The disparity in wealth of the world’s political leaders and their country’s citizens varies greatly around the world. Research from credit broker Moneypod has uncovered just how big the political pay gap contrasts with the national average wage of their country.

Due to public anger over income equality, the Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong recently took a 36% pay cut to ease tensions. Despite this, he is still the highest paid world leader, with a $1.7 million yearly salary in comparison to the average wage of a Singaporean sitting at $52,000.

Controversial US President, Donald Trump’s wealth is valued at $3.1bn due to his large portfolio of hotels, resorts and real estate. He earns $400,000 per year for his role as President. However, he donates all but $1 of his salary to charity as the American constitution states that a sitting President must be compensated for his services. This is comparable to the average US citizen earns a relatively comfortable $57,000 per year.

When it comes to the world’s wealthiest world leaders, Russian President Vladimir Putin is the clear frontrunner. Worth a reported $40bn due to his holdings in a secret portfolio of companies in real estate, utilities and banking, Putin is often accused of corruption and enriching is friends. Compared to the average Russian salary of $7,000 per year, Putin lives a lavish life owning a $1bn palace located on the coast line of the Black Sea.

Discover the wages and net worth’s of the top 20 richest paid world leaders, and how this compares to the average wage of their citizens.

The top 5 biggest real estate companies in the world. We take a look at the top 5 biggest real estate companies in the world, and compare figures such as profit, sales, market value and assets.

In this guide, experts at ABC Finance help Finance Monthly break down what commercial mortgages are, how they work, how the application process works and how much you’re likely to pay.

What is a commercial mortgage?

Commercial mortgages are, much like residential mortgages, a long-term long which is used to purchase or refinance a property. As with residential mortgages, the lender takes security over the property or land in question and allows you to borrow money against it.

Commercial mortgages aren’t just used to raise money against commercial or semi-commercial property, usually almost any security can be considered. It’s common to see a commercial mortgage used to fund land or even predominantly residential security, such as large HMOs, large buy to let portfolios and holiday lets.

Commercial mortgage uses

Funding can be arranged for one of two main reasons:

• To purchase or refinance a property for your business to trade from;
• To purchase or refinance a property as an investment.

Although almost all applications will come down to one of these two reasons, each application will have its own intricacies and lenders will be flexible in understanding your circumstances.

As mentioned above, unlike residential mortgages, commercial mortgage lenders are generally quite flexible in the security offered. Commercial mortgages can be an ideal option for unusual properties, or even to raise finance against land.

The documents needed to apply for a commercial mortgage

When you apply for a commercial mortgage, the lender will usually want to see a number of supporting documents to help them assess your application. Although the exact documents required will vary from lender to lender, there are a number of documents that are commonly requested.

Firstly, the lender will want to check that the proposed mortgage is affordable. To do this, they will request a copy of the latest two years accounts for owner-occupied applications, or a copy of the lease, or leases for investment properties.

These documents are used to assess the proposed repayment against the money coming in.

In addition to the accounts or leases, the lender will also request 3-6 months bank statements, which will be used to check your account conduct. This gives the lender an understanding of how much of that income is left at the end of each month, and how well the account is managed.

For investment properties, only personal bank statements are required. For owner-occupied properties, the lender will also request your business bank statements.

The final document that is requested on almost every application is an assets, liability, income and expenditure summary. This gives the lender a breakdown of your personal cash flow and net worth positions.

This document provides a simple insight into your personal finances and alerts them to any potential future problems.

How are commercial mortgages assessed by lenders?

The processing of commercial mortgage applications is more of a manual process than residential mortgages, which are largely assessed by a computer.

Lenders will often take a common-sense approach to situations and will look at the bigger picture to fully understand the circumstances surrounding the application.

The other big difference between residential and commercial mortgages is that the valuation is undertaken later in the process. A surveyor is not usually instructed until after the mortgage offer is issued.

As a result, applications tend to take longer than standard mortgages, with applications usually taking 6-8 weeks to complete on average.

Commercial mortgage rates and terms

Commercial mortgage rates can vary widely between lenders. For an owner-occupied application, rates of between 2.75% and 3.75% are average for high street lenders.

Commercial investment rates range from 2.85% to 4% on average from the high street banks.

Challenger banks will usually charge a little bit more but will be more flexible in their lending criteria. Rates start from 4.29% and tend to hit around 7% for higher risk, higher loan to value applications.

