DESIGN PROFILE

BENOY
October 2008

Having grown by over 50 percent since the turn of the year, from 130 to 210
people, Benoy’s Hong Kong office has continued to make its mark in all markets. Having established a strong reputation for innovative design solutions it is now a well recognised and respected brand in the key China, Hong Kong and India markets. This has provided the practice with valuable stability, allowing it to explore opportunities in neighbouring countries such as Cambodia, Korea and Vietnam
Says Managing Director Simon Blore: “We have made a conscious effort to diversify our project portfolio, from a retail dominated project stream to one with greater balance that features hospitality, mixed-use, towers and urban regeneration among others. We have also launched specialist teams that focus on specific sectors —
with our hospitality team now well established and generating substantial
revenue streams.”.

Benoy has a large number of exciting new developments under construction across the region; many include pioneering sustainable concepts, while others introduce – for the first time, media architecture and innovative public spaces.

The practice is not only creating world class architectural designs, but is significantly contributing to the delivery of landmark schemes of genuine national importance, such as Huai Hai Road in Shanghai, IFC Shanghai, Jiang Tai in Beijing, IFC in Cambodia and MB Land in Hanoi.
Another great example is ION Orchard in Singapore — this project provides a substantial addition to Singapore’s public realm, delivering both indoor and outdoor spaces for all to enjoy. ION Orchard consists of a public square, a vibrant eight level retail podium with integrated art space, a spectacular E-Deck and a stunning 54-storey, 300m residential tower, all crowned by a landmark two-storey observation deck and situated atop one of the country’s busiest MRT stations.

“The most important thing for us is to ensure that our designs continue to
be turned into successful buildings,” says Blore. “It’s the best way of demonstrating what we do.”
With the Hong Kong studio continuing to grow, Benoy plans to relocate to a larger, more appropriate space where it can provide the entire team with a state-of-the-art working environment under one roof.

“We also want to continue to grow organically,” continues Blore.
“We have no desire to be the biggest; our driving objective is to continue
to be recognised as the regional market leader.

“With our expanding portfolio across the region, we have plans to open smaller design hubs in other Asian countries so that we can better service our expanding regional portfolio, the next imminent opening will be in Singapore.”
Benoy also intends to further develop its sustainability design credentials, working with its Sustainable Design Team to exceed clients’ expectations in relation to sustainable design. In addition to realising its growth aspirations in Shanghai and Singapore, developing strong pipelines in these key and neighbouring areas, the practice is investigating the possibility of establishing a permanent base in India, from where it will oversee the design, development and construction of its India portfolio.
“In the longer term we intend to explore new markets with a fully diversified portfolio,” says Blore. “We continue to be at the cutting edge of architectural design and our retail legacy is world renowned, but we must demonstrate that we can deliver across the entire architectural spectrum.

For the full article please see the RLI October 2008 issue
DESIGN PROFILE ARCHIVE

Benoy - June 08
Kinnersley Kent Design - Feb 08
Concept I - Dec 07
   
 
 
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