Biggest Dutch pension fund quits pricey Zuidas for energy neutral home

DutchNews, September 27, 2018

An artist’s impression of the converted offices. Illustration: APG 

Pension fund group APG is moving its office in Amsterdam’s prestigious Zuidas business district to the Sloterdijk business park in the west of the city in 2021. 

APG, which manages one of the biggest pension funds in the world – the Dutch civil service fund ABP – says the move will save it €87m over the 17 year duration of the lease. 

‘You cannot explain to your pensioners that you are spending so much on offices when they are busy with counting their pennies,’ APG board member Wim Henk Steenpoorte told the Financieele Dagblad. 

The building on Basisweg, which is already home to some 500 APG workers, will be totally overhauled by its owner Edge Technologies and converted into one of the most sustainable buildings in the Netherlands. 

The 1970s building will become energy neutral, and the health of staff will take centre stage. This means, for example, that stairs will be given a prominent place to encourage walking, the FD said.

More homes, hotels built in empty offices

DutchNews, March 10, 2016

A quarter of the office space in Amsterdam and Eindhoven would have been left empty if efforts had not been made to turn it into hotels and homes, property advisory group JLL said on Thursday. 

However, by redeveloping empty offices as homes, the vacancy rate has been cut to around 15%, JLL said in the Financieele Dagblad.

In 2006, some two million square metres of office space was leased to new tenants but by last year this had fallen to 1.2 million square metres. By demolishing old properties and transforming others into housing, developers were able to keep the take-up at over two million square metres, for the first time since the economic crisis, JLL said. 

On average, around 15% of office property in the Netherlands is empty.  Fewer offices are needed because companies are working in smaller spaces as more workers are allowed to work from home.

Office aircos are set to men’s comfort levels: Dutch researchers Jobs

DutchNews, August 5, 2015

Dutch researchers have shown that office air conditioning systems are often set to a 1960s formula based on men’s thermal comfort rather than women’s, according to a report on TheConversation.com. 

The research, published in the journal Nature Climate Change, shows that if the office thermostat is set for men, it will be too low for women, forcing them to put on woollies in the height of summer. 

This is because women are smaller and generate less metabolic heat than men which means they will not feel comfortable in office temperatures set for the opposite sex. 

By the same logic, if the thermostat is set for Europeans it will be too low for Asians, who weigh, on average, 30% less, the paper states. 

Maastricht University researchers Boris Kingma and Wouter van Marken Lichtenbelt say that energy consumption in homes and offices accounts for some 30% of carbon dioxide emissions. 

However, a more realistic approach to the temperature needs of a building’s occupants will lead to more efficiency in energy consumption and cut emissions, the researchers say.

China gives new twist to world's second tallest building

Yahoo – AFP, Bill Savadove, 21 June 2015

The under-construction Shanghai Tower (bottom C), the Shanghai World 

Financial Center (L) and the Jin Mao Tower (AFP Photo/Johannes Eisele)

Shanghai (AFP) - The world's second tallest building, Shanghai Tower, will soon open in the Chinese financial capital with a twist -- a 120-degree twist, to be exact.

A softened triangular "outer skin" is literally twisted around a circular core, sending the glass and steel tower spiralling 632 metres (2,086 feet) into the grey sky above the city.

State-backed developer Shanghai Tower Construction and Development Co. views the modern design as a symbol of China's future, a super-tall building in the city's gleaming Pudong financial district, which did not even exist 25 years ago.

The under-construction Shanghai 

Tower, will soon open in the Chinese 

financial capital with a twist (AFP

Photo/Johannes Eisele)

People involved with the project said the building will open this summer, with office tenants moving in first, but the developer declined to comment.

"This twist is an iconic symbol of looking forward for the Chinese people," said Grant Uhlir, practice area leader and principal for Gensler, the US architecture firm whose design was chosen for the building which broke ground in 2008.

"It's been referred to as a strand of DNA. It's also been referred to a place where the ground connects with the sky," he said.

Although still dwarfed by the reigning champion Burj Khalifa in Dubai, which stands at 828 metres (2,732 feet), and with new challengers under construction, the $2.4 billion Shanghai Tower can still lay claim to a host of superlatives.

Besides being the tallest double-facade building, the world's fastest elevators travelling 18 metres per second will whisk people up and down while the globe's second highest hotel will be located on the 84th to 110th floors.