In addition to the interest charged, lenders will usually charge an arrangement fee of between 1.5-2%. This is usually paid on completion and can be added to the loan in most cases.

Owning a home is one of the biggest dreams for many, yet the process of buying any property can be laborious and flooded with additional fees, delays and disappointments. Blockchain may just be able to chain that. Below Finance Monthly benefits from expert insight from Kai Peeters, the Founder and CEO of HiP, on the implementation of blockchain in the real estate sector.

We are now bearing witness to blockchain based technology coming out of its infancy, and showing how it can be applied to vastly improve multiple markets - including the archaic property market. With a few established businesses and technology giants warming to blockchain, we have to start asking more profound questions about/around how it could improve the situation for a buyer/ buyers and the real estate market as a whole.

The current housing market simply does not work for the majority of first-time buyers. Working exclusively with traditional financial institutions, real estate markets around the globe confine first-time buyers in long-term unmovable loans that put enormous pressure on young people looking to buy a home. This is why, despite interest rates being reasonably low, the number of new mortgages has been declining since the 1990s. Meanwhile, the minimum deposit is largely unaffordable for people who earn average wages, and without help from their family it is virtually impossible for them to get on the property ladder. Technology can transform the way we buy and sell real estate by eliminating additional costs and disorganization of our housing market, Smart contracts that can handle that aspect more efficiently.

Having a decentralized real estate platform addresses current market issues, and introduces the individual investors who can fill the void left by traditional financial institutions and inject more life into the market. This can also allow property to become a more valuable asset in itself, where each buyer is able to release equity without losing ownership, and raise money free of debt. Being able to turn equity into currency and have control over debt levels brings the choice back to the buyers, owners and investors.

The upcoming platform HiP was designed with all those benefits in mind, especially for first time buyers, who can use an inbuilt calculator to enter the price of the property they want to purchase as well as the down payment and monthly payments they can afford. HiP will then calculate the remaining amount needed to buy the property and this outstanding amount is offered out to investors. This means that the first-time buyer will own a percentage of the property whilst also being entitled to a proportional percentage of profit and capitals gains when sold. Investors on the HiP Exchange who have co-financed the property will also receive return on their percentage of the real estate equity they own.

This is a new world of opportunity for first time buyers who now have access to other financing options that were previously unattainable to them. With HiP focusing on the way we fund properties, and other innovative minds using blockchain based technology in other areas of the real estate sector, it is only a matter of time until the array of problems within the real estate markets becomes a thing of the past.

Paul Vick Architects recently won Finance Monthly’s Game Changers Awards 2018. They are a growing, agile practice based in West London. Their unique blend of skills and experience is backed up with a client-savvy world-view that sets them apart in their profession as does their 100% planning permission record on over 100 projects. The company’s Cambridge educated Director Paul Vick discusses the challenges faced by clients today.

What are the biggest challenges facing development?

Armed only with a commercial need, a strategic target, and an investment appraisal, risk and uncertainty loom large in the average construction client’s mind. Digital connectivity has laid bare how many different stories there are trying to make sense of the chaos of data and disordered world we work in. They have to stare through the fog of unknowns and lean on past performance, current valuations and economic indicators – any crutch, in fact, to mitigate risk. After all, huge sums of money are involved and whether they spend equity or take on debt, it all has critical implications for the wellbeing of their organisation.

And when the only constant is change, designing only for today’s conditions is a sure way to guarantee a sub-optimal solution.

What are the key issues clients face in relation to UK regulations and what are the incentives to encourage foreign participation?

Planning permission is a definition of viability – without it buildings don’t get built, investment is not forthcoming, and you are left with stranded assets. Stories of intransigent planners, vocal neighbours, mykfcexperience survey and delay are commonplace. Sometimes this is a result of an incomplete understanding of the process and the pressures planners face.

Our job at Paul Vick Architects is to confront uncertainty and negotiate remaining unknowns and trends intelligently in relation to the client’s brief. At the same time, we approach value from the start to enhance your business plans. The model we have developed addresses economic, use, identity, community, environmental and cultural values together to give opportunities for multiple users and positive feedback loops for your benefit. There is not much point in receiving planning permission for a care home, student hostel or hotel without enough rooms to make it viable for example.

The UK is known as being a structured and reliable environment to work for long-term interests – essential to successful construction projects.

