair
is back in Singapore this November. Big
names like Anish Kapoor and Marc Quinn
will be on show alongside local artists
such as P Gnana, Ong Kim Seng and Boo
Sze Yang. Established in London in 1999,
this is the fair’s fourth Singapore edition,
held in partnership with DBS Bank.
Aff ordable Art Fair runs from November 21-24 at
the F1 Pit Building, 1 Republic Boulevard. General
admission ticket price is $15.
Bright Idea
Light up your tablescape
with Piper-Heidsieck’s limited
edition Lightbox, a candle
holder and chiller designed
to keep champagne at its
ideal temperature of 10-12
deg C. Its design was inspired
by the architecture of the
Maison office in France by
Jacques Ferrier.
Available with purchase of PiperHeidsieck Cuvee Brut in selected
supermarkets in Singapore from
December 15.
Image Matthieu Salvaing
Sushi in Paris
Kinugawa, by ex-Nobu chef
Toyofumi Ozuru, brings
Japanese air to Michelin
star-laden Paris. Within
walking distance
from the Louvre,
the izakaya
dishes up
modern takes
on Japanese
cuisine in a
sleek setting.
Reservations
are essential.
Kinugawa, 9 Rue
Du Mont Thabor, tel +33 01
4260 6507, kinugawa.fr
Highly Strung
Euroluce 2013, the
international lighting
exhibition at the Salone
Internazionale del Mobile,
showcased some innovative
lighting designs like Michael
Anastassiades’ String Lights
for Flos. These innovative
pendant lights come
with 9m-long cables that
can be strung between
walls to create geometric
shapes – the only limits are
the cord lengths and your
imagination.
Available at Space Furniture,
77 Bencoolen Street, tel +65 6415
000, spacefurniture.com
06
ASCENDAS
NEWS
International Tech
Park Chennai
wins FIABCI
Singapore Science
Park turns 30
India
Singapore October saw Singapore
Science Park taking a step back in
time to the fun, fabulous 1980s as
it celebrated its 30th anniversary.
Tenants enjoyed weekly
rewards just by spotting a special
Science Park Shuttle Bus with
the 30th anniversary look, as
well as taking a photo with their
heartfelt anniversary greetings
for the park. Attractive dining
promotions were also made
available at popular F&B outlets
within Science Park. Tenants
simply had to download and print
e-coupons for redemption at
participating outlets.
These and other exciting
events led to the main highlight
of the celebration: the Science
Park ’80s Fiesta Lunch Party, held
at The Aries at Science Park II.
Partygoers came dressed in their
grooviest ’80s outts, and had
their pictures taken
with their favourite
’80s characters.
While being
entertained by
International
Tech Park
Chennai (ITPC)
clinched the
Gold in the
Industrial
category of
the prestigious
International
Real Estate
Federation (FIABCI)
Prix d’ Excellence Awards
2013. This is the second
consecutive year that Ascendas
India (a-iTrust) has bagged
the prestigious award, after
International Tech Park
Bangalore’s win in 2012.
The FIABCI Prix d’ Excellence
is the embodiment of excellence
in the real estate industry. It
recognises different projects
around the world that illustrate
the FIABCI ideal of providing
society with optimal solutions
to its property needs. Winners
are selected by an international
panel of esteemed real estate
professionals and experts,
and are evaluated on concept,
architecture, engineering,
protability, marketing results,
environmental impact, and
benet to society.
Located at the start of
Chennai’s IT Corridor, the
city’s highway that is home
to many IT companies, ITPC
offers over 2.01 million sq ft of
premium office space. It boasts
world-class facilities, including
24/7 security, advanced re
protection systems, seamless
telecommunication networks,
optical bre connectivity, and
a dedicated Ascendas team
to ensure round-the-clock
business continuity.
ITPC hosts more than 50
leading information technology
(IT), IT Enabled Services (ITES),
banking and nancial, gaming,
g
animation, and R&D companies
nies
that employ more than 20,000
00
professionals. The Park’s
international business lifestyle
yle
epitomises work-play balance
ce
with a range of amenities such
ch
as a bank, ATMs, multiple food
od
courts, alfresco and ne dining
ng
restaurants, health club, salon,
on,
and pharmacy. Besides office
e
space, ITPC also has a 54-room
om
guest accommodation facility
ty
and a multi-purpose hall for
meetings and conferences.
A key portfolio of a-iTrust,
listed in the Singapore Stock
k
Exchange, ITPC enjoys a high
h
occupancy rate of 99 per cent
nt as
of the rst quarter of 2013. Itt is
a joint venture between a-iTrust
rust
and the Tamil Nadu Industrial
al
Corporation Ltd, a Government
ent
of Tamil Nadu Enterprise.
Text Verlaine Ramos-Marquez
ASCENT clinches
three awards
THE
ASCENDAS
MAGAZINE
ASCENT
N.01.12
a series of dance extravaganzas,
an ’80s music medley, yoyo
performances and a Michael
Jackson “Live” Concert, tenants
savoured old-time favourites like
ngoh hiang, char kway teow, fried
carrot cake, satay, roti prata and
other delicious treats.
Tenants also played a suite
of ’80s childhood funfair games,
and walked away with traditional
goodies. The party ended
with a grand lucky draw where
attractive prizes like Changi City
Point shopping vouchers,
a weekend staycation
and dinner vouchers
for two at the Capri
by Fraser were
given away.
Singapore ASCENT, the
official quarterly
publication of Ascendas
published by SPH
Magazines Pte Ltd,
recently won three
accolades from two
prestigious awardgiving bodies for its
outstanding content
and design.
At the 2013 Content
Marketing Awards
(CMAs), ASCENT won
Silver for Most Improved
Editorial and an
Honourable Mention for
Most Improved Design.
Previously known as
the Magnum Opus
Awards, the CMAs are
the most distinguished
form of recognition
for companies that create
branded or custom content for
institutions and organisations.
About 800 entries were
submitted from around
the world.
An Award of Excellence in
the Most Improved Magazines
and Journals category was also
presented to ASCENT at the
APEX 2013 Awards. Celebrating
its 25th year, the annual
awards programme recognises
excellence in publications work.
16
CREATIVE
WORKSPACES
26
LONDON’S
DINING GEMS
22
OFFICE DESIGN
TRENDS FROM THE
MILAN FAIR
It is the rst APEX award
for ASCENT.
ASCENT features design,
art, architecture, sustainable
innovations, creative spatial
solutions, business and
lifestyle trends. It also carries
updates on the company’s new
initiatives and developments.
The magazine is distributed to
Ascendas’ tenants and business
partners, and the e-zine version
is also available on the Ascendas
website.
08
ASCENDAS
NEWS
India
Talent show at
Livewire 2013
Going green
The Ascendas Go
Green environmental
awareness campaign
for 2013 ran in all India
properties from May
to June. A Recycled
Art exhibition and
performances were
held at the International
Tech Park Bangalore
(ITPB) and The V in
Ascendas Hyderabad.
Various green activities
included recycling
campaigns, organic
food stalls, vehicle
health check camp
and safety drive, an
eco-bazaar, and art
workshops. The staff
of Ascendas Gurgaon
also organised a tree
planting drive onsite.
This year’s month-long
celebration concluded
with a 4km Green Walk
at Ascendas Hyderabad
Parks, in which around
1,000 IT professionals
participated to
commemorate World
Environment Day.
World food festival
Shoppers at Ascendas
Park Square Mall were
treated to 11 days of
global feasting during
the International
Food Festival held
from July 19 to 28
at the mall atrium.