An estimated 16,000 to 18,000 people will pass through the Shanghai Tower every day. The building will sway up to a metre (three feet) in high winds, with a 1,000-tonne "damper" weight near the top reducing the effect.

'It has to be unique'

"When you do these iconic, super-tall buildings, it can't be a copy of something else. It has to be unique," said American chief architect Marshall Strabala, who participated in the project while at Gensler.

Now the head of his own firm, he spent part of his three-decade career working on some of the world's tallest buildings including the Burj Khalifa.

He said the double skin plays other roles besides pure design, providing insulation to keep the building cool in summer and warm in winter and reducing wind stress.

"This building is a giant Thermos bottle, that's all it is," he said.

But the vacuum flask metaphor masks the mind-numbing complexity involved in balancing the design, safety requirements, building codes and client demands that shaped the tower.

Marshall Strabala, the chief architect of the Shanghai Tower, poses next 

to a three-metre model of the tower (AFP Photo/Johannes Eisele)

Despite the futuristic look, concepts owing to Chinese culture are present.

A golden canopy at the base of the building was originally meant to be green, the colour of weathered copper, but the developer rejected the idea because in Chinese, the expression "wearing a green hat" means being a cuckold.

"It's not a good thing. Gold is a colour of prosperity," Strabala said.

A white stone structure dubbed the "River Wall" on the lower floors conceptually cuts the building into west and east, like Shanghai itself is divided into Puxi and Pudong on either side of the Huangpu River.

"Pudong side is business, Puxi side is fun. The retail, restaurants (in the building) are on the fun Puxi side," Strabala said.

The developer is expected to shun using floor numbers with the number four, which sounds like the Chinese word for death.

Gensler says the building has 121 "occupied" floors, while the total number has been given as 127 or 128 storeys depending on how they are counted.

'Curse' of tall buildings

Office space will take up much of the 573,000-square-metre (6.2-million-square-foot) building, while the retail space is small compared to a shopping mall -- just four floors.

The building's arrival on the Shanghai office market could potentially pull down rents and drive up the vacancy rate, analysts said.

An empty office space in the Shanghai 

Tower, which is still under construction

(AFP Photo/Johannes Eisele)

"It remains to be seen whether the pool of tenants currently in Pudong is large enough to fill the building or whether Shanghai Tower will need to start offering discounts to attract others," said Michael Stacy, executive director of Cushman & Wakefield's tenant advisory group in China.

Property agents are quoting rental rates in a range of 9 to 16 yuan ($1.45 to $2.56) per square metre a day depending on location, but they say the developer is offering rent-free periods.

Strabala believes the prestige of the address will draw tenants though he jokes about the "curse" of tall buildings, which seems to follow economic strife.

Workers broke ground on Shanghai Tower in November 2008, just weeks after the collapse of Lehman Brothers, which helped spark the global financial crisis, and it will open at a time when China's economy is slowing.

Strabala, however, is not worried, stressing that recognition of the building as the world's second tallest will attract tenants.

"This building will fill up because people will want to be here," he said.

Three SOEs ready to Build SOE Tower

Tempo Interactive, Friday, 12 March, 2010 | 21:38 WIB

TEMPO Interactive, Jakarta: The dream of the Minister of State-owned Enterprises (SOE) Mustafa Abubakar to build an SOE tower has been well received by SOEs.

At least three SOEs have proposed their concept.

“We will try to gather together to plan several companies in one tower,” said Mustafa in Jakarta, on Wednesday.

Two SOEs, PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia and PT Pertamina, have prepared a concept.

Meanwhile, PT Adhi Karya has shown its interest informally.

Mustafa wants the SOE Tower to be of a better class and quality than Petronas Tower in Malaysia.

RIEKA RAHADIANA

Global recession overshadows property market

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Mon, 11/10/2008 11:13 AM 

 

Indonesia's property sector is already feeling the pinch from the global economic downturn as demand is slowing at a time when interest rate adjustments have become a necessity for developers to keep business going, a property consultant says.

 

PT Colliers International Indonesia said over the weekend in its latest survey that the slowdown had already been evident since the end of the third quarter, in particular in Jakarta and surrounding areas, hat it continues to be felt in the fourth quarter and most likely will continue to impact into next year.

 

Bank Indonesia's benchmark interest rate currently stands at 9.5 percent, with cumulative inflation already hitting double digits in the first ten months of the year.