The traditional distance of the developer to the user has become shorter. The public nature of development means users and neighbours have a louder public voice. They can be your supporters and market, and the developer seen as a catalyst for regeneration. An understanding of user needs is not just important to the planning process specifically, it is also important to the conception pre-planning and the physical detail delivery of it for user satisfaction.

For an office owner-occupier, that might mean design that attracts the best staff, encourages them to stay longer, work more productively and, ultimately, to make a more profitable enterprise. For investor-developers, that might mean private rented housing designed with a marketing cachet for cultural and social opportunities that commands premium rents, long leases and zero voids. For a museum, it might mean spectacular staging in and outside galleries themselves to create a destination powerful enough to attract people away from their screens.

Can you give examples where you have created value enhancement above client expectancies?

Apartments and Penthouses, London, UK. After some study, we agreed in a pre-application with the council that 100% increase in area would be acceptable. Previous consultants had thought only 25% was possible.

New Mini-Department Store, West End, London, UK. Our design increased the visibility of selected brands and improved the management and speed of stock delivery in store to boost client’s customers’ loyalty.

Daylight Studio, London, UK. Our design anticipated the client’s need to adapt over time to new media and alternative revenue streams, leaving them very satisfied.

Regeneration of a historic site with 7,000sqm of offices and retail, 80-bed care home, boutique hotel, low-energy homes, and museum, UK. The key objective is to design a destination to drive footfall, room occupancy, and sustainable client revenue.

Start-Up Hub, Innovation Warehouse, London, UK. Eschewing the trendy playroom motif, our fit-out supports growing, developing and selling ideas, and has nurtured several entrepreneurs who have turned into unicorn businesses.

Glass Bridge and Office Fit-Out for Global Communications Company HQ, London, UK. Our design crystalizes an identity that emphasises connectivity and facilitates idea-sharing.

What is your overall vision?

The magic needed to turn the faceless development appraisal with all its risks and changing parameters into successful ‘output’ value is understanding the various ‘input’ values. The examples above are about how user motivation and inspiration are harnessed - attracting them to come, stay, and return, as well as the word-of-mouth marketing will make the development attractive and relevant for longer. Focusing on the user is essential for any business.

Website: http://paulvick.co.uk/

To hear about real estate and construction in Africa, Finance Monthly reached out to the Executive Director of Tanzania-based Epitome Architects Ltd. - Nuru Susan Nyerere – Inyangete. Established in 1998, the company provides architectural, interior design, planning, contract administration and project management consultancy services. At Epitome, Nuru is in charge of design, procurement (especially international), quality assurance, whilst she also heads the company’s Real Estate Development wing in Nigeria.

What would you say are the most common types of projects that you work on?

We are not geared for a specific building type as in Tanzania, like many African countries, the economy is not big enough to sustain architects who are specialised in a specific building type. Thus, we have built a team with the capacity to successfully undertake a variety of projects.

We are very fortunate to work on a wide variety of building types i.e. corporate buildings (for both private and public clients); commercial and mixed use. We’ve also worked on petrol stations, banks, schools and universities, residential buildings – and the list goes on. We are one of the few Architectural firms in Tanzania that have worked on a number of health related projects.

Additionally, our portfolio also includes international projects such as Utako Bus Terminal in Abuja, Nigeria and Rwanda People’s Bank in Kigali.

Our work ethic and drive to satisfy our clients have enabled us to get numerous word-of-mouth referrals.

What specific tactics do you implement when assisting clients with development strategies?

• The desire and interest of our clients is our priority and we guide them by understanding their ambitions in order to deliver solutions that satisfy their expectations.
• We undertake extensive research based on client expectations and spend a good deal of time with them. This forms the basis of our execution plan.
• We have a passionate, highly skilled, multi-disciplinary team of professionals with international experience whose quality of work epitomises our services.
• The hallmark of our service is built on uncompromising adherence to contracts, development controls, regulations, best practice guidelines and documentation.
• We set out to educate our clients on the actual role of an architect in a development project.

What are the challenges that your clients typically face prior to embarking on a new project, in relation to laws and regulations?

A key challenge for our clients is matching their expectations and needs to the resources available, the regulatory requirements and the cost of compliance.

Processing of Statutory approvals like building permits, change of use (where change of developments use is required) is long drawn out and bureaucratic. In addition, every project needs to register with various regulatory bodies like AQRB, ERB, CRB and also undertake studies such as Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA), all of which are costly. Additionally, if the project involves acquisition of funds, the process may take longer than the client’s timeframe.

