Height and construction costs of residential buildings in Hong Kong and Shanghai

A widely recognised theme of construction economics suggests that the cost of construction per square metre increases as building height rises. However, after many years, research conducted regarding the height and cost issue have established a classic relationship between those two, well known as a U-shaped curve. This paper describes the study of height-cost relationship of high-rise residential buildings in Shanghai and Hong Kong. Initial findings indicated that the curved relationships of height-cost of residential buildings in Shanghai and Hong Kong exhibit different profiles. The differences suggest that, Hong Kong contractors have more expertise in multi-storey and high-rise construction than contractors in Shanghai. The dissimilarities also imply that different sets of criteria should be applied in the judgement of height affects cost in different locations. Many factors could be contributors, such as the history and experience in constructing residential high-rise buildings, location, linkage and relationships to the neighbourhood provinces, design and construction regulations, and government policy on residential construction.

The business case for incorporating sustainability in office buildings : the adaptive reuse of existing buildings

The effect of climate change and global warming has received increased attention in society with constant reminders about the importance of energy efficiency and sustainability in buildings. Whilst the focus is often placed on smaller items such as plastic bags, air conditioners and motor vehicles, the emphasis has recently shifted to structures in the built environment. Office buildings have been identified as contributing significantly to global warming during their building lifecycle with a substantial contribution to CO2 omissions. In response, building designs and construction techniques have evolved over time to improve energy efficiency and reduce CO2 omissions. Whilst property valuers, managers and analysts must remain up-to-date regarding changes, relatively little research has been conducted about whether and how increased sustainability, such as signified in a Green Star rating affects a property’s highest and best value and long-term lifecycle. This study investigates the degree to which sustainability is understood in the property marketplace, especially in relation to property values with the emphasis placed on a cost- benefit analysis from both an owner’s and tenant’s perspective. Whilst it may be argued that incorporating sustainability into a new office building is cost prohibitive on a financial cost-benefit analysis, often various minor steps can be taken to upgrade the sustainability of an existing building. This project examines recent trends in capital expenditure to increase the sustainability of offices and where Green Star ratings have been applied to establish whether any corresponding increase in value is evident. In order to develop a researchframework, a thorough literature review will be conducted of recent Australian and overseas studies. This will enable links between sustainability and office buildings to be highlighted, and vitally how they affect a property’s value in both the short and long-term.

Investor perception of the business case for sustainable office buildings : evidence from New Zealand

Over recent years the global market for sustainable commercial property has been growing in importance, with rapid growth occurring overseas that has led to substantial changes in the property markets. The New Zealand property industry has been recently introduced to the concept of sustainability, and although still at an early stage is already noticing the accelerating uptake of sustainability in the industry. Although certain measures have been taken by the New Zealand Green Building Council and government mandates, there remains still a common assumption that there is considerable hesitation and skeptism in the market from both an investor’s and a building owner’s perspective.

The research presented in this paper reports on the results of an investigation into the market perception toward sustainable buildings from the investment community in New Zealand. Property developers and investors from New Zealand were surveyed about their perception of sustainable buildings in New Zealand and their actions with regards to their own commercial portfolios, as well as the impact sustainability is having upon investment decisions. This paper presents the results of research conducted into the relationship between the elements of sustainability and the market value of an office building. The paper provides an insight into the rapidly evolving area of sustainability and office buildings, with the emphasis placed on the valuation process that seeks to assess a hypothetical purchaser’s perspective of this relationship.

A study on energy performance of hotel buildings in Singapore

This paper presents a study on energy performance of Singapore's hotel buildings. Energy consumption data and other pertinent information were collected from 29 quality hotels through a national survey. Building features and operational characteristics contributing to the variations in hotel energy performance were discussed. The annual average total energy use intensity (EUI) in these hotels is 427 kWh/m2. Electricity and gas are used in all sampled hotels, and some hotels also use diesel to power standby generator or hot water boiler. We also investigated relationships between electricity consumption and number of occupied rooms in individual hotels; the weak correlations found indicate it is necessary to improve energy management when occupancy rate is low. Besides, Pearson correlations between hotel energy use intensity and possible explanatory indicators revealed that three-star hotels differ from high class establishments in energy use. Worker density and years after the last major energy retrofit were also found to be highly correlated to hotel building energy use intensity. Also discussed in this paper is the effect of weather conditions on electricity consumption of the hotels.