 

Colliers' report comes just days after a similar survey by another property consultant, PT Procon Indah, which focused on the Greater Jakarta market and said that the industry is heading for a slowdown due to increases in interest rates and the effects of inflation on prices of materials and rental costs.

 

Colliers said the industrial sector in the Greater Jakarta area, for example, had already experienced lower transaction levels in the third quarter compared to the previous quarter as export-oriented companies cut back on their investment plans amid slowing demand.

 

Average rental rates in central business districts (CBD) rose in the same period slightly from Rp 87,268 per square meter per month to Rp 88,117 per square meter.

 

The total supply for CBD office stock is now reported to be 3.9 million square meters, up from 3.71 million square meters last quarter, while occupancy rates decreased slightly down to 88.76 percent from 89.62 percent previously.

 

Supply for strata title apartments grew by 3 percent in the second quarter and 0.91 percent in quarter three. On the demand side however, out of 77,277 apartment units under construction, only 65 percent were already taken up and net absorption for apartments in the third quarter reached 459 units, declining from 551 in quarter two.

 

"With the current total units being built equivalent to about half of the total existing units and anticipating additional supply from new projects over the next two years, the apartment market will be very tough in the future," the survey says.

 

The occupancy rate for retail space is expected to decline in the fourth quarter, with shopping centers adjusting their rental rates to meet market conditions.

 

Still, retail space supply is set to increase from 3.21 million square meters in 2007 to 3.31 million square meters.

 

Meanwhile, the hotel occupancy rate nation-wide increased by 0.82 percent from the second quarter, with the five-star category dominating the market at 47.5 percent.

 

The survey reports that in the last quarter of the year hotel occupancy rates in Bali will fare better than most cities in the country -- including Jakarta and Surabaya -- due to the large local tourist potential. (dis)

Citra Marga to build $195m turnpike in the Philippines

Ika Krismantari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta 

Citra Marga Nusaphala Persada (CMNP), a publicly listed toll operator, plans to build a turnpike in the Philippines with a total investment of US$195 million. 

Director of operations Hudaya Arryanto said over the weekend the project would start early next year and was scheduled to be completed in 2010. 

The project, known as Metro Manila Skyway, is the company's second project in the Philippines. CMNP will build a toll road connecting Bicutan to Alabang with a total length of 6.8 kilometer. 

The first one involves the construction of a 13.5-kilometer toll road connecting Buendia and Bicutan regions. The company has a 21 percent stake in the two projects. 

"We are in talks with a number of local banks in the Philippines to provide loans for the project," Hudaya said, without naming the banks. 

Aside from the projects in the Philippines, the company also has projects in Malaysia. 

On the domestic front, the company's ongoing projects include Cawang-Tanjung Priok turnpike (North South Link) -- a section of Tanjung Priok Port-Jembatan Tiga (Harbor Road) and Surabaya Eastern Ring Road tollway. 

It plans to start the construction of a Depok-Antasari turnpike with a total length of 22.8 kilometers by the end of this year. 

With its domestic and overseas projects, the company expects a net profit of Rp 120 billion ($11.4 million) this year, having recorded Rp 92 billion in net profit in the first nine months of the year. 

Formerly controlled by the eldest daughter of former president Suharto, Siti Hardiyanti Rukmana, CMNP is now 58.3 percent owned by the public. 

State toll road operator and builder PT Jasa Marga also owns about 17.8 percent stake in the company.

Emaar Jakarta tower to be the tallest in SE Asia

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Tue, 05/06/2008 2:01 PM

 

Dubai-based real estate giant Emaar Properties plans to build a landmark tower in Jakarta, which would be the tallest skyscraper in Southeast Asia, a presidential envoy says.

 

Special envoy for the Middle East Alwi Shihab said Monday the Chairman of Emaar, Mohamed Ali Alabbar, had proposed the project to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono during an informal meeting on Saturday.

 

"At the moment, we're still looking for the right location in Jakarta for the site of the project... we are ready to build the tower, our homework is to find the right location, " Alwi told The Jakarta Post.

 

Emaar, the largest land and real estate developer in the Gulf, is famed for its ongoing construction of Burj Dubai in Dubai, which would be the highest skyscraper in the world. The 718 meter-tall building is scheduled to be fully constructed by the end of this year.

 

Alwi said the Jakarta project was part of the company's commitment to invest in Indonesia.