Sumptuous Italian,
Mexican, Japanese
and Chinese dishes,
as well as Indian
delights, were among
the exquisite cuisines
offered at various
stalls. There were
also F&B workshops,
entertainment and
exciting promos at the
mall’s food outlets.
Livewire, the biggest
talent esta at
Ascendas’ IT Parks
in India, came back
with a bang this
year. The talent show
featured dance, acting,
singing, fashion
show, and short lmmaking categories,
with participants from Hyderabad parks
The V, CyberPearl and aVance Business Hub
competing with those from International Tech
Park Bangalore (ITPB), International Tech Park
Chennai (ITPC) and Pune. This year’s winners of
the popular solo singing category will compete in
Ascendas Voice, the inter-city singing competition
spanning Ascendas Parks throughout the country.
Interface in Chennai
Ascendas Chennai
recently hosted
Interface, the annual
networking evening for
property consultants
and agents, at the
Rain Tree Hotel. Topperforming property
consultants were
awarded for their
efforts toward the
successful leasing of
business space at
International Tech Park
Chennai for 2012.
Starry, starry night
Ascendas Bangalore hosted Under
The Stars, a charity sleepover held
outdoors so that participants could
understand the plight of homeless
and less fortunate children. Over
300 participants enjoyed musical
performances, live entertainment,
a bonre and food at the fundraising
event, held at the International Tech Park
Bangalore (ITPB) Cricket Ground on Oct 1.
China
Cosplay at Ascendas Plaza
On July 28, kids and parents had a day of cosplay
fun at Ascendas Plaza. The event, entitled COS Baby,
Cheer Up, featured games, dancing, and a policecosplay show. The colourful setting, lively role-play
and hands-on participation provided learning and
stimulation for the children, as well as an enjoyable
respite from the hot weather for all who attended.
Fun trip to
Dalian Forest Zoo
Guandong Deputy
Governor Zhao at
Ascendas OneHub
Ascendas OneHub
GKC welcomed
Deputy Governor
of Guandong Zhao
Yufang and the heads
of the Foreign Affairs
Office and Department
of Foreign Trade and
Economic Cooperation
on August 9. The
visitors inspected the
development status
of the park. Deputy
Governor Zhao said
that the park was
entering the stage
of comprehensive
construction, and
reiterated the
need to strengthen
cooperation
with Singapore
to accelerate the
conclusion of
construction projects.
July 12 was a day of
giving back for some
35 employees from
Dalian Ascendas as
they accompanied a
group of autistic kids
from Dalian Xiao Hai
Tun to visit Dalian Forest
Zoo. They spent the
afternoon together,
watching an elephant
show and visiting the
panda house, wildlife
backyard area,
tropical reptiles,
and botanical
garden. It was
a memorable
summer holiday
for both kids
and adults.
Friendly competition
More than 70 employees from different tenant
companies in the Singapore-Hangzhou Science
& Technology Park (SHSTP) joined the table
tennis competition held from June 27 to 28.
Winners were awarded at the end of the two-day
competition. It is the second time for SHSTP to
hold this event, which was an effort to enhance
the rapport among employees in the park and
create a dynamic work-live-play lifestyle within
the business community.
10
ASCENDAS
NEWS
Singapore
Family walkathon
Over 100 Ascendians and their families
participated in Walk for our Children 2013, a
3km walk held at Bishan-Ang Mo Kio Park
on September 29. Ascendas supported this
annual fundraising event organised by the
Singapore Children’s Society as a silver
sponsor, as part of the company’s efforts
to help children with caregiving and public
education needs. Guest of honour Mr Gan
Kim Yong, Minister for Health, presented
Mr Manohar Khiatani, President and CEO of
Ascendas, with a token of appreciation. The
Children’s Society raised a total of $480,000
from the event, with the Ascendas GIVES
Foundation contributing close to $13,000 from
sponsorships, donations, and ice cream sales.
Festive goodies
Throughout September,
Ascendas celebrated
the joyous spirit of the
Mid-Autumn Festival
by gifting mooncakes
to their tenants. The
mooncakes were from
Park Hotel Clarke
Quay, one of the hotels
under the Ascendas
Hospitality Trust.
Mooncake bazaars
were also organised
in eight Ascendas Real
Estate Investment Trust
(A-REIT) and Ascendas
Land Singapore (ALS)
buildings for the
tenants’ shopping
convenience. A
mooncake giveaway
campaign was also
organised on the
Ascendas Facebook fan
page. Participants were
asked to complete a
poem, with the top  ve
entries with the most
“likes” winning free
boxes of mooncakes.
Lecture on cancer
prevention
Another insightful
Lunch Talk @ IBP
(International
Business Park)
was held at the
Nordic European
Centre on July 25.
Dr Francis Chin, a
senior consultant at the
National Cancer Centre
Singapore, discussed
cancer prevention
with the 45 attendees,
who found the topic
meaningful and
relevant.
In good shape
From September 9 to 13,
Singapore Science Park
was abuzz with tness and
fun for this year’s Healthy
Lifestyle Week. The week-long
affair featured inter-company
sports competitions, health and
lifestyle seminars, kids’ workshops, and
group exercises. The activities provided more
than 1,200 tenants’ employees with the chance
to mingle at the Fitness Network Open House,
and give back through the Blood Donation
Drive. Lunch hours were also made livelier with
musical performances and a lifestyle bazaar.
Philippines
Sports meet
It was game time once
again at Changi Business
Park (CBP) as it hosted
the annual Sports@
CBP. Held at Plaza 8
from August 16 to 18, a
total of 280 participants
joined activities that
included a sports bazaar,
a three-day series of
massage workshops,
inter-company archery,
basketball and road
relay competitions,
and best shooter
competitions for
archery and basketball.
This year’s number of
participants was up by
59 per cent from last
year’s event.
Safety seminar
ACCRALAW Tower tenants learned about
personal safety, security and disaster survival
through a timely and relevant training course
conducted by Ascendas Philippines. Life support,
bandaging techniques, articial and cardiopulmonary resuscitation, and self-defense
were taught, as well as essential guidelines on
planning for different natural disasters, from
preparation of emergency kits to evacuation.
12
PROFILE
Mike Wiluan, 37, cuts an unorthodox
gure for a CEO. The former actor/
model strides out of his office dressed
in jeans, a vest, tailored shirt and
cowboy boots – attire well suited for
riding his 1584cc Harley Davidson
Softail Crossbones to work. The only
corporate concession is the Blackberry
in his hand.
Since acquiring the boutique animation
studio Innite Frameworks in 2004,
Wiluan has grown and transformed
it into an industry leader. Today, the
rebranded Innite Studios has expanded
from animation into post-production,
visual effects and design, and lm and TV
production, and is running two massive
sound stages – all at its newly developed
Innite Studios@Mediapolis.
WORKING WITH A SCENDA S
Wiluan channels business savvy; he is,
after all, the son of one of Indonesia’s
richest businessmen. After an acting stint
on the small screen, Wiluan worked at his
dad’s property business in Batam.
However, his heart always gravitated
to media. “I was always interested in
the creative business. Producing ideas
into something that’s entertaining, and
monetising it, is truly interesting to me,”
Wiluan says.
In 2011, Innite Studios took its
business to the next level in a
joint venture with Ascendas
to develop its premises
– the rst building at
Singapore’s media
hub, Mediapolis@
one-north.
Wiluan explains,
“Building a studio
would complete
Singapore’s offering
to be more relevant to
what is happening in the
world, and a way to make a
breakthrough in our industry.“
He adds: “Here, however, no one goes
out and builds sound stages like that. It’s
a very specic niche, and we decided
we needed a partner with real estate
expertise. We were very fortunate to be
introduced to Ascendas.”