Architecture, multiculturalism and cultural sustainability in Australian cities

The way that the built environment represents and accommodates people of different cultures is an important facet of developing a holistically sustainable future. Architecture intervenes, maps and signifies and in doing so it constructs identities. It helps to shape how we know the world by mediating power, social relations and cultural values. Events such as the settlement, inhabitation and establishment of diasporic communities involve the occupation of space. Architecture provides the armature of this space, its form and its image. Building is a potent means by which identity can be formed. A most significant part of people’s well-being and capacity is their participation in literally building communities. This paper will illustrate this issue through discussion of contemporary Australian cities. The buildings of a wide variety of immigrants to Australia have since the 1950s contributed greatly to the changing nature of its cities. They are the physical manifestation of the great demographic changes that have occurred across the nation during this period. The combination of people of different backgrounds and cultures lends a unique quality to Australian built environments, and this needs not only be understood but celebrated, as they are contributing to the development of Australian urban culture. Increased knowledge and understanding of the impact of immigration and multiculturalism on our built environment will add substantially to understanding of the diversity of Australia’s cultural heritage, and the potential of future planners, architects, and members of the general public to create inclusive and dynamic Australian cities.

The sword and the pen in the pre-modern Arabic heritage : a literacy representation of an important historical relationship

The so-called "literary debate" in Greek, Latin and many Near Eastern
languages is a well-developed genre. In his 1987 article, Geert Jan van Gelder surveyed its background more than adequately, 1 and very few details of that paper need to be repeated here. He assessed thoroughly the historical contribution of numerous poets to the relationship between "the sword and the pen," and also analyzed various aspects of this relationship in a few prose texts.

Valuation of sustainable commercial buildings

Valuation is critical to sustainability take-up in commercial buildings because the combined monetary value of the building and land, as identified in the valuation process, remains an important consideration for many stakeholders. These stakeholders include investors and owners who refer to the market value on behalf of their shareholders, as well as financiers who rely on the value for lending purposes.

This article examines the valuation of sustainable commercial buildings and why it requires a broader consideration of what constitutes value, compared with 'traditional' valuation processes. Definitions relevant to the valuation of sustainable commercial buildings are listed, and the importance of sustainable buildings to the broader property industry is emphasised. The article covers traditional valuation methodology and how sustainability is included in each of the valuation approaches.

Consideration is given to the globally accepted definition of market value, and what the individual components of the definition refer to. The article outlines opportunities for incorporating sustainability considerations into the valuation process, and examines what the future direction for the valuation of commercial buildings may be.

By increasing knowledge about the approach to valuing sustainable office buildings, this article is designed to benefit three groups:

* It will equip valuers, financiers, investors/owners, and other stakeholders with a better understanding of the varying levels of sustainability, and how sustainability affects the level of risk, and subsequently the value, associated with a commercial building.
* It will allow owners, investors and tenants to appreciate the role of a valuer, their exposure to liability, and their challenging task of assessing the current and future risk, and subsequently the value, of a sustainable commercial building.
* This higher level of understanding should mean that the benefits of sustainability will be fully reflected in the valuation process, therefore contributing to support for those developers and investors who are leading in the provision of sustainable solutions.

The relationship between sustainability and the value of office buildings

There is an increasing body of evidence to suggest that the development of sustainability in office buildings and the acceptance of these buildings in the broader property market is increasing. However a gap still remains between the value of sustainability and the value of the building from an International Valuation Standards Committee (IVSC) definition of market value. Current literature is limited in the investigation of the impact of sustainable criteria on value component when undertaking a valuation of a commercial office building. Whilst substantial advances have been made in sustainable design and construction aspects, as well as reducing implementation costs and enhancing benefits associated with sustainability, there appears to be inherent barriers in adopting sustainability in the valuation process for the property industry.

This paper examines the limited previous research into the elements of sustainable criteria that impact upon property value, and in turn should be reflected in traditional valuation methods. The immaturity of the property market for sustainable building is such that current valuation methods do not appear to have significant evidential proof of increased property value through sales or lease evidence for sustainable buildings. Furthermore, this lack of market evidence makes it inherently difficult for valuers to assess the real market value of sustainable buildings through current valuation methodology. In other words, the level of risk associated with incorporating different levels of sustainability into office buildings appears difficult to measure using a market value perspective in today’s property market. Accordingly this paper examines current research that has been undertaken to identify particular sustainable criteria that potentially affects the value of a sustainable building. For example, previous research suggests that sustainable criteria impact upon the valuation equation through rental growth, depreciation, risk premium and cash flow. This paper also examines how other studies have viewed the impact of sustainable criteria and how they are weighted within the valuation equation. The discussion provides an insight into the rapidly evolving area of sustainability and office buildings with emphasis placed on the valuation process that seeks to assess a hypothetical purchaser’s perspective of this relationship.