In regards to building laws and regulations, a potential challenge can relate to gaps in legislation, such as the absence of building codes for example. Change in policies can also cause numerous issues for our clients.

Do you have a mantra or motto you live by when it comes to helping your clients with the development of a project?

Our Motto is: ‘Strive for excellence regardless of project size’. Our business ethos is built on being loyal to our clients and the profession in our advice from the outset and our clients appreciates this.

Like the digitisation of all things, challenges will be faced and there are benefits to reap, but often such progress doesn’t take place because the correlation between the two isn’t a positive or favourable one. Below Gemma Young, CEO and Co-Founder of Settled, discusses with Finance Monthly the future of digital in the property sector.

Property is our most important asset class, it's also our most emotional asset. Therefore, getting our home sale or purchase right is not just a big deal for consumers, it's a big deal for the wider UK economy.

Unlike other industries (travel, music, taxi services to name but a few), the real estate model has clung to its traditional roots. Even with the advent of “online” estate agents now in existence for the majority of this past decade, the industry has been slow to adopt the opportunities a digital revolution presents. It’s therefore unsurprising that we're still seeing the same issues; typical property transactions take over 3 months with 1 in 3 transactions breaking. This drives consumer losses in excess of £250m each year.

Looking forward, is 2018 going to be the year for true transformation? Will ‘proper’ property technology companies make a dent in the things that matter?

What drives transformation?

Technology

The emergence of truly disruptive technologies including artificial intelligence, virtual reality, blockchain and drones all hold their potential disruptive keys to a more progressive future. Not only are technologies proliferating, consumers also have easy access to them from their smartphones.

Empowered individuals

Tech-enabled consumers search for greater transparency, more control and ultimately more progressive solutions to age-old problems. Their quests for modern, digital solutions provide exciting opportunities for change.

Investment

2017 saw the most significant investment in ‘proper’ proptech to date, with a new and forward-focused collective attracting financial backing from VCs and traditional property players.

Regulation

Central and regulatory initiatives represent a particularly exciting shift. The latest Government call for evidence “Improving the home buying and selling process” and the HM Land Registry’s Digital Street scheme look towards a future where technology (including blockchain) will make the transfer of property ownership much more fluid. Such initiatives shine a light on the underlying problems apparent in the UK property market and signal a commitment to a more open and less guarded future.

How does this future look?

As we see this convergence in consumer, regulatory and technology worlds, this more futuristic property market is well within reach. So who wins? The opportunity to embrace and adopt new technology is open to all, however, historically, traditional incumbents have been slow to move in many sectors. They, therefore, get left behind or quite simply, left out. We don’t have to look far to see examples; Blockbuster and HMV are businesses which didn’t, in time, connect to the opportunities of the next generation. As a result, nimble and forward-focused entrants Netflix and Spotify won the respective leading positions in the new world. Much like in the movie and music sectors, forward-focused businesses tend to win in other worlds.

Settled.co.uk is one example of a real estate business that is connecting across these converging elements at quite a unique time in real estate history. Settled’s unique technology has significantly increased the likelihood of completing on a home and has cut the time it takes to sell and buy in half. It presents the hope that, in the future, its technology will enable people to buy and sell properties in moments, not months. This is the kind transformation this sector needs.

Germany is no longer the most popular destination for commercial real estate investment, according to BrickVest’s latest commercial property investment barometer. Formerly the most popular location in Q3 2017, Germany has now fallen in favour among investors behind the UK, US and France.

Germany saw a drop in popularity from 34% to 23% in the last quarter, marking its lowest rating since Q2 2016. The UK, however, rose from 27% to 29% in Q4 2017, managing to sustain its favourability by consistently ranking above 25%.

Both the US and France have also gained popularity with investors, with nearly one in five (19%) preferring the US over other regions and 18% now selecting France as their location of choice (up 4% since Q2 2016).

The Barometer also revealed that the hunt for income ranked highest (38%) as the primary investment objective of BrickVest investors this past quarter. This has risen by 6% from 32% in Q3 2017.

Notably, interest in secondary cities as target markets continues to steadily increase (from 37% in Q3 2017 to 41% by the end of 2017). These include Birmingham, Newcastle, Bristol etc.)

Emmanuel Lumineau, CEO at BrickVest, commented: “Our latest Barometer reveals that Germany is no longer the favoured destination for commercial real estate investment, contrary to its position in Q3 2017. Rather, the UK has once again become the most popular region for our investors.”