Innite Studios@Mediapolis was
completed in October 2012 and has since
achieved 75 per cent occupancy. The
company also has production studios
in Batam. “We offer a holistic one-two
punch: craft and scalability, combined
with the management prowess, nancial
capabilities and incentives of Singapore,”
enthuses Wiluan.
THE MEDIA EVANGELIST
Wiluan travels regularly to Europe, the US
and key territories in Asia, and points out
that there really isn’t an average day for
To Innity
and Beyond
Mike Wiluan, CEO of production
outt Innite Studios, has
big plans for transforming
the media landscape in
Singapore… one production
at a time.
Text Shawn Low Photography Morven Koh
him. “I’m promoting something this region
has never had before. It’s not business as
usual where people come to us, so most
of my time is spent explaining what we do.
I feel like a bit of an evangelist sometimes.”
While the 18-hour ights might seem
like a hard slog, Wiluan actually loves
 ying. “I watch a lot of movies. I love being
on planes. No one can call me. I dread
the day when Singapore Airlines has free
Wi-Fi on their planes,” he quips. “Travelling,
for me, is a good soulful experience. As a
creative person, personal quiet space is
everything. I have a Harley Davidson that
I love riding because no one can disturb
me there as well. And I don’t have to give
people rides… it only has one seat.”
When asked how he balances his time
between business and his family (wife and
three children), Wiluan is brutally honest:
“Who says I am?”
He continues, “There’s such a thing as
sacrice. There’s no way to balance it all,
something’s got to suffer. You just have
to nd understanding people who will
support you in a venture that takes time
and effort, in a particularly emotional
creative industry.”
REVOLUTION IS UNDERWAY
4
Stepping into a cavernous 18,000 sq ft
sound stage, Wiluan says, “Our (local lm)
industry doesn’t come from the culture of
building things. They borrow someone’s
house (for lming). You can tell from the
quality of the footage. We’re trying to get
people to start thinking about how to
produce content in sound stages.”
It seems like the revolution has already
begun – in the 10,000 sq ft sound stage
next to where we are interviewing
him, production of the wildly popular
Australian children’s program High Five
is in full swing. Anchor tenants in the
building include Discovery Asia and
GlobeCast Asia.
Innite Studios has just wrapped lming
for HBO Asia series Serangoon Road, and
also helped Hollywood director Michael
Mann produce part of his new feature
lm in Indonesia. Major projects are on
the horizon. We shake hands, and not a
moment later, the Blackberry reappears in
Wiluan’s hand – more work beckons.
14
F E AT UR E
Text Wong Sher Maine
STEERING A COURSE FOR
Q UALIT Y
G ROW TH
ASCENDAS’ NEW PRESIDENT AND CEO
MANOHAR KHIATANI’S PRIORIT Y IS
BUILDING UP THE ORGANISATION’S
CORE STRENGTHS TO CEMENT ITS STATUS
AS A LEADING PROVIDER OF BUSINESS
SPACE SOLUTIONS IN ASIA.
Over the last 13 years, Ascendas has
forged a reputation as Asia’s leading
provider of business space solutions.
As new President and CEO Manohar
Khiatani takes over the helm of the
organisation, he is rmly steering a course
for quality growth. He says: “While we are
proud of our Asian footprint, we are also
mindful not to spread our resources too
thin. We will focus on key geographies and
establish our presence in those identied
locations. We want quality, not just
quantity.” To this end, the company will
focus on and build up its core strengths,
balancing between larger-scale projects
with longer time lines, and smaller
projects that generate faster returns.
A FAMILIAR CEO
Although Mr Khiatani took over from
Ms Chong Siak Ching just a few months
ago on May 1, he is familiar with
Ascendas. He had served on the
Ascendas Board for more than three
years, where he says he got to
“appreciate the quality, resourcefulness
and drive of the company’s people,
and the company culture.”
He also brings with him a wealth of
industry, real estate and leadership
experience from his previous jobs at JTC
and Economic Development Board (EDB).
At EDB where he was deputy managing
director, he was in charge of attracting
investors into Singapore and developing
key industry clusters in Singapore,
including engineering, electronics,
infocomm and clean technology.
In his last position as CEO of JTC
Corporation, he oversaw the planning
and development of key industrial
infrastructure in Singapore to differentiate
the city state as an investment location.
“In many aspects Ascendas’ role is a mix
of EDB and JTC. Joining Ascendas enables
me to marry my passion for industry
and real estate development with the
opportunity to lead a talented team from
a homegrown company to the next level
of its growth,” he says.
RIDING THE A SIAN GROW TH CURVE
Mr Khiatani has spent the last few months
familiarising himself with Ascendas’
people, processes and products. He has
also busied himself meeting key clients
and partners, and visiting Ascendas’ sites,
which span 25 cities in 10 countries.
A busy schedule has kept the Liverpool
soccer fan from spending time and
catching his favourite matches with
friends, but what he has seen reinforces
his belief that Ascendas – with its solid
brand name, strong pan-Asian footprint
and capabilities in both real estate
development and fund management –
is well-placed to ride the rising Asian
growth curve.
F E AT UR E
Currently, 40 per cent of Ascendas’
$14 billion worth of assets under
management are located outside
Singapore, and this will rise to over
50 per cent in  ve years’ time.
“Singapore is our home and reference
market, and will remain key for us.
However, we will grow at a faster rate
overseas. It is also important to note
that Ascendas is not just another
developer, but one that contributes to,
and is in alignment with, the economic
development objectives of its host
locations. We will not go to a location
where these objectives are not aligned,”
says Mr Khiatani.
He notes that there are several key
trends with regard to the business space
market in Asia, which Ascendas is already
responding to.
He says: “Investments in key Asian
economies are now not only driven by
the search for low labour costs, but
also supplying to the local markets and
developing complete supply chains in the
region. This makes it relevant to consider
clustering solutions when developing
business and industrial parks.
“Besides the growing Asian market, the
other pull for investors to look at Asia is
to tap into the huge talent pool, to deliver
new products, services and solutions.”
As a result, there is a need to create
innovative business spaces that allow
for higher-level thinking, interaction and
collaboration. “Companies are coming to
Asia for its quality of people, not only for
labour arbitrage. This higher quality, new
generation workforce also has higher
expectations of their work environment,”
he says.
A cutting-edge example of what he
means is Changi City, Singapore’s largest
integrated business park development.
Connected to hotel-residences, Capri by
Fraser, and retail mall, Changi City Point,
it successfully merges a high-quality
business space with lifestyle elements of
retail and hospitality.
“The end result is that it is easier for
companies to attract and retain people
to work for them. We provide an
Photography Morven Koh
16
affordable, vibrant environment for
companies to thrive.”
CREATING A DIFFERENTIATING
ADVANTAGE
He articulates his vision for Ascendas:
“We want to be a leading provider of
innovative and integrated business
space solutions in Asia, which will give
our customers a unique differentiating
advantage in the locations that we are in.”
This means that apart from the
physical space itself, Ascendas also takes
care of other aspects like amenities,
transport, power supply and security –
standards of which may largely differ
from country to country – to ensure
that the space functions well. “The
integrated solutions we provide
differ and are customised to the
specic needs of the location.”
He says: “Ascendas has over 2,400
customers and we see customers
being at our core. We are telling our
customers that by partnering with us,
we will take care of all your real estate
needs, and you can focus on your core
business with peace of mind.
“We strive to identify and anticipate their
future needs, and provide solutions that
exceed their expectations and help them
succeed. We will also step up innovation,
be it for products, processes or services.
