Bank of China Tower, Hong Kong

BOC Tower, Hong Kong

First Published Date: Sep 19, 2009

Much of modern architecture is about making a statement. In fact, it is probably truer to say that architecture has always in some way been about making a statement. Even the most unremarkable buildings have something to say about themselves, even if that thing is simply “I am simple and unobtrusive, it is what happens inside that is important”. Nevertheless, the increase in the amount of money spent on architecture has been enough to persuade architects that what they must provide in this day and age is a little bit of “bang for your buck”. Any major development today, you can be assured, will not be a simple straight up-and-down edifice with sober decoration. One look at the Dubai skyline will make clear the direction in which the wind of modern architecture is blowing.

As far as statements go, it is not merely the modern day buildings that seek to make themselves heard, as a look through the last few decades will tell you. One building which has been in situ for nearly twenty years in its current form, the Bank of China Tower in Hong Kong, is very much a statement building. Its bold lines are certainly impressive, and although it was conceived in the Eighties and opened in 1990 it still looks modern to most eyes. With the importance of the number eight in Chinese culture,  the plan was to open the tower on the eighth of August, 1988 (8.8.88). This did not happen, and this seems to fit the story of the tower, as it seems to deviate from the long-held beliefs about auspicious buildings and projects in Chinese culture.

For one thing, the building does not conform to the standard practices of feng shui which are broadly considered to be of major importance in China and its territories, in some places seeming almost to have a sense of open defiance against the rules. This is not quite the intention, and in fact the architect who conceived it, I.M. Pei, consulted with experts before finalising the design, removing a majority of the X-shaped structures from the final look as they are considered to bring bad luck. On the other hand, the presence of numerous sharp lines in the building is considered to be provocative. Nonetheless, the building has yet to be befallen by any major difficulties. On being built it was the tallest building in all of Asia, and the first outside the United States to break the fabled 1,000 foot mark.

One other interesting feature of the Bank of China Tower is its shape. From certain angles it bears a marked resemblance to a meat cleaver, and indeed this shape is known as a “cleaver building”. While this in itself may seem to be just a common fact, it becomes interesting when one notes that the “blade” of this cleaver points across the road at another building – the headquarters of the Hong Kong branch of HSBC, to be specific. A coincidence? Possibly, and possibly not, but interesting to ponder nonetheless.

To streamline and minimize blog maintenance, I will be discontinuing maintaining the realestateexpedition.com website (however, I will still hold the domain). I will gradually move all articles from this site to A Dawn Journal. This article originally published on the above website on Sep 13, 2009

Vietnam Relaxes Foreign Property Rules

Vietnam Foreign Real Estate Rules

First Published Date: June 9, 2015

As Vietnam reaches its 40th anniversary from foreign retreat, it celebrates the historic moment by allowing foreign property ownership and further divulging into capitalism. Starting July 1st, foreigners with a valid residential visa and foreign companies are allowed to buy real estate in Vietnam.

In the past, foreigners married to Vietnamese citizens and foreign companies with special permission were able to buy real estate after going through a complicated government process. Although Vietnam has enjoyed steady economic growth between 5 to 10 percent in the past two decades, its foreign property ownership restriction has frustrated foreign businesses that wanted to acquire properties to expand. The new rules will bring fresh perspectives into the property market and accelerate foreign investments.

Under the new rules, foreigners will be allowed to own 30 percent of condos and 250 independent houses in a ward – an administrative area that can contain thousands of properties leased for 50 years. Many other Asian countries follow similar property rules, as more and more countries are opening up to foreigners and relaxing foreign property rules.

It is expected that there will be a surge of foreign property investors due to the new rules. Ho Chi Minh City and Dan Nang are two major areas of interest due to expat populations and availability of high-end condos and houses.

However, challenges still remain in Vietnam for foreigners to own property, like many other Asian countries. The requirement to have a valid visa and the local bureaucratic procedural cobwebs will still make many foreign investors reluctant to try the waters.

Ryugyong Hotel – The Ugliest Building on Earth

Ryugyong Hotel in Pyongyang – The Hotel of Doom

First Published Date: June 14, 2015

The Republic of North Korea is simultaneously one of the most interesting and most impenetrable nations in the world. There are many places on this earth that provide major talking points with their seeming lack of openness, but as time has gone by there has continually been a temptation for each to accept the benefits of capitalism (or at least commercialism, which may not be the same thing but has many of the same effects) and open their doors, slowly at first but eventually deciding that they have more to gain from opening up to let the world in than from staying isolated. China was once seen in the way North Korea is today, but a move to free market capitalism is all but complete there and a real estate economy is developing. In North Korea, the same cannot be said – but whispers are emerging that it is beginning to dip its toe in the water.

The winds of change do not blow visibly in North Korea, due to the capricious nature of its President Kim Jong-Il, whose idiosyncratic style of leadership can best be described as “individual”. North Korea is a highly militarized state, and resists any effort to involve it in globalization. However, in Pyongyang there is a building which stands half-completed more than 20 years after ground was broken on its construction. Claims are that it will finally be completed in 2012, a quarter of a century after it began, and marking the 100th anniversary of the birth of the former leader, and Kim Jong-Il’s father, Kim Il-Sung. Extensive information on the hotel is hard to come by, however, so we are left with second-guessing and often cynical predictions on what shape the construction activity might take.