“There have been similar changes in other aspects of the data, including the greater emphasis placed on the hunt for income and the growing popularity of secondary cities as target markets. As the year progresses and we continue to conduct our Barometer, it will be interesting to see how the industry adapts to these underlying factors affecting the real estate market.”

(Source: BrickVest)

This new year, there is one question on the lips of business men and women around the UK: “Is now the best time to purchase commercial property?” Thus, commercial property experts, Savoystewart.co.uk, have analysed how the market faired in 2017, and whether 2018 is the ‘peak time’ to buy.

The latest Property Data Report shows that since 2000, the value of the UK’s commercial property stock has grown, considerably, at an average of 3% each year – surprisingly, more than RPI inflation, which grows at an average rate of 2.8%.

Whilst exploring the report, Savoy Stewart found that the commercial property market in the UK in 2016 was valued at a staggering £883 billion, representing 10% of the UK’s net wealth. Investors now own £486 billion worth of commercial property in the UK; with overseas investors owning 29%.

In central London alone, around £2.4 billion was invested in commercial property, resulting in the total turnover for the end of July reaching a substantial £11.5 billion – a 24% increase on the same point a year earlier, in 2016.

July was the strongest month recorded for the City of London since March 2007, owing to the sale of the “Walkie Talkie” building – the UK’s largest single office building deal – which accounted for a staggering 61% of turnover.

Is now the best time to purchase commercial property?

2017 was a much stronger year than many ever anticipated. The economy pleasantly surprised many businesses and forecasters, with unemployment falling to the lowest level since 1975, consumer spending robust, and occupier take-up healthy.

According to Knight Frank, London office take-up is on the rise, despite the impact of Brexit, with demand in the West End at its highest for more than a decade. Savoy Stewart concluded, from their analysis of the research, that the third quarter of 2017 recorded the highest level of office take-up.

A substantial 3.8 million square feet of office space in central London was under offer and was due to close by the end of the year – and it is predicted to be the strongest final quarter since 2014. Office take-up in the West End alone reached 1.65 million square feet.

Trends in 2018

The uncertainty over the UK’s relationship with the EU will continue to cast a shadow over economic growth throughout 2018, resulting in a more cautious outlook amongst investors across all commercial property sectors. As a result, activity may be subdued, but it doesn’t

mean investment will stop any time soon, as investment volumes in the UK commercial property market, this year, are expected to total around £55 billion, per a report by JLL.

Savoy Stewart considered Savills ‘Sector Outlook’ and summarised the six main trends for commercial property in 2018:

1. Non-domestic demand for UK commercial property to remain strong; Due to the weakening of the pound and commercial property yields looking high in comparison to prime European and Asian markets.
2. Now is the best time to add value, and for opportunistic investors; Less competition and falling prices means now is the best opportunity to value-add and for opportunistic investors looking to change short-term income into long-term.
3. Real earnings growth will improve for the retail market; In 2017, a perfect storm of negativity hit retail, but this year will better news. Watch out for good buys in some segments of the commercial property market – don’t just buy because it’s cheap.
4. Brexit: It will become clearer how much, where and when the risks will be. London’s office market shrugged off the worst of the pre-Brexit negativity last year; 2018 will see more balance.
5. 2018 will be the year of ‘alternatives’; The pace of recovery will be dictated predominantly by Brexit; investors this year will be exploring new opportunities in the market.
6. New-tech tools, such as AI, will emerge; Wellness and staff satisfaction will continue to be important for employers, but some businesses will start to look at offsetting the costs of delivering wellness by using artificial intelligence.

Managing Director of Savoystewart.co.uk, Darren Best, discusses his view on commercial property investment in 2018: “As the figures show, despite the uncertainty around Brexit, London is still a pre-eminent city and performing better than Europe in some sectors. The research suggests that now is the best time to purchase commercial property in the UK, now that business confidence is more stable than many expected, which speaks volumes.”

He added: “The performance of the market, last year, surprised many of us. Occupiers are continuing to commit to London commercial property to satisfy their needs, and with the increase in foreign investment in UK commercial property over the last decade and overseas investors now owning 29% of UK commercial properties, it is safe to say 2018 isn’t going to be all doom and gloom – there will be scope for optimism too.”