We see this as a critical differentiator for
us moving forward into the future.”
An upcoming development that
demonstrates the innovative thinking
behind Ascendas’ projects is a 500-acre
business park in Nusajaya, developed
with Malaysia partner UEM Sunrise.
Targeted at Singapore-based companies
keen on expansion but which are
constrained by land and labour costs,
the development will feature both
ready-built and customised build-to-suit
facilities. Besides its strategic location,
just  ve minutes’ drive from Malaysia’s
Customs, Immigration and Quarantine
Complex (CIQ) at Second Link, the
Nusajaya Tech Park will also have many
other features to differentiate it from
other industrial parks.
“We want to be a leading provider of
innovative and integrated business
space solutions in Asia, which will give
our customers a unique differentiating
advantage in the locations that we are in.”
A PEOPLE- CENTRIC LEADER
To realise his vision, Mr Khiatani
strongly believes in the need
for teamwork. “I believe that
if you want to go fast, go
alone, but if you want to
go far, you have to bring
others along.”
“Generally, I’m
people-centric,” says
Mr Khiatani, whose
leadership style was
inuenced by mentors
he has had in the
past. “My preferred style
is consultative rather than
commanding. In today’s complex
world, no one person can have a
monopoly on good ideas. Where possible,
I believe in hearing diverse views before
taking a major decision. But once the
decision is taken, I expect everyone to
get in line and move together: Diversity in
counsel, but unity in execution.”
Ultimately, he strives to harness the
creativity of his people so that they can
achieve extraordinary results. How this
translates to the people of Ascendas
is that he will actively solicit views. “I
want to encourage people who are also
not involved directly in the project to
speak up and give the benet of their
experience and wisdom.
“A leader also needs to be authentic and
have a good mix of Head, Heart and Guts,”
says Mr Khiatani.
He also strongly believes in the human
touch. He quotes US author Maya
Angelou: “People may forget what you tell
them, they may even forget what you have
done. But they will never forget how you
made them feel.”
18
DESIGN
WITH PEOPLE
SPENDING MORE
TIME AT THEIR
WORKPL ACES,
IT’S ONLY RIGHT
THAT THE OFFICE
BECOMES A MORE
FUN AND LIVEABLE
ENVIRONMENT.
B
E
T
T
E
R
“ S ECO N D PL ACE”
When news features rst came out
in 2006 to 2007 about the custom
designed Googleplex, Google’s
headquarters in California, office
workers around the world turned
green with envy. There were gourmet
cafeteria and cafes, gaming, nap and
massage rooms, and fun hangout
spots like a dinosaur skeleton and a
spaceship – not to mention colourful
workstations with ergonomic furniture.
Sustainability was not sacriced for
these employee-friendly features either:
power-generating systems like solar
panels and the Bloom Energy Saver
complement the verdant landscaping,
recycled wastewater, and use of building
and furnishing materials that are
recyclable or biodegradable. Other tech
companies like Facebook and Yahoo soon
followed suit, and employers from other
1
industries began to take note
of the effect
1
Text Joseph
Hong Xinyi
Lim
1
Liveable offices
have exible
workstations,
like the Arras Spine
by Herman Miller,
which allow users
to customise
their spaces to
specic tasks.
20
DESIGN
2
WHAT MAKES AN
OFFICE LIVEABLE?
• It has spaces that bring
people together
• Its spaces help people engage
• Its design enables work to
happen anywhere
• Its design is environmentally
responsible
• It expresses the company’s
branding clearly
3
that offices designed to be liveable have
on productivity and employee satisfaction.
As tech giants like Google and Facebook
have redened the workplace as a space
that drives people to efficiently work
individually, collaborate with one another,
and play in community, traditional office
partitions and demarcated zones (like
guest lounges and conference rooms) are
being replaced by work-and-meet pods,
hot-desking stations and open-concept
pantries. Walls have been broken down
and any form of physical demarcation is
deemed “counter-productive”.
4
Images SPH - The Business Times (Facebook Singapore), SPH - The Straits Times (Google Singapore)
CA SE IN POINT
At Facebook Singapore’s 20,990 sq ft
office, space planning is infused with
not just a fun aesthetic, but local avour
as well. There are old accordion gates
and kopitiam chairs, and recycled metal
railings used in overhead pedestrian
bridges in the 1980s. Local artists were
commissioned to graffiti owers, koi and
fantasy creatures on the walls. The social
media company reportedly advocates a
home-away-from-home feel as employees
spend many hours at the office.
Also in Singapore, but not a tech
company’s, Ascendas’ corporate office
in The Galen at Science Park II exhibits
many of the features of this new type of
office design. There is the open pantry
facing the hot-desking station, twostorey pods where each department
head’s office is located above a cosy
corner, and a lounge that doubles as a
meeting nook and guest area. These
more exible spaces – what Ascendas
has identied as collaborative, multi-use
areas – are intended to bring the “third
place” concept of social, interactive spots
into the office, which is the ”second place”.
Over 70 per cent of the corporate office’s
oor area is comprised of such exible,
interchangeable spaces to better cater to
a Gen Y workforce.
This trend of making the office liveable
has changed the role of the office
designer. Today’s office designer has to
think beyond function and ergonomics,
5
2-3
At Facebook
Singapore, green
lounge spaces
are branded, and
micro kitchens are
decorated with
local avour.
4-5
Ascendas
encourages
hot-desking with
work benches and
cosy discussion
corners.
6
and corporate aesthetics – all the way to
the psychological and emotional effects of
how spaces connect and are used.
RECOGNISING INNOVATORS
To recognise and champion this trend
in office design, furniture manufacturer
Herman Miller conceptualised the rst
ever Liveable Office Awards. The company
is known for its award-winning ergonomic
chairs as well as its collaboration with
iconic designers Charles and Ray Eames.
The competition called on design
acionados and companies to submit
their custom-designed, earth-friendly
“liveable office”. Prizes were US$5,000
(S$6,255) in cash for the Commercial
Business category, and a Herman Miller
6
Google Singapore
has several
meeting areas
for informal
discussions.
22
DESIGN
office makeover worth over US$5,000 for
the SME (small and medium enterprises)
Business category.
Samantha Giam, head of product and
marketing management for Herman Miller
International, organised the inaugural
award. She shares: “I was inspired by
Monocle’s Most Liveable Cities Index.
Much like a Fortune 500 ranking, our
awards would be a transparent index of
the most Liveable Offices in the world.
It will reward organisations who are
investing in their spaces, and allow the
next generation of workers to choose
where to work. While workplace is
just one aspect of what makes a great
employer, it is often the strongest
indicator of how an organisation works.”
With over 100 entries from the region
– the likes of Warner Music Singapore,
Facebook Sydney, Adidas Shanghai,
Microsoft Bangalore and Ascendas – the
judging panel composed of design leaders
(like architect Hisham Youssef, co-founder
of the American Institute of Architects in
Shanghai, and Toshiyuki Kita, chairman
of Japan Interior Architects/Designers
Association) was spoilt for choice.
“Asia Pacic has a great amount of
diversity, whether you look at it from a
cultural perspective or demographics,”
Giam says. “There is so much great work
done by designers and clients. This region
is a hotbed of creativity. Our role is to
celebrate these achievements. We will be
running this competition every year.”
LIVEABLE, DEFINED
Not all office cultures can have as hip
and colourful workplaces as Google and
Facebook’s, however. To help identify who
qualies for the awards, Herman Miller
gave a  ve-point guideline to what they
see as winning criteria.