 

In March, Emaar signed a joint venture agreement with the state-owned Bali Tourism Development Corporation to build an integrated tourism project in southern Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara, with a total investment of US$600 million. During the initial stage, they would build four luxury hotels, including Ritz Carlton and Giorgio Armani hotels, along with related tourist facilities.

 

"Emaar has started building its offices in Lombok and is carrying out trainings in conjunction with the tourism ministry for locals to assist in its projects," Alwi said, adding that up until now, the Indonesian government had received investments worth almost $5 billion from the Middle East and that it was targeting to attract $10 billion by 2009.

 

He said among those committed to invest in the country was Ras Al-Khaimah of the United Arab Emirates, which would bring a total investment worth $1.5 billion to construct an integrated port at Tanjung Api-Api, and a railway line from Palembang to Tanjung Api-Api.

 

Another company, Dubai Drydock, is ready to invest up to US$1 billion for the construction of a shipyard and an industrial city in Batam.

 

The envoy said the company had opened its office in Indonesia and had paid for the project's land, while adding that conglomerate company Pacific Inter-Link planned to invest US$500 million in a palm oil refinery plant in Dumai, Riau.

 

Dubai-based Al Ghurair Group also showed its commitment to invest around $500 million in the renovation and improvement of old refinery plants.

 

Previously, Saudi Telecom Company's Axis invested US$1 billion in the telecommunication industry. Alwi said the investors hoped to fully realize their commitments soon.

 

"Some of them complained that bureaucracy in our country has been too slow in responding to their proposals. While it only takes a few months to manage permits in Malaysia, for example, it could take years in Indonesia," Alwi said.

 

This had caused many of them to invest in Malaysia and Singapore instead, he added. (dia)

Despite infrastructure, CBD still good property investment

The Jakarta Post

Andhika Suryadharma, Analys,

For the average Indonesian, prices of land in the Jakarta CBD already seem sky-high. However, they are relatively cheap compared to other CBDs in the region, and there is potential yet to be unleashed.

We are at the start of 2008, a year most market analysts regard as likely to be a turbulent one. With a slow-down in the world's major economies forthcoming, emerging markets may become a safe haven. So why not invest in emerging market property?

To get a feel for the land situation in Jakarta from an international perspective, consider property prices in the CBDs of other major Asian cities.

According to the latest Asian property report from Jones Lang LaSalle, Tokyo's CBD holds the most expensive price per square meter among Asian countries, going for as much as US$34,000 (approximately Rp 310 million) per square meter.

Among cities in developing countries, the report puts the price of CBD land in Chengdu at $1,380, Delhi at $7,426, Bangkok at $2,513 and Makati City at $1,655.

Where does Jakarta fit in? Jakarta CBD is the cheapest of them all, at $1,340 (approximately Rp 12 million) per square meter.

Last year, the CBD in Jakarta experienced only a 3.1 percent year-on-year increase in prices, below Bangkok, which experienced a 3.5 percent gain, Delhi (72 percent) and Makati City (19 percent).

It is interesting to note that land in the CBDs of the latter two cities has a higher capital value than land in Jakarta, while Indonesia ranks higher than both the Philippines and India in GDP per capita (based on recent ADB data). This raises some questions about what factors determine the property value of CBDs.

Location, certainly, is among the main factors. The closer an area is to the center of day-to-day activity, the more expensive it becomes. However, that alone does not determine the price of capital value.

There are also factors such as supporting facilities, which involve accessibility to the CBD area. Examples are the CBD areas in Singapore and Hong Kong; one reason those areas are among the most expensive in the world today is the transportation facilities they offer.

You can easily reach the CBD in both cities using a variety of transportation modes, including Mass Rapid Transportation, buses, taxis, and even by bicycle or on foot. It is comfortable to get to your office by foot in Hong Kong, and it is also safe.

Another factor is tenants. Most of the high-ranking CBD areas are filled with major financial institutions and multinational companies. In Hong Kong, for example, major banks and brokerages line the Hong Kong area where the stock exchange resides. The more exclusive the area becomes, the higher the value of the land.

So what is the Jakarta CBD lacking? The tenants here are prestigious enough; it's the facilities that fall short. In terms of transportation, the busway is a good start but obviously it's not enough; a city railway system is also needed to build a transportation system accessible to everyone, in which safety for commuters is a priority.

Apart from that, there are also risks in obtaining land. Besides the difficulties in land clearance, the licensing of land ownership has been an issue, given the many reported cases in which more than one certificate is issued for a single piece of land. Hence there is the need to reduce regulatory uncertainty in order to make investments in CBD property less risky.