December mortgage sales in the UK plummeted by 38% (£5.8 billion) on November, according to Equifax Touchstone analysis of the intermediary marketplace. Year-on-year sales dropped by 12.8% (£.1.4 billion).

Residential figures dropped dramatically by 39.6% (£4.9 billion) on the previous month. Buy-to-let sales also tumbled, falling by 32.1% (£853.7 million) on November.

All regions across the UK suffered from a significant mortgage sales contraction in December. The South Coast witnessed the largest slump of 42.1%, followed by the Midlands (40.6%) and Wales (40.3%). Mortgage sales in the North West fell 34.4%, the smallest drop across all the regions.

John Driscoll, Director at Equifax Touchstone, said: “After three months of consecutive growth, mortgage sales in the UK have decreased sharply across both residential and buy-to-let sectors. Traditionally, December is a slow month for sales due to the festive period and other seasonal effects. However, the level of decrease is somewhat concerning for the industry, especially when considering that mortgage sales are down £1.4 billion year-on-year.

“While we expect to see the usual New Year pick-up in the market following a festive dip, there are a number of factors at play which could alter the direction of mortgage sales in coming months. An uncertain economic and political outlook, the onset of Open Banking and whether this will facilitate faster mortgage applications, the end of the Term Funding Scheme and implications for higher mortgage rates, and the subdued forecast for house prices, to name a few, have set the scene for a volatile and uncertain market in 2018.”

The data from Equifax Touchstone, which covers the majority of the intermediated lending market, shows that the average value of a residential mortgage in December was £191,522 (2016: £196,682) and £150,914 for buy-to-let (2016: £158,967).

(Source: Equifax)

JADE+QA is an International design studio, founded by British Architect Martin Jochman Dip Arch, ARB (UK) RIBA based in the UK, Hong Kong and Shanghai. In 2013 Martin, who is the original Concept and Scheme Design architect for the Shimao Wonderland Intercontinental Hotel in a Quarry, signed contract with the developer Shimao to complete the design and overview the construction. Since then, Martin’s studio JADE+QA has designed a number of high-profile projects in China and South East Asia.

 Prior to setting up JADE+QA, Martin has had over 25 years of UK and international design experience as an Associate and Design Director with an international design consultancy winning numerous national and international competitions and awards. He has worked in the UK, Europe, Dubai, Hong Kong and China on many high-profile projects, including the Jumeira Beach Hotel, the Wild Wadi Waterpark in Dubai, Tianjin TEDA towers, Wuhan Pebbles mixed development and other important landmarks. Here he discusses the construction sector in China and the work that his company has done thus far. 

As a professional with over 25 years of experience in design and construction, what would you say attracted you to the field?

I come from artistic background with both of my parents being creative artists . This has obviously influenced me from early age to look at professions which could combine my interest in arts with other subjects  I was interested. Architecture thus became quite obvious answer and I have therefore chosen this profession quite early in my life for my future occupation.  I have been very fortunate to have had an opportunity to study at an excellent architectural school in Bristol and this creative environment has reinforced my resolve to become architect. To me Architecture is more than just a profession. It becomes almost an obsession, where each new design project is a new adventurous challenge, testing one’s ability to come up with new innovative solutions. No design problem is ever same. I am happy to say that even after almost 40 years, I am still excited and filled with trepidation when facing a blank piece of paper to start sketching new concept ideas.

What would you say are currently the biggest challenges in the field in China?

There are several major challenges that a foreign architect has to overcome in China. Firstly, the contractual process differs quite a lot from the UK practices. Whilst the overall principles of the design process are same, the contractual relationships, especially not giving the architect full authority to implement his design direction and the disjointed nature of the design/client team can be quite counterproductive.

Quite often, the “foreign’ architect, who relies on a Local Design Institute to submit the drawings for approval, is only given a limited scope, producing a Masterplan only or a Concept and Scheme Design, without the continuity of involvement in the construction detailing and construction itself.  Communication and difficulty with coordination between the various parts of the project team can also contribute to the lack of overall control over the design process. This has great impact on the quality of the resulting building that ultimately depends on the quality and experience of the client and his management team.

We have been lucky to have had very experienced and professional clients, whose teams have avoided this situation - especially with our hotel projects in the Shimao Quarry Hotel, where the quality of the client’s management, both during the design and on site, has been exceptional.

The second major issue has always been the quality of workmanship on site. Again, as with design, the contractual authority of the designer is missing, with primary driver for the project being the budget and speed of construction. This often leads to cutting corners and reduction of the build quality.

