
Like many cities in China, Hangzhou is undergoing rapid urban change. While the city center had historically developed around the West Lake area, opportunities for industry and commerce have shifted the city’s expansion towards the Qian Tang riverfront. New construction has tripled the city’s size in the past 10 years leaving behind a modern architectural fabric that is powerful in scale, yet still in need of public place making. NBBJ, in collaboration...

The Commercial Bank of Ethiopia (CBE) is to construct a 42-storey building for its headquarters in Addis Ababa. The building will be the tallest building ever in Ethiopia. The design is expected to represent CBE’s status as world class bank and portray its strength. Solidity meets transparency. One of the fundamental values in banking is trust. Solidity and integrity are as much a part of trust as transparency and proximity to the customer. This...

Equity One, Inc., an owner, developer, and operator of shopping centers, announced today it has closed on the purchase of a 22-acre property on Long Island, New York. The site, the former world headquarters for Avis Rent A Car, is adjacent to Equity One’s Westbury Plaza, a 400,000 square foot shopping center located in one of the most productive retail regions in the country. Equity One acquired Westbury Plaza, which is anchored by Wal-Mart and...

Constellation Energy (NYSE:CEG) today announced that its subsidiary, Constellation Energy’s Projects & Services Group, will construct a photovoltaic power system that will generate approximately 525 kilowatts of clean, renewable solar power at Patriot Place, the 1.3-million-square-foot entertainment, retail and dining destination adjacent to Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass. The system will supply approximately 30 percent of Patriot Place’s...

A spectacular 14-room mansion within the castle on the park, the State Suite at The Plaza is being offered for sale for $39 million. This exceptional, approximately 10,000-square-foot home is comprised of The Plaza’s former State Rooms which were originally used as lavish, private entertaining spaces when the landmark hotel was built in 1907. The State Suite combines the epitome of classic elegance with state-of-the-art luxury and technology that...

The Taipei City Department of Economic Development has just completed the greening of the Chengkung Market roof under the Promotion Plan of Taipei Garden City in preparation for the 2010 Taipei International Gardening and Horticulture Exposition, the next major event to be sponsored by Taipei City Government following the just successfully concluded 2009 Deaflympics. Chou Ching-an, director of City Garden Center under the Development of Economic Development,...

The affluent consumer market is on the rise. The Luxury Consumption Index (LCI) shows that consumer confidence is increasing, as the average dollars spent on luxury goods is up ytd and from first quarter to second quarter of this year. Buyers, brokers and developers alike express optimism, forecasting that the more than two-year decline in homes sales is over and that the consumer market is emerging from the recession, putting purchasing power back...

The ‘Sliced Porosity Block’ will be located just south of the intersection of the First Ring Road and Ren Min Nan Road. Its sun sliced geometry results from minimum daylight exposures to the surrounding urban fabric prescribed by code. Porous and inviting from every side, five vertical entrances cut through a layer of micro-urban shopping before leading to the elevated public ‘Three Valley’ plaza. A great urban terrace on the...

On Wednesday, August 26, Mediterranean Village kicks off its highly anticipated Midnight Madness event. From 9:00 a.m. to Midnight, the apartment home community will host the all-day promotion which will include several drawings throughout the day for Apple® iPods, Nanos and iTouches. Guests who sign a 12 to 13-month lease during the event on August 26 can select either one-month free rent or an iMac. Food and beverages will be served all day. Located...

Watt Plaza, a twin 23-story office tower complex encompassing 900,000 square feet in the heart of Century City, has been awarded Gold LEED Existing Buildings Operations and Maintenance certification by the U.S. Green Building Council, making it the first office building in Los Angeles to achieve this distinction in this category. Watt Plaza is one of five buildings in California and one of 12 buildings in the United States to be certified LEED EB...