So, all in all, is land in Jakarta a good investment? We would say yes. Obviously a lot needs to be done, and this will need time. Transportation facilities should be upgraded, clogged traffic should be relieved and land ownership uncertainties should be minimized.

But land here is still cheap relative to the region, and with economic growth at above 6 percent and reforms underway, Jakarta should eventually catch up with other Asian cities in terms of capital values.

The writer is an equity analyst at PT Bahana Securities.

Indonesia`s Duta Graha eyes construction projects in middle east construction

Jakarta (ANTARA News/Asia Pulse) - Construction company PT Duta Graha Indah said it is bidding for an office building project in Bahrain and an apartment project in Ryadh.

The contract value of the office building project in Bahrain alone is estimated at around Rp500 billion (US$55.5 million), Duta Graha Finance Director Laurensius Teguh said. "We are taking part in the tenders for the two projects.

Hopefully we will emerge as winner and could start work in the two Middle East countries next year," he added.

Duta Anggada almost sells out apartment

JAKARTA (Jakarta Post): Publicly listed apartment developer PT Duta Anggada Realty has sold 97 percent of the 466 apartments at its newly soft-launched CityLofts Sudirman in Jakarta as of the weekend.

"Some 'London', 'Milan', 'San Francisco' and 'Paris' apartments are sold-out," marketing manager Helen Hamzah said in a media statement.

Priced from Rp 900 million to Rp 1.4 billion per unit, CityLofts Sudirman targets young and dynamic executives. Each unit is measured from 80 to 160 square meters and designed in a two-story loft with a small home/office concept.

The concept offers an office function on the first floor and a private area on the second. (nkn)

S. Jakarta 'hot spot' for developers

Agnes Winarti, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Property developers still regard South Jakarta as the "hot spot" for developing mixed-use superblocks despite water shortages and pollution in the area, a property analyst says.

"Most developers eye South Jakarta for mixed-use development because large plots of land are still available there," Coldwell Banker Commercial Indonesia's research and analyst manager, Dwi Novita Yeni, told reporters Tuesday on the sidelines of a third-quarter report seminar on the Greater Jakarta property market.

Mixed-use development refers to the multipurpose use of a building or set of buildings as residential, commercial, industrial, office and institutional premises.

Dwi said mixed-use apartment complexes needed to be built on at least a five-hectare plot of land, which South Jakarta still had plenty of.

Gandaria City, Kemang Village and Nifarro in Jl. Kalibata, are examples of the latest mixed-use developments in South Jakarta.

Dwi said apartments and office buildings were still the largest contributors to the property businesses in Greater Jakarta.

Besides land availability, South Jakarta also offers cheaper land prices than that in the central business district.

In April, land prices along Sudirman and in Kuningan had reportedly reached between Rp 12 million to Rp 20 million per square meter, while those in areas like TB Simatupang, in South Jakarta, sold for a mere Rp 3 million.

Meanwhile, head of the environmental damage control unit at the Environmental Management Agency (BPLHD), Daniel Abas, told The Jakarta Post the environmental condition of South Jakarta is currently at "a very concerning level".

More than 80 percent of the groundwater and surface water in South Jakarta is polluted, 40 percent of which is highly contaminated, he said.

According to BPLHD, during the dry season residents in South Jakarta need to dig deeper wells, some as deep as 16 meters, just to find groundwater, while in the wet season they need to dig about 8 meters.

"The normal depth of a well is between 8 and 10 meters," Daniel said.

He also commented on the overwhelming traffic conditions in South Jakarta. "Almost every street in South Jakarta suffers traffic congestion."

These factors, he said, are indicators that South Jakarta's environment is at an alarming state.

"Property development is only good if it does not harm the environment."

Dwi said developers should have a good understanding of the city's spatial planning regulations, which stipulate that 40 percent of a municipality's area should be designated as water absorption areas, while the remaining 60 percent can be developed.

South Jakarta's 145.73-square-kilometer area includes three districts designated for water conservation; parts of Cilandak, Pasar Minggu and Jagakarsa.

Eight other districts, which include parts of Kebayoran Baru, Pancoran, Mampang Prapatan, Kebayoran Lama and Pesanggrahan, function as "backup" areas for the main conservation areas.