What are some of the key issues that you and your client frequently face in relation to Chinese regulations? 

A number of Chinese regulations, especially in design of residential buildings, limit the design scope of a given project. For instance, orientation of residential buildings only in north/south direction, so they end up being arranged in regimented grid pattern, which doesn’t allow for the variety and richness we expect in our residential layouts in the UK.

For instance, our innovative ‘Vertical Shikumen’ residential concept for Shanghai was declared ‘suitable for Singapore, but not for Shanghai”. The regulations of internal bathrooms and kitchens also determine the overall residential planning and character.

However, on the other side , in our Shimao Quarry hotel, the local Authority in Songjiang has been impressively flexible and has allowed, in this building, which as an ‘upside down’ skyscraper with no  precedent, certain regulations  (such as the seismic and structural codes and fire regulations) to be reinterpreted and justified from the first principles.

What incentives are in place to encourage foreign participation in the construction sector in China?

The major incentive has been the Government’s creation of so-called “Wholly Owned Foreign Investment” companies that enable foreign individuals to establish enterprises in China. This is the basis for operation of my studio in Shanghai.

The Chinese Government  has recognised the value of learning from the experience of what they call “ Foreign Experts” and foreign participation is welcomed by clients, who seek experienced foreign designers to help produce more innovative and ‘international landmark’ buildings. It is a matter of ‘Face’ to have a foreign architect on board and having a ‘Name’ designer often helps to push the project through the Government approvals much quicker.

What mechanisms do you use when identifying risk and opportunities in the early development process of projects? 

Important tool for identifying the risks and opportunities is a thorough analysis of all aspects of the design project. This is in fact a standard part of the design process, but is often skipped or simplified.

The most important factors in order to be able to come up with the ‘right’ solution are:

-Understanding the site and its physical (orientation, topography, access, existing landscape, environmental character, water etc.) and non-physical character. (cultural, historical, emotional context).

-Equally important is understanding the client’s requirements and thus, being able to translate them into physical volumes and plans that can then be arranged on the site.

-Finally, an important factor is understanding the local  requirements, mainly the building densities, maximum heights , percentage of the green areas and other factors determining the size and location of the buildings.

All of these factors require detailed analysis, utilizing latest modeling and graphic software and internet research methods.

How has technology changed the architecture sector in recent years?

The design process in architecture has benefited from the ‘digital revolution’ by enabling complex organic shapes of building structures and façades to be designed and constructed, well beyond the capability of architects from only 20-30 years ago – from rectilinear simple shapes to complex curved buildings, that rely for both design and construction on automated computer controlled digital technology. Building and façade shapes produced by architects such as Hadid or UN Studio would have been unthinkable at the time when we designed buildings by drawing in ink on tracing paper on drawing boards with T squares.

In the heady days of the fast building boom here in China, there was a quest for the most unusual ‘Landmark’ shapes. Clients were competing for the most innovative building forms, enabled by the new technology  and the examples of the resulting architecture, both good and bad, can be seen all over China. The CCTV building in Beijing, The Bird’s Nest Stadium, Beijing Airport terminal, Shenzhen Airport terminal, our Wuhan Pebble Towers and even the Shimao Wonderland Intercontinental Hotel in a Quarry are the examples of such architectural style.

Other developments are in the sustainability and ability for humans to interact with our buildings. Sustainability is a very important element of building design and, here in China, is now taken very seriously, with the US LEED system of evaluation and local Chinese 4-star system, being frequently used to produce buildings which will contribute to the environment, by saving energy, water and promoting biodiversity.

Interactivity in architecture is also enabled by the ‘digital  revolution’ through incorporating smart controls which help to automate the building services, ranging from heating, ventilation, to lighting, security and communication and controlling more mechanical aspects of the external envelope of the building such as sun shading, external lighting and cleaning the façade.

Can you detail any current projects that you are working on? What are some of the key issues that you are facing in the process of assisting with them?