First, the office must be conducive to
people engaging in these activities: chat,
converse, co-create, divide and conquer
(teamwork), huddle, warm up and cool
down, show and tell, process and respond
(emails, phone calls, etc), contemplate and
create (problem-solving).
Lori Gee, vice president of Applied
Insight at Herman Miller explains that
seven of these 10 “modes of work”,
require interaction. Thus, the second
criterion for a liveable office is that it must
bring people together. Informal meeting
pods and an open pantry (rather than the
traditional water cooler) are examples
of spaces that encourage people to
congregate.
Third, a liveable office enables work
to happen anywhere. The most basic
example of this is the availability of Wi-Fi
so that employees can bring their laptops
to work in the cafeteria, conference
room or library. The trendier example
is hot-desking, whereby employees are
encouraged to set up their workstations in
different spaces in the office as and when
the task calls for it.
The fourth criterion is environmental
responsibility – and not just in the use
LIVEABLE
OFFICE AWARD
WINNERS
Herman Miller announced
the winners of the inaugural
Liveable Office Awards
at the Reach exhibit on
August 1, 2013.
COMMERCIAL BUSINESS
CATEGORY
GPT Group, a property
corporation in Australia
Designer Woods Bagot, a
design and consulting rm
with global operations
Judges’ citation “The project
features a nely nuanced
interior that exhibits control,
consideration and clear
insight into the workings
of the company. It avoids
sweeping solutions and is a
relevant model for the offi ces
of today and the future.”
7
SME (SMALL AND MEDIUM
ENTERPRISES) BUSINESS
CATEGORY
The Herald & Weekly
Times (HWT), a newspaper
publishing company in
Melbourne, Australia
Designer Geyer, an
Australian interior design
rm that specialises in
offi ce, retail, hospitality and
education spaces
Judges’ citation “Geyer
created a new vision that
challenges the paradigm
of what a news company’s
workplace should be, by
demonstrating that (it) needs
to catch up with new media
and alternative ways to be
productive.”
Submission of entries for the
second edition of the Herman
Miller Liveable Office Awards
can be made in July 2014.
8
Images Herman Miller
9
10
of energy efficient devices and low VOC
(volatile organic compounds) wall paint
and furniture upholstery. This includes
providing recycling bins and other efforts
to lower the company’s carbon footprint.
Finally, a liveable office must have
expression and identity, that is, use
its space as a branding platform (this
is what Google, Facebook and their ilk
demonstrate so strongly).
Design rm Geyer
worked closely
with the leaders
of The Herald &
Weekly Times
to customise
the publishing
company’s
office to its
changing needs.
SETBACK S IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES
Other entries
from Australia
included Maxus
and Ergon Energy.
Giam shares, “Some of the key trends
addressed by the Liveable Office Awards
– a prevalence of wireless connection,
diminishing sizes of devices, as well as
changing management styles – do not
apply to everyone. In countries such
as India, the infrastructure does not
allow individuals to work anywhere and
everywhere. As such the role of the office
still is ‘the place to work’. These are major
setbacks with regard to conventional
office spaces owned by companies with a
traditional mindset.”
Another factor that companies trying
to evolve (into liveable offices) face issues
7-8
9-10
24
DESIGN
with, Giam shares, is “presenteeism
management”. This is where today’s
forward-thinking management is more
output-driven, and much less about
being able to see the employee at work.
Unfortunately, this is still not a common
practice in many traditional companies.
“Companies like Microsoft and Accenture
also encourage employees to consider
working from home and bringing their
own devices to the office when necessary –
these micro-initiatives can truly help build
a better world – starting with a better
work-life balance. It is also better for the
environment. Imagine if all of us needed
only to commute to the office once a week
– how much carbon can we collectively
reduce globally?” Giam says.
11
12
13
Images Corbis (Google)
11, 13
A exible work
bench like
Herman Miller’s
Arras Spine can be
(re-)congured
for conference or
individual use at
different times.
12
The playfulness
and youthfulness
of Google founders
Sergey Brin and
Larry Page have
rubbed off on
Google offices
worldwide in the
form of fun features.
26
PERSPECTIVE
FUTURE
S PAC E
N O W R E A DY F O R O C C U PA N C Y
1
Text Saw Puay Lim
Adapted from the Site Selection Investment
Prole: Ascendas by Mark Arend
BY BUILDING INTEGR ATED COMMUNITIES
WITH WORK-LIVE-PL AY ENVIRONMENTS,
ASCENDAS HAS BEEN ENTICING
MULTINATIONAL INVESTORS TO KEY
MARKETS IN ASIA. MAJOR SUCCESSES
ASCENDAS HAS SCORED IN INDIA
ILLUSTR ATE WHY MANY INVESTORS CHOOSE
TO PARTNER WITH THE FORWARD-THINKING
PROVIDER OF BUSINESS SPACE SOLUTIONS.
1
International
Tech Park,
Chennai (ITPC)
was recently
announced as
winner of the
FIABCI Prix
d’Excellence 2013.
Multinational investors eyeing
opportunities in Asia’s many growing
economic centres are nding a sterling
partner in Ascendas as they seek the
ideal space for their operations. The
company – a unit of JTC Corporation, a
statutory board of Singapore’s Ministry
of Trade and Industry – is based in
the city state, but has a presence in
various established and emerging
Asian markets. It therefore has both
the resources and reach to offer the
right space to the right client, in cities
ranging from Nusajaya to Chennai, and
from Seoul to Shanghai.
In addition to providing spaces – from
industrial, logistics and science parks
to IT centres and multi-use complexes –
Ascendas runs the Ascendas Real Estate
Investment Trust (A-REIT), set up in 2002,
and the Ascendas India Trust (a-iTrust),
established in 2007. Since July 2012, it
has also been operating the Ascendas
Hospitality Trust (A-HTRUST), which
has hotel properties in China, Japan,
Singapore and Australia, and manages
several private funds across Asia as well.
However, its geographical reach and
breadth of services alone do not account
for Ascendas’ competitive edge. Rather, it
is the company’s development philosophy
that explains why it commands a premium
in real estate space for multinational and
other investors.
This philosophy guides Ascendas’
development and maintenance of future-
oriented integrated communities that
offer a work-live-play-learn environment
in one location.
“We differentiate ourselves by not just
providing space for manufacturing, but
offering a total environment for people to
settle in for the long term,” says Dominic
Leong, general manager of Ascendas India.
Thomas Teo, former CEO of Ascendas
India (and current Chief Real Estate
Development Officer of the Ascendas
Group), elaborates: “Because of our
parentage and our understanding of
multinational corporations’ sentiments
and expectations, we can build the case to
clients that they need only look after their
manufacturing or core business, and we
will look after the real estate associated
with that. At the same time, we’re adding
the residential, retail and commercial
facets because we believe in creating
something that gives clients a place with
which they can identify. It is this total
understanding of real estate development
that is our strongest advantage to
investors from the U.S. and elsewhere.”
In India, the International Tech Park
Bangalore (ITPB) is a prime illustration
of Ascendas’ successful philosophy.
Noteworthy examples in other parts of
Asia include Dalian Ascendas IT Park in
China, and Changi City in Singapore’s
Changi Business Park. Nearer Singapore,
Ascendas, with partner UEM Sunrise, is
building an integrated industrial park
in Nusajaya, part of Johor’s Iskandar
Malaysia development.
OFFERING A SUSTAINABLE SOLUTION
Currently taking shape in India is a new
integrated industrial township, 50km from
Chennai, where Ascendas already runs
two successful properties, International
Tech Park Chennai (ITPC) and CyberVale,
which cater to investors seeking IT and
business process outsourcing (BPO)
space. The new 1,500-acre industrial
township, on the other hand, will attend
to the needs of a wider spectrum
of investors, including a Japanese
automotive components maker that has
already broken ground on a new facility.