Integrated high-rise residences becoming a trend

Nirwono Joga, Contributor The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Apartments are ideal for commuters working in the center of a city as they can return to their homes within the city limits without having to worry too much about traffic jams or the lack of reliable public transportation, all of which have an impact on productivity, energy and costs.

Global warming, various environmental hazards and the unhealthy condition of the city have spurred developers to build residences that are environmentally friendly. Land limitations in the city and the need of residences within the city have also propelled the growth of integrated high-rise residences. Traffic conditions in the city have prompted developers to build integrated areas called superblocks (mixed-use areas) in strategic locations.

Superblocks consisting of apartments, hotels, offices, malls, schools form a landscape of a modern and grand city within a city. Apart from the architectural appearance, the other plus points are the facilities available, the social value and the environment offered.

Superblocks offer integrated one-stop services for every daily need. Residents are pampered with all sorts of facilities, such as star-rated hotel, school of international standard, world-class hospital, exclusive offices and a mall. Residents can reach their destinations either by foot or bicycle along wide paths surrounded by shade trees and beautiful parks. They never have to worry about traffic. The air is fresh and they can save time and energy.

They can also keep fit by doing simple exercise, like jogging. They also get ample opportunity to interact with other people living there and the environment.

They do not have to waste energy on traveling to and from the office or to school or the mall. The saved time can be used for sports, recreation or spending more time with family, which has become a rare luxury in this metropolis with its hectic lifestyle.

Gandaria City in the heart of South Jakarta is one such integrated residential area. The apartment block is called Gandaria Heights, the office tower is Gandaria 8, the mall is Gandaria Main Street and there is a star-rated hotel.

The integrated concept here provides easy and convenient access for residents to reach their destinations in a very short time so that they have plenty of time for activities with their families, which is very valuable, said Ivy Wong, chief business development manager of the Pakuwon Group, the developer of Gandaria City.

Superblocks give many advantages to the city. The purpose of superblocks is to provide a better and healthier life and to provide basic needs by making available a large number of facilities, such as workplaces, schools, public space and a clean environment. Such a place will most certainly thrive economically.

No city can grow economically if it is not healthy for its residents. Therefore, it is imperative that the city administration along with developers create an ideal spatial plan. It is all a matter of cooperation between property developers, the city administration and residents in adhering strictly to the set regulations on spatial planning.

A superblock, to be environmentally friendly, has to have a balance between the land used and green spaces. While the rest of the city is congested, noisy, polluted and grim, the superblock itself is the total opposite by being environmentally friendly and green.

The green spaces in superblocks separate each building in attractive, harmonized landscaping. The presence of large shade trees, grass, pools, fountains, playgrounds, jogging track, tennis court, driving range is a must to attract apartment buyers.

Developers and residents can collectively make the best use of the clean water available and the processing of liquid waste, the use and saving of electricity by utilizing other forms of energy, such as solar, biogas or wind and process waste by 3R (reduce, reuse, recycle) and turn it into biogas, and other waste into handicrafts.

To solve the problem of clean water and flooding, developers should build absorption pits to catch water generally and rainwater in large amounts.

Developing superblocks is a logical answer to addressing the needs of residences in a city that lacks land. It is also a solution to the degradation of the city's environment and its worsening traffic. The development of superblocks in itself is a grand idea to make the metropolis more comfortable and efficient to live in.

A superblock must be able to enhance its environment by having a large number of trees to absorb CO2, pollutant gas and increase water absorption. Developers should also enhance the social aspects and functions by improving design and accessibility and creating a friendly environment.

Along with the construction of transportation infrastructure that is comfortable, efficient and environmentally friendly, like the busway, as well as the construction of shaded footpaths, it is expected that access to superblocks will be easier. Both residents and visitors can use the public transportation, which will reduce the use of private cars and save energy, plus it is environmentally friendly. Developers, therefore, would not have to make available large parking lots that often take up open, green space, but establish beautiful parks instead.

Superblocks are indeed a promising development that offer a better lifestyle, as in Gandaria City and other superblocks in a number of major cities.

Above everything else, who would not want to live in a city within a city that offers the highest level of comfort, easy access, free from traffic jams, is environmentally friendly, has complete facilities and offers a healthy and pollution-free life?

The writer is a specialist in architectural issues.

The luxurious geometry of 'scrapers

Zenin Adrian, The Jakarta Post

In the last few decades, architects have been liberated from the constraints of the traditional drawing board and flat-plane geometry.

