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UEM Sunrise’s Maiden Venture Into Australia Taking Shape

KUALA LUMPUR, 14 November 2013 – UEM Sunrise Berhad (“UEM Sunrise” or “the Company”) has shortlisted three prominent architectural firms to send in their design proposals for the Company’s maiden venture into Melbourne, Australia. The shortlisted firms are home- grown Australian master-class architectural practices with international presence and accolades, namely COX Architecture, Elenberg Fraser and Fender Katsalidis Architects.

The design participants were selected based on their established residential and mixed-use oeuvre, international eminence with local contextual adaptability, as well as their passion for exemplar design that are sympathetic to the various functional requirements of integrated developments.

UEM Sunrise recently completed its acquisition of two prime land parcels in the Melbourne CBD located at 224-252 LaTrobe Street and 9-23 Mackenzie Street. Both properties have inherent prized qualities accorded by their superb location, excellent connectivity and accessibility, as well as supreme vistas towards some of the most precious places of interest in Melbourne. With direct underground connection to the Melbourne Central retail centre and Melbourne Central Train Station, as well as being at the doorstep of the education precinct, the development at 224-252 LaTrobe Street will create a new epicenter of retail and living spaces that will regenerate the locality, activate street frontages and rise to a truly desired presence in the Melbourne skyline. The site at 9-23 Mackenzie Street, located at the corner of the World Heritage listed, sprawling 64-acres Carlton Gardens and the Royal Exhibition Building offers excellent view angles over the pristine gardens and with excellent proximity to the activities of the CBD.

The brief for the projects calls for a design solution that ‘stands for something’ – unique, inspiring, elegant and highly efficient to live up to the global standards of design and urban living. UEM Sunrise’s Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Dato’ Wan Abdullah Wan Ibrahim explained, “We envision both developments to be a testament of our commitment and ability to deliver quality living spaces and vibrant retail offerings that resonates with the rich Melbourne culture, as well as its status as the world’s most livable city.”

“The projects must additionally display distinctive attributes representative of their parentage – they will have the Malaysian touch, infused in a subtle and elegant manner”, he continued.

Professor Philip Cox, who founded Cox Architecture in 1964, has built the firm’s reputation around architecture and urban planning that enriches the nature and character of its environment. With offices in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Canberra, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and Abu Dhabi, the practice has most recently been greatly recognised by its winning of five World Architecture Festival Awards in Singapore in 2013, including overall World Future Project of the Year for the National Maritime Museum of China. COX Architecture has also completed various innovative residential towers throughout Asia and Australia, bearing testament of the practice’s residential philosophy of integrated living, lifestyle and environment. “An underpinning of our approach is our appreciation of both Australian and South East Asian ways of living, and our ability to unite the two”, said Professor Philip Cox. The firm is also well known for its seminal Melbourne projects including the AAMI Park Stadium and the National Tennis Centre, which has for many years shaped the Melbourne urban landscape.

Famed for their multiple distinctive residential towers in the Melbourne city skyline, architectural firm Elenberg Fraser creates unique designs and experiential spaces through a process of identification, interrogation and invention. According to Callum Fraser, founding partner of Elenberg Fraser, “We do not generalise across projects or let a house style get in the way of understanding each project’s prophecy; the questions that arise from the individual constraints of each brief, site, client and location define a unique point of departure.” With remarkable projects ongoing and completed throughout Melbourne including Tower Melbourne and the A’Beckett Tower to name a few, the architectural practice has built a reputation synonymous with intelligent design solutions within a framework of commercial viability. In Asia, the firm’s international presence extends to Indonesia and Singapore with the founder, Callum Fraser having overseen the design and delivery of award winning and landmark residential, commercial, tourism and hospitality buildings in Australia, Southeast Asia and the UAE.

Fender Katsalidis is an established architectural practice that needs no further introduction, whether within Australia or in the international arena. Most notable for their creation of the landmark 91-storey Eureka Tower in Melbourne, this sculpted super tower is the city’s tallest building and was for a while the tallest residential skyscraper in the world. Founded by Directors, Karl Fender and Nonda Katsalidis, the architectural practice has been at the forefront of inner city high density residential design in Melbourne since the early nineties. The practice is committed to enriching the liveability of Melbourne, underpinned by commercially exciting residential opportunities. With sister offices in Sydney and London, the practice remains at the forefront of both national and international residential and mixed use design. Also known in Malaysia as the firm commissioned in delivering what could potentially be Malaysia’s tallest building, the Warisan Merdeka, founder Karl Fender said “Our experience in Malaysia has given us a privileged insight to the potential of cultural and commercial objectives and sensitivities between Australia (Melbourne in particular) and Malaysia.”

All three firms have expressed excitement and firm belief in the potential of both the developments at LaTrobe Street and Mackenzie Street to contribute greatly and positively to the overall Melbourne skyline and context, creating spaces and design that will be intensely celebrated and highly memorable. The shortlisted architects are scheduled to present their design concepts to the Management of UEM Sunrise in Kuala Lumpur towards end November 2013, with the winner to be announced in December 2013.