North Korea has a total foreign media blackout, and limits overseas visitors quite sternly, so it is not possible for international organizations to get a close look at what is taking place on the site of the Ryugong Hotel. Five years after construction began, it is known that it had to be stalled due to a lack of funds to complete the project, so what exists of the hotel is a concrete skeleton. Lately, one side of the pyramid-structured hotel has been seen to be covered in glass (although even that has been attributed in some circles to Photoshop), and the upper floors (due to house restaurants) seem to have been completed. A lot more, however, remains to be done. Even the Egyptian construction group Orascom – involved in the recent building – has admitted that the extent of the confirmed work is more to give the facade a more attractive look.

Whether the 2012 completion date for the Ryugong hotel is mere fancy or not, the fact that construction has recommenced after all this time does make for interesting speculation. Will the Pyongyang authorities see work completed on the building, and permit the promised “Western” freedom within the walls of the hotel? Will we know if it happens or not, given the silence from North Korea on almost all issues? We could yet be surprised – and those who call the building the “Worst Construction In the World” may yet have cause to eat their words. And, of course, maybe not.

How To Rent In Thailand

Renting in Thailand

First Published Date: June 21, 2009

Living abroad is something that most people want to do for at least some portion of their life, and which more and more people are deciding to do. As the Internet among many other things has seen the world become a lot closer, we all have a much better insight on other countries, their customs and the options they offer for someone looking to move there. Depending on the move you make, the “intricacies” of the whole process may not even need to be all that intricate. It is imperative, though, that you inform yourself of exactly what will be expected of you before you begin to put your plans into action. For example, while it may be relatively easy for a Canadian citizen to move to the US, or vice versa, moving between continents is not as straightforward.

The vagaries of property law often see a particularly large amount of tax levied on anyone looking to buy a house in a country where they have not lived before. This is one of the first things you should check before moving, as it can add another 50% to the cost of the house. Among the nations which place severe restrictions on non-nationals owning property is Thailand. To buy a property anywhere in Thailand, a non-Thai national will need to jump through a certain amount of hoops, and will invariably end up paying more than a Thai national. In order to avoid doing this, it makes a lot of sense to rent initially if you are planning only to spend a few years or less in the country. In becoming better acquainted with the country, it is also possible to learn a way to buy a property hassle-free, or monitor any changes in law.

Renting a property in Thailand, for Thai or non-Thai, is a lot more convenient and straightforward than purchasing. In fact, it is so straightforward that negotiation is very firmly discouraged. If you see a place advertised as being available at a certain price, you should not even consider trying to work the landlord down – most landlords will prefer to leave the property empty than rent it for less than the going rate. Why you would negotiate anyway is a matter for yourself – many rents for studio apartments in Phuket and Bangkok are in the region of $150, some even less.

If renting in Thailand it is worth being aware that all rental contracts are exclusive of things such as electricity, water and telephone bills, which are instead considered surcharges. However, considering the affordability of renting a property in urban or rural Bangkok it is hardly too much of a headache for someone with savings and a decent regular income to pay rent and bills and still have enough left over to live on without discomfort. Three bedroom houses in the more rural areas are available for little over $300 a month. At the other end of the market it is more than possible to spend four figures renting a condominium, but for that price quality is guaranteed.

To streamline and minimize blog maintenance, I will be discontinuing maintaining the realestateexpedition.com website (however, I will still hold the domain). I will gradually move all articles from this site to A Dawn Journal. This article originally published on the above website on June 21, 2009.

The Tallest Residential Building in the World

Q1 – World’s Tallest Condo

First Published Date : June 25, 2009

When it comes to building a tower that will stick in the minds of the people of the world, there is nothing like height for making your point. Certainly there are world famous towers that do not rely on height to take their place among the elite, and no-one would seek to deny that – the Eiffel Tower is one such building – but when it comes to new builds, if you want to truly impress a watching world there is nothing like a skyscraper to get heads nodding and tongues wagging. For this reason, the tallest buildings in the world will always be the subject of much discussion, and this makes the title of “tallest residential building in the world” one that is keenly fought for.

The current holder of this title is Q1 (short for Queensland One) located in Surfers Paradise on Australia’s Gold Coast. Standing at an amazing 1,058 feet tall and 78 storeys high, Q1 is truly remarkable. It is one of those buildings that throws up fascinating facts whenever it is brought up in conversation, simply because it is hard to convey how remarkable something is through raw data alone. Among other  things, the building is capable of withstanding the force from ten jumbo jets pushing against it – in the highly unlikely circumstance of that happening – because it has a reinforced “honeycomb” core. The elevator in the Q1 can go from the bottom to the top floor – 77 floors up – in 49 seconds.

Facts like these are what it takes to convey just how impressive the Q1 tower is. It is perhaps no surprise that it cost approximately AUS$400million (US$307million) to build. If you want to live there, however, you will need to take on a substantial cut of that cost. Olympic champion swimmer Ian Thorpe reportedly bought the Penthouse apartment for a sum of money believed to be in the range of $12million, immediately making it the most expensive apartment in Queensland. To stay in the building for a night will cost you less than that – in the region of AUS$319 (US$245).

Often when a building of similar size is built, there is a concern about its height making it structurally unsound, and at its highest point a risk of vulnerability in high winds. For the Q1 this is not a problem – the furthest it will move even in a cyclone is  600 millimetres.

Of course, all of this says very little about the building itself as a residential property. On that front, it is one of the most desirable places in Australia and beyond with world class dining and recreational facilities as well as retail outlets and a very strong aesthetic. There is tropical landscaped garden along with lagoon pools, and for those people who need to relax after a long day there is also a day spa. Top class conference facilities make it an ideal place for a business investment, too.

To streamline and minimize blog maintenance, I will be discontinuing maintaining the realestateexpedition.com website (however, I will still hold the domain). I will gradually move all articles from this site to A Dawn Journal. This article originally published on the above website on June 25, 2009