28
PERSPECTIVE
“The rst motivation of companies
coming to India is often cheap labour, but
a more sustainable solution is necessary
for business growth,” says Leong.
“Companies will want to attract talent
not only when they start manufacturing
operations, but also as they move
up the value chain. We’re creating an
environment where people can live, learn
and enjoy entertainment.”
While many MNCs have also built
industrial parks on low-cost land parcels
on the outskirts of Chennai, which the
Indian government has offered as an
incentive to investors, these are often
sites that merely provide security to the
companies’ properties and room for
expansion, but lack the amenities and
infrastructure that Ascendas’ meticulously
planned township will boast.
FL AGSHIP TECH PARK
The International Tech Park Bangalore
(ITPB) is considered a agship tech park
that embodies Ascendas’ development
philosophy of building and maintaining
integrated communities.
Winner of the FIABCI Prix d’Excellence
Award in 2012, ITPB – situated in IT hub
Whiteeld, about 18km from Bangalore –
accommodates 30,000 workers and 250
clients from assorted technological elds.
In recent years, Bangalore’s IT economy
has transformed from being all about IT
services, call centres and BPO operations,
to being a nexus for higher-value activities
such as software development, animation,
gaming, and R&D.
ITPB has its own power plant to
ensure a continuous energy supply to
tenants, which also have six voice and
data service providers to choose from.
Other amenities include multistorey
carparks, foodcourts, a huge shopping
mall incorporating a movie theatre, a
bowling alley, F&B outlets, and a  ve-star
hotel – Vivanta by Taj. Add to this picture
a residential building with corporate and
individual residences, transportation for
employees, and a comprehensive social
agenda organised by Ascendas, and it
becomes clear that ITPB is much more
than a place to work.
To complement ITPB, Ascendas will have
a new 100-acre development in Whiteeld
that will be a special economic zone (SEZ).
“The principle is the same as with other
SEZs – companies must export their work,”
Joey Khoo, vice-president, marketing & CS,
Ascendas India, explains. Ascendas is also
moulding its developments in Pune and
Gurgoan using ITPB’s IT SEZ model.
AT TR AC TING TALENT
One of ITPB’s major clients is First
American (India), which has a software
development and BPO services unit here
that employs about 3,000 people. Another
800 employees work in Hyderabad in a
similar capacity, says Narayan Rao, its
head of facilities and administration.
First American has researched locations
outside the Ascendas park, but has
found none that matches it in terms of
infrastructure, Rao acknowledges. “This
is why we continue to be here in ITPB. It
is a prime location for us, partly because
we can attract the talent pool we need.
It has very high quality infrastructure,
public transportation, and a high level of
security, which is the main factor.” These
considerations are very important to its
parent rm in Santa Ana, California, US, he
explains, adding: “People want to work in
the kind of environment present at ITPB.”
Another appeal of ITPB is the scalability
of its space, Rao adds. “This makes it easy
for us to think in terms of expanding here.
There are no growth restrictions here.”
First American recently took up an
additional 9,000 sq ft of space.
STR ATEGIC INVESTMENT
Another key tenant at ITPB is Technicolor.
The animation and visual effects
powerhouse rst went to India via a joint
venture in 2006 and took over 100 per
cent of the joint company in 2009.
“Eighty per cent of our talent comes
from other states in India, so a location in
the middle of the city would have meant
very high rentals for their accommodation.
Whiteeld is an easier location for young
people to get started, and the park has
2
Pinnacle is one of
three buildings at
ITPC, totalling
over two million
sq ft of prime
business space.
3-4
International Tech
Park, Bangalore
(ITPB) has been
called “the icon of
India’s IT success
story” – the space
to be for top IT
companies.
5
Another
development
in Chennai is
Cybervale at
Tamil Nadu.
lots of amenities that are important to
them,” explains Biren Ghose, country
head, Technicolor India.
The fact that ITPB generates its own
power is a huge incentive for clients,
Ghose notes. “As far as I know, it is the
only park in Bangalore that does so.
This is very important to what we do,
considering the large les we work on,
creating and processing frames, and the
amount of data we transmit to London
and Los Angeles almost 24/7. One second
of power outage will prevent us from
2
3
4
5
meeting our deadlines.
“We pay a premium to Ascendas
compared with what we would pay
elsewhere for space, but we have
uninterrupted power, maintenance,
upkeep and a good environment for
artists. Besides, the Ascendas customer
service culture is denitely evident here.”
Rick Lam, director of real estate
and facilities solutions for Pzer’s Asia
Pacic region, says that as his company
changes its strategy in certain markets,
such as India, Ascendas’ exibility and
30
PERSPECTIVE
6
professionalism are highly valued. “They
are not necessarily the lowest-cost option,
but they are worth paying for because of
their quality and locations.”
FUTURE-READY SPACES
Currently more than 400 clients and
77,000 workers occupy space on Ascendas
properties in Chennai, Bangalore and
Hyderabad, and the company also has
joint-venture developments in the cities
of Pune and Gurgaon.
Discussing the company’s plans for
India and other Asian markets, chief
customer solutions officer Aylwin Tan
says that Ascendas is building spaces
the industries here will need in future.
“Our mission is to create total business
environments so that the people working
here can excel. It is about future-ready
business space.”
Anticipating the space requirements
of multinationals in many parts of Asia to
change from factory plants for low-cost
manufacturing to R&D campuses and IT
parks as their business models evolve,
Ascendas will work exibly with investors
to secure the space they require, Tan says.
“The fact that we are owned by
Singapore’s Ministry of Trade & Industry
means we operate with greater
transparency, which multinational clients
value greatly,” he continues.
He adds that clients also value
Ascendas’ presence in so many markets,
and the insights it has gained on how
certain areas within a country are better
suited to particular functions.
“We can deliver the same quality
experience everywhere in Asia with
customised solutions for our clients,”
Tan promises.
6
ITPC’s amenities
include a bank,
ATMs, a gift shop
and convenience
store, a health
club, a 24-hour
pharmacy,
international
foodcourts, and
more.
7
ITPB is Ascendas’
agship tech park,
with its own power
plant and even a
 ve-star hotel to
complete its livework-play concept.
7
32
MONEY
As the world continues to grapple with
global warming, one solution that is
being tried out to various extents by
different countries is the trading of
carbon emissions permits.
Under such trading schemes – also
known as cap-and-trade systems –
companies are assigned quotas that limit
the amount of greenhouse gases they can
emit. They can sell excess allowances to
other rms at a prot if their emissions
are below quota. Buyers pay a charge for
polluting while sellers are rewarded for
having reduced emissions.
More
“Emissions trading programmes vary
countries are
in their features, but they all share
the key insight that well-designed
moving towards
markets can be a powerful tool
carbon emissions
in achieving environmental and
trading
schemes to
economic progress,” said Nathaniel
Keohane, vice president for
combat climate
international climate at the US-based
change.
Environmental Defense Fund.
“Market-based policies are a proven
way to limit carbon pollution and channel
capital and innovation into clean energy,”
he added.
EUROPEAN BEGINNINGS
The world’s most established carbon
trading scheme exists in Europe. It is the
centrepiece of the European Union’s (EU)
climate change policy. Launched in 2005,
the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS)
is the world’s rst signicant emissions
trading scheme.
This cap-and-trade system aims to
tighten the availability of permits every
year, making polluting more costly
and forcing companies to switch to
greener technologies. Countries like
Australia, Japan and China are currently
experimenting to various degrees with
systems like the EU ETS.