Shimao Wonderland Intercontinental

As mentioned, our most important project is The Shimao Wonderland Intercontinental, known as the Quarry Hotel. This project, which I designed in 2006, and has been ongoing for over 11 years now is a unique resort hotel situated in a disused ‘brownfield site’, 90m deep  partially water filled quarry. The hotel, developed by Chinese developer Shimao, shall be operated as a 5-star resort by Intercontinental Hotel Group and when completed, will be their flagship project in China. The hotel  which cascades down 90m rocky cliff face features 338 luxury guest rooms with number of them as duplex suites with the lower levels located under water, facing a large tropical aquarium. The central feature of the building is a vertical glass ‘waterfall’ atrium containing the observation lifts to take the guests to the lower levels. The hotel, with its unique location, is a first truly ‘underground’ structure and features a number of innovative and sustainable features. Obviously, such unusual location brings many technical challenges that needed to be overcome during the design and construction process.

Moganshan Jo Lalli Resort Hotel

Another one of our interesting project, currently under construction, is the Jo Lalli Resort Hotel in a beautiful mountainous region of Moganshan, near Hangzhou. Here the challenge has been to create a landmark building - that is the ‘visiting card’ for the operator, but at the same time, fits seamlessly into the outstanding natural environment without going against it. The inspiration for the form and materials has been directly the natural environment, utilizing local materials and building scale and massing that is compatible with the unspoiled beauty of the site itself. The hotel will feature large banqueting facility, restaurants and bars, in addition to 50 guestrooms.

Website: http://www.quarry-associates.com/

Entering the property market has become an increasingly daunting task for many young people in today’s economic climate. As a result, many have looked to government-backed help in the form of help-to-buy schemes and ISAs to turn the dream of joining the property ladder into a reality.

The required deposit can then be saved with the help of high-interest ISAs.

Though purchasing through help-to-buy has become an increasingly feasible option, not all areas of the UK have equal opportunity. Credit experts TotallyMoney have investigated Britain’s best and worst districts, cities and regions to lay down roots utilising help-to-buy schemes.

We researched a number of factors in each district across the UK to determine a ranking, including the number of equity loans utilised in each region (per capita), the number of help-to-buy ISA property completions and the average amount left to pay after government help (based on average property prices). The research uses government data to compare every district of the UK, including Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, to generate the complete ordered list of help-to-buy hotspots.

Desirable Districts

Considering the ranking factors mentioned above, of the 388 government-defined regions in the UK, the top help-to buy hotspots were revealed to be:

1. Central Bedfordshire – The Eastern district came up trumps, with a high level of equity loans (1710) per capita, and 245 properties successfully bought using a help-to-buy ISA. The district beat out all competitors as the best place to purchase a property utilising help-to-buy in the UK.

2. Chorley – The Lancashire market town came in second position with a low average property cost (£182,818) making entering the property ladder through help-to-buy schemes more achievable. The district also boasts the lowest average minimum deposit from the top 5 districts (£9,141) and relatively high number of equity loans given out by the government per capita making property ownership more achievable for residents.

3. Cheshire West and Cheshire – The second area in the North West to appear among the top scoring districts, Cheshire West and Cheshire scored particularly highly in terms of the number of help-to-buy ISA property completions per capita where it came out top in the whole of the UK, with 495 residents purchasing homes utilising this scheme.

Help-To-Buy Cities

The research also accounts for the most populated UK cities and which of those offer the best options for buyers looking to utilise help-to-buy options. Of these, the most buyer-friendly cities were revealed to be:

1. Wakefield – Located in a prime spot between Leeds and York, Wakefield tops the UK’s most populated cities for help-to-buy hotspots. The city has one of the highest levels of help-to-buy ISA property completions, helping 610 residents purchase new homes between December 2015 and March 2017.

2. Hull – In second place, and securing Yorkshire as a true hotspot hotshot, the port city scored highly in equity loans per capita. Hull’s low average property cost (£134,452) means that the 5% deposit required is the cheapest of any city at just £6,722.

3. Salford – Home to MediaCityUK, Salford sits in bronze position with 437 residents successfully purchasing homes utilising the help-to-buy ISAs in recent times and a good level of equity loans per capita boosting its ranking.

Joe Gardiner, Head of Brand and Communications at TotallyMoney, said: “Today, entering the property ladder is increasingly being seen as a pipedream for many young people. But with the introduction of government help-to-buy schemes, this dream can become a realistic option. For those thinking of utilising these schemes, knowing where in the UK is the most help-to-buy friendly, and whether your local area is one of these hotspots, is of particular importance to allow buyers to make a responsible financial decision.”

The full ranked map of the UK’s help-to-buy hotspots can be explored here, or the infographic covering the best help-to-buy cities can be viewed here.

(Source: TotallyMoney)