Younger generations of architects have more access to the Computer Aided Design (CAD) programs and have been using it to its full extent generating more geometrically complex design.

Currently, the global trend of skyscraper design has shifted from a straight extrusion of primitive shape to a more complex three dimensional shape. Concurrent with the advancement of CAD software, a complex building shape is more feasible to realize.

However, such vast advancement in complex building form design has to be confronted with the reality of fabrication. All curvy shapes have to be fabricated from available flat building materials in the market. In order to achieve a smooth curved surface, it has to be segmented and the covering panels have to be cut into specific sizes.

Surfaces with one-directional curving can be constructed out of the same panel size with little variations. Other types of more complex curved surfaces, such as a bi-directional curving surface, requires a higher degree of variations for the paneling sizes.

Such variations also mean more material waste and higher cost. That is why a complex building shape is usually applied on high budget construction such as art museums, galleries or privately owned office towers and considered as luxurious geometry.

Interestingly, the new building for the Directorate General of Higher Education (DIKTI), Ministry of National Education, located at Jl. Pintu Satu Senayan, Jakarta, has demonstrated that such extravagance can be applied to a government office building. Designed by Atelier 6, a Jakarta based architecture firm, the building's unique facade consists of several curving surfaces which require fine variations for the cladding panels or glasses.

In my opinion, this matter raised an important issue of justifying such luxury. I could not think any functional justifications of the curved facade other than symbolic ones.

Symbolic form in architecture design was a common practice during the New Order era, for example Keong Emas Theater at Taman Mini Indonesia Indah or the phallic tower for the Ministry of Culture and Tourism building at Jl. Medan Merdeka Barat.

On the other hand, Menara Satrio, a new office tower in Jl. Prof. Dr. Satrio has applied a simple strategy in generating the effect of a curving skyscraper.

The recently completed office building, designed by Arquitectonica, a US based architecture design firm, manipulated the rectangular shape simply by chamfering each of the four corners.

The design strategy created a simpler geometry than that of the DIKTI building and minimizes the variations for the fabrication of the glass panels.

I must commend Menara Satrio for smartly and efficiently revisiting the rectangular skyscraper design. Menara Satrio has shown that luxury and elegance can be achieved with a simpler geometry -- and without breaking the bank. The extravagant geometry of symbolism-driven architecture as shown by the DIKTI building does not reflect functionality and contradicts good governance. The government should have expressed more modesty and practicality in constructing their office buildings.

Zenin Adrian can be reached at zenin.adrian@zadl.net

Procon says rising costs may delay property projects

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Rising construction costs resulting from the surge in oil prices will likely cause a delay in a number of large property projects in the country's major cities, particularly Jakarta, a property consultant says.

PT Procon Indah chief executive officer Siswanto Widjaja said Thursday that the delays would affect most types of property developments, including office and condominium projects.

"Except for retail outlets, many property projects may be delayed next year," he said, adding that the delays would affect supply over the next three years.

Siswanto said that producers of construction materials, such as cement and steel, had begun to feel the pinch from rising oil prices.

"This will continue next year and result in even bigger increases in prices," he said.

Pertamina raised the prices of fuels for commercial use by about 6 percent to take account of the rise in crude oil prices. With further increases in crude prices, fuel prices for industry will likely increase even more over the coming months. Unlike, the fuels sold to the public and households, fuels for commercial use are not subsidized.

"This phenomenon replicates what happened in 2005, when a similar rise in fuel prices took place. There was an obvious delay in construction activities, the repercussions of which we are now seeing, including in the office building market," Procon Indah strategic advisory senior manager Utami Prastiana said.

Besides surging construction costs, the parliamentary and presidential elections, which will be held in 2009, would also affect the property sector as most developers would take a wait-and-see approach.

However, Utami said that the surging fuel prices and the elections would not really affect the property market next year as both supply and demand during the year would remain stable.

According to Procon's market review, the office building market during the third quarter of this year was quite encouraging with growth in the occupancy rate and sales reaching their highest level in 10 years.

Compared to last year, she said, there had been a 5.5 percent increase in new supply of office space, while the occupancy rate had risen by 4.1 percent.

"The most stunning achievement is the level of demand for office space, which peaked at 133.4 percent in the third quarter compared to the same period last year,"

Utami added that total demand for office space for this year was projected to reach 270,000 square meters, which would represent a 117 percent increase over last year. (amr)