As of 2013, the EU ETS covers more
than 11,000 factories, power stations and
various other installations in 31�countries.
The establishments regulated by the
scheme are responsible for close to half
of the EU’s CO2 emissions and 40 per cent
of its total greenhouse gas emissions.
The system’s effectiveness has been
hampered by Europe’s sovereign
debt woes, however. The region’s
persistent economic downturn and
generous quota allocations have
created a surplus of permits, leading to
prices dropping as low as €2.75 (S$4.66)
a short ton (€2.67/S$4.52 a tonne) this
year. This is far below the minimum price
of €30 a tonne that is needed to persuade
companies to switch to cleaner fuels like
natural gas, their main alternative to coal,
for generating electrical power.
These problems could cancel out over
A Trade
Worth
Making
Text Francis Kan Illustration Getty Images
700 tonnes of reduced emissions from
renewable energy and energy efficiency
efforts, according to a recent report by
carbon trading think tank Sandbag.
The study found that companies are
taking advantage of the current low prices
by banking up carbon permits, to enable
continued emissions after 2020 when
efforts to tackle global warming should be
picking up.
To address the problem, the European
Parliament approved in July a measure
intended to revive sagging prices
and renew condence in the EU ETS –
delaying the auctioning of some of these
allowances in the coming years.
PROGRESS ELSEWHERE
Europe’s struggles with its carbon trading
scheme have not deterred moves by
other countries.
This year, four years after the US failed
to pass legislation for a nationwide
programme, President Barack Obama
unveiled a climate plan that will boost US
regional schemes. One such scheme is
the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative
(RGGI), which caps greenhouse gas
emissions from power plants in nine
north-eastern states.
In Australia, which is a major
greenhouse gas emitter,�the government
announced in July that it will scrap its
carbon tax and establish an emissions
trading scheme that limits pollution from
2014, a year�earlier than originally planned.
More signicantly, China, the world’s
CARBON TAX
AUSTRALIA
A$23 (S$27) a
tonne, for the
country’s 500
largest emitters
FINLAND
€20 a tonne
of CO2
JAPAN
¥289 (S$3.72)
a tonne, on
fossil fuels
UK
₤12 (S$12) a
tonne of CO2 for
organisations
consuming more
than 6,000MWh of
electricity a year
INDIA
50 (S$1) a tonne
of CO2 , on coal
production
and imports
CARBON TRADING
SHENZHEN
(trial market
for China)
¥43 (S$8.76)
a tonne
EU
€4.36 a tonne
biggest polluter, has signalled its
commitment to implementing a carbon
emissions trading market by 2015.
Shenzhen, one of its southern cities,
recently launched a platform on which to
trade carbon emission permits.
Under the project’s initial phase,
Shenzhen’s municipal government put
635 manufacturers and 197 buildings –
including shopping malls, hotels and
office buildings – under carbon emission
management.
“The launch of the carbon trading market
in Shenzhen demonstrates that China has
taken a substantial step towards reducing
carbon emissions. Following this, other
carbon trading pilots at provincial and
city levels are making big strides,” said
Wu Delin, deputy secretary-general of the
Shenzhen municipal government.
China also plans to open similar
schemes in Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin and
Guangdong before 2014.
WHITHER SINGAPORE?
While Singapore does not currently have
a cap-and-trade scheme, experts say it
may be poised to become a centre for
carbon trading.
At a Singapore Exchange (SGX) lecture
last year, carbon trading pioneer Dr
Richard Sandor said that the Republic’s
infrastructure as an international nancial
centre makes it a suitable location for a
carbon trading hub.
“If Singapore got enough carbon
footprint it could participate with
countries like Australia in some kind of
international agreement in the region. By
itself, it could probably be a market, but
not a large market,” he said.
Experts say SGX’s acquisition of a 49
per cent stake in Energy Market Company
(EMC) last year may be seen as a step
towards such a development. EMC
operates Singapore’s wholesale electricity
trading market.
Singapore has started taking action
towards implementing energy-efficient
measures that will mitigate and reduce
its emissions by 7 to 11 per cent of its
projected 2020 emissions level.
34
FOOD
The message is bright and clear –�what
you sow is what you eat. Urban farming
is no longer a fad among a bunch
of tree-huggers; it’s a phenomenon
that’s taking city landscapes by storm.
From Singapore to Stockholm, this
urban agriculture trend is feeding off
the “think global, go local” movement,
which emphasises the importance of
consuming locally-grown food as much
as possible.
As a bustling and densely-populated
metropolis with limited land resources,
Singapore doesn’t come across as the
prime candidate for farming initiatives.
Innovative entrepreneur Jack Ng thinks
otherwise. “Using radical farming
techniques, Ng says, “we can produce  ve
times as many vegetables as a regular
farm does, right in the heart of Singapore’s
thickly populated central business district.”
With the help of a ground-breaking new
farming technique, Ng’s city farm is able to
produce one tonne of fresh greens at
a startling frequency of two days,
providing a sustainable source of locallygrown produce.
Echoing similar sentiments, Jerry
Caldari, one of the principal architects
of New York-based rm Bromley Caldari
that has worked on several such urban
farming projects, says: “Urban agriculture
E AT I N G
OUT OF
ROOF
OPEN SPACES IN BUILDINGS AROUND THE WORLD ARE GET TING A
MAKEOVER BY URBAN PL ANNERS AND FARMERS WHO WANT TO BUILD
SUSTAINABLE FOOD SOURCES IN THE CIT Y.
Text Shweta Parida
makes sense for a number of reasons:
locally-sourced food, utilisation of
untapped resources, protection of the
roof membrane, water shed management
and reduction of the heat island effect.”
He adds that metropolises like New York
are full of buildings that are suitable for
rooftop farming. “Industrial buildings like
factories and warehouses have large open
expanses and substantial structures that
are needed for this practice,” he says.
TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCES
If you thought internet giant Google
had the most conversation-worthy
office design, wait till you land in Tokyo
at the head office of staffing company
Pasona, located in the city’s Otemachi
business district. Here, employees
welcome visitors to its main lobby, while
pruning fruit trees or attending to rice
paddies and broccoli plants. While the
entire nine-storey building adheres to an
environmentally-friendly design objective
that includes a double-skin facade (that
assists in lowering energy consumption
through passive cooling) and a rooftop
garden, it’s the integrated basement
farm spread over 43,000 sq ft that is
being held up as the future of corporate
urban farming. Using both hydroponic
and soil-based farming techniques, 200
1
A multi-tenant
business complex
in Amsterdam,
Zuidpark has a
32,290 sq ft roof
area that has been
converted into
Europe’s largest
urban farm.
TOPS
1
FOOD
species of fruits, vegetables and even
rice paddies are grown with the help
of LED and uorescent lighting and an
automatic irrigation system. An intelligent
climate control system monitors humidity,
temperature and breeze to balance
human comfort during office hours and
optimise crop growth during after-hours.
The crops are harvested up to three
times a year, prepared and served at the
company’s cafeterias within the building.
Designed by Tokyo-based rm Kono
Designs, it’s the largest and most direct
farm-to-table of its kind ever to have been
built inside an office building in Japan.
Pioneering move? Yes, but not everyone is
convinced. Expectedly, sceptics point out
that such a huge indoor farm consumes
a lot of energy, but the project’s mandate
is not to establish its green credentials.
Rather, it’s an urban experiment that
strives to rethink the farming concept that
is universally a rural practice.
Thanks to technology, such enterprises
are no longer a far-fetched thought. In
Singapore, Ng uses a state-of-the-art
vertical system called A-Go-Gro for his
city-bred greens which he sells under the
name SkyGreens in local supermarkets.
The farms, located in Kranji, are made
of tall aluminium A-frame structures,
inside
which trays of leafy vegetables are
2
stacked up high; a belt rotates them so
that the plants receive sufficient light, air
ow and irrigation. “The energy needed
to power one A-frame is the equivalent of
illuminating just one 60-watt light bulb,”
Ng shares.
2
3
FINDING VALUE IN AGRI-TEC TURE
Increasingly, developers, urban planners
and architects are realising that the
importance of integrating urban farming
into buildings is not only considered a
sustainable design element, it also adds a
very tangible green aesthetic value to the
structure. Innovative Swedish company
Plantagon, a pioneer in highly-advanced
vertical urban agricultural solutions,
recently
set up the Tongji-Plantagon
3
Research Centre at Tongji University in
4
2
Construction
of Plantagon’s
Greenhouse
Building in
Linkoping,
Sweden, began
in February 2012
and is nearing
completion.
3-4
Employees in
Pasona’s Tokyo
office combine
their corporate
duties with
indoor farming
activities.
5
SkyGreens grows
diff erent types
of vegetables
on multi-layer
troughs rotating
on an A-frame
vertical structure
called the A-GoGro system.
Images Plantagon, Corbis (Pasona) , SPH - The Straits Times (SkyGreens)
36
5
Shanghai to develop more techniques that
address the growing issue of sustainable
food production practices. “Traditional
building design elements like lighting,
landscapes, airows and energy efficiency
form the basic foundation for any positive
compensation towards farming add-ons
at a later stage,” says Joakim Ernback,
the company’s Stockholm-based project
manager.�“At Plantagon, we grow food with
resource-saving cultivation techniques,
which include vertical growing, thus
enhancing the production-area ratio.”
The Brooklyn Grange urban rooftop
farm in New York claims to be the largest
of its kind in the US. Besides producing
more than 18,200kg of organically
grown vegetables and fruits, the farm
has recently also ventured into breeding
chickens and an apiary that produces
honey for commercial consumption.
Urban farming entrepreneurs and
architects are beginning to realise the
benets that such ventures add to
buildings – a collaboration that is being
termed as “agri-tecture”. Caldari, whose
rm worked on the Brooklyn Grange
project, explains: “The design of the green
roof includes water retention mats, which
help farming conditions in more arid
areas, in addition to helping the building,
and at a larger scale, the city, with
watershed management.”
Experts cite several factors that
inuence the design of an urban farm:
building height, climatic conditions,
the irrigation system, and architects
and green technology rms who are
constantly improvising with new and
innovative solutions. “From Plantagon’s
perspective, just nding a piece of empty
real estate is not a sustainable longterm solution. So we have developed
our three vertical solutions –�Parasite
(retrotting existing buildings), StandAlone (building for the sole purpose
of urban agriculture), and Integrated
(building mixed-use),” Ernback says. While
all three differ in the way they function,
the underlying objective remains the
same – to provide an integrated system
38
FOOD
for the existing structure and the farming
process. “All our solutions strive to use
the existing volume of the building, which
is generally a ‘leftover’ (a double-skin
facade or a rooftop), and convert it into
a fully optimised industrial greenhouse
and achieve an integrated sustainable
solution,” he adds.
However, Ernback admits that the urban
agriculture trend isn’t without its own set
of challenges. “For instance, the initial
cost of setting up is relatively much higher
than a conventional greenhouse,” he says.
“Although this can be compensated by
using materials that have a longer lifespan
(around 40 years), smarter logistics
solutions should be able to provide better
cost control as well, by incorporating
energy efficiency.” On the other hand,
Caldari cites the mechanics of setting up
such a farm as the major challenge. “The
biggest concern we’ve encountered in this
process is getting the growth medium on
the roof.�Hauling 50,000kg of dirt from the
street up six stories to the roof is not an
easy feat,” he says.
A COMMUNIT Y LIFEST YLE
Away from the technical innovations
and challenges, an inconspicuous bar
in central Singapore is fast becoming
an institution among connoisseurs for
its avant-garde approach to the craft of
cocktails. Named after its actual location,
the highly acclaimed 28 Hong Kong
Street bar embraces the farm-to-table
philosophy with much vigour. Master
mixologist and general manager of the
establishment Joe Alessandroni shares:
“Growing our own herbs is a logical
extension of our philosophy at the bar;
the highest quality ingredients, handled
with care, make the best cocktails. So we
source independent spirits from artisans
the world over, make our own syrups,
tinctures, and bitters whenever possible,
and hand cut ice from the clearest,
cleanest blocks available.”
Over in London, an urban farming
meeting hub called Farm:Shop by design
practice Something & Son positions itself
6
7
8
6
Roof gardens and
farms are the
next big thing in
sustainability.
7
Woobar resident
bartender Byron
Tan tends to the
herb garden started
by Adam Seger.
8
Bjorn Low is
the founder of
Edible Gardens, a
social enterprise
that champions
urban farming in
Singapore.
as the city’s sustainable food network
leader. Located in east London’s Dalston
Street, it features a shared workspace,
cafe, and events venue, combined with a
vegetable patch, a sh farm and a chicken
coop. The space aims to involve the
local community, and make the concept
of urban farming more accessible and
desirable to the local residents.
Alessandroni, whose rooftop herb
garden was inspired by fellow mixologist
Adam Seger, shares: “We follow a
DIY ethic at 28 Hong Kong Street that
has really grown into the fabric of
the�neighbourhood. We care deeply about
bringing quality and new experiences
to our guests, and go to great lengths
to source the best materials possible to
do so,” he says. “The urban gardening
movement is built on the idea of fostering
community, collective responsibility, and
local pride – all ideas that we hold dear at
our establishment.”
Beyond all the advanced technology
and the need for self-sufficient food
production, there is yet another factor
that is boosting this urban trend further:
It’s a simple question that leaves most of
us intrigued – “Where does our food come
from?” Check your rooftop next time.
Images Corbis,SPH - The Business Times
GARDEN TO GLASS
Award-winning
mixologist Adam Seger
is renowned for using
home-grown herbs and
plants in his concoctions.
He recently unveiled a
bar-garden at Woobar
in W Singapore, Sentosa
Cove, where he is a
visiting bartender (he is
based in Chicago). “I’ve
been doing ‘garden-toglass’ mixology since
before it was cool,” he
notes. “It is now one of
the hottest trends in the
US and in London, but
it is just getting its start
in Asia with 28 Hong
Kong Street and Woobar
Singapore.”
For Seger, what
started as a “Mojito
Garden” concept at
popular restaurant
Nacional 27 in Chicago
in 2006 – where the
aim was to grow seven
diff erent varieties of
mint with a unique
mojito created for each
mint – has had a far-
reaching eff ect on his
craft.
Since then, he has
replicated his “farm-tobar” concept on much
larger scales throughout
the US, and now in
Singapore with Woobar.
“Right now, we are also
growing passion fruit,
soursop, lemongrass
and kalamansi that I
could not have imagined
growing in the US; it’s
exotic and exciting,” he
says with enthusiasm.
SPACE
PARK.IS.IN.THE.
HOUSE
by EDWIN CHEONG
Inspired by living in the Garden City, the architecture-trained
artist created this three-dimensional wall installation in the
lobby of ONE@Changi City. He used aluminium gures with
a Chinese painting perspective-effect to illustrate “a park
transplanted into an enclosed area”.
Photography Wong Weiliang
40