Global Property Scene edition 21

GLOBAL

PROPERTY NO. SCENE ISSUE 021

The Investment Publication | www.globalpropertyscene.com

This issue: Vertical cities, the urbanisation drive of the future | Should I move to Vancouver?

How bright does Zimbabwe’s future look? | Investing in comic books

FOCUS ON: HAMBURG

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INSIDE / ISSUE 021 FEATURES

23 Should we be living in taller buildings?

51 Where next for Zimbabwe

73 66 Architecture and design Making the most of space awards 2017

A vertical city is a concept that is being explored by many and involves creating interconnected eco-friendly mega towers with the components of a city such as housing, universities, retail stores and hospitals, making it a more convenient living situation for many.

It could be argued that Robert Mugabe and Nelson Mandela didn’t follow totally dissimilar paths into government. Both freedom fighters, both initially castigated and eventually accepted by the UK government, both their country’s most significant political figure of the century. That is where their similarities end, of course.

2017 was another fascinating year in the world of architecture and design. We saw innovation, ambition and beauty in projects from around the world. Our most interesting and creative architects and designers certainly delivered the goods. There is much we can look back on admiringly and, as always, we can start to look towards the future.

Literally translating to ‘wind-water’, the principles of feng shui relate to harmonising life through the arrangement and placement of surroundings and, in today’s society, is commonly used as a decorating technique - however, the underlying values of the ancient Chinese belief are complex.

REGULAR ARTICLES

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09 Market in Focus Hamburg

90 UK

INVESTING IN HUNGARY | 42

Hamburg is a port city in the north of Germany which has earned itself a reputation as the trading capital of Germany over the centuries.

86 Should I move to Vancouver?

Home of the Industrial Revolution, the UK has long been established as a major commercial centre, benefiting from strong trade links with companies on every continent.

With a long history in international cooperation, the country is an attractive place for investors both foreign and domestic.

Knight Knox has sold thousands of properties. We have experts on the ground that can help to find your Forbes describes Vancouver as ‘one perfect property. Why purchase with anybody else? part Hollywood, one part Pacific Northwest beauty’ and it’s not hard to understand why.

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JAN/FEB 2018

GLOBAL

PROPERTY NO. SCENE ISSUE 021

EDITOR’S NOTE

The Investment Publication | www.globalpropertyscene.com

This issue: Vertical cities, the urbanisation drive of the future | Should I move to Vancouver?

How bright does Zimbabwe’s future look? | Investing in comic books

It’s the start of a new year and with construction really gathering pace across the UK, I feel quite positive about what the year could deliver. Across my home city of Manchester, cranes are helping shape a new skyline that will set the template for the city’s future.

FOCUS ON: HAMBURG

SIHH: THE LATEST AND GREATEST OFFERINGS

IS HUNGARY A GOOD INVESTMENT?

As we’re witnessing across the globe, the popular attitude to where one should reside has shifted from the countryside to the city. People no longer want to travel home at the end of the day and would rather make the most of a lifestyle garnered only by bustling city living. With space at a premium and the demand for property only going one way, the only real solution is to build higher.

In this edition of Global Property Scene we take a look at how vertical cities could provide the solution to a stochastic population.

Further illustrating the challenges faced by a modern city is Delhi, which in the latter months of 2017 earned the dubious honour of being the most heavily polluted city on earth, much to the detriment of its residents and general environment. Air quality became so bad in the month of November that at various points it was beyond our capacity to measure the level of toxic particles in the air. With the environmental debate continuing to be a primary topic across the world we look at what challenges Delhi faces to make a real change.

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Zimbabwe, a country hampered by a difficult history, is also looking to make real change in 2018. Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa, the man known as ‘the crocodile’ because of his political cunning, has finally achieved a long-held ambition to succeed Robert Mugabe as Zimbabwe’s president. With elections later this year and economic crises looming, we discuss what challenges Mnangagwa will need to address.

+44(0)161 772 1394 info@globalpropertyscene.com www.globalpropertyscene.com

And finally, it’s with great pleasure I introduce the inaugural Global Property Scene Architecture and Design Awards. 2017 was another fascinating year in the world of architecture and design, and with so many positive projects breaking ground we thought it high time we highlight some of our favourites.

CREDITS Individual Samantha Edwards, Alex Timperley, Will Leyland, Emma Martin, Andrea Wong, Richard Ellis, Alistair McGovern, Suzanne Todd, Callum Whiteley, John Power, Martin Copeland, Michael Vickers, Mark Williams, Marica Bruschi

That’s it for now, we hope you enjoy edition 21.

Commercial Knight Knox, X1, Fortis Developments, Forshaw Land & Property Group, INTUS Lettings, Gold Key Media, Shutterstock, Unsplash, Property Investor, Crossbow Investments CODA Studios Ltd, SIHH

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Editor-in-chief Michael Smith

THE SUFFOCATING CITY ...

ALEX TIMPERLEY

I

n the latter months of 2017, Delhi earned the dubious honour of being the most heavily polluted city on earth, much to the detriment of its residents and general environment. Air quality became so bad in the month of November that at various points it was beyond our capacity to measure the level of toxic particles in the air.

The Air Quality Index is the generally accepted global measurement system, and its most severe category is known as ‘hazardous’. To register in this category the air in a city has to be measured at 300-500. Delhi’s air has been registered at over 1,000.

demand in one of the world’s most populous places.

Delhi sits in a natural basin underneath the Himalayas which traps pollution for a long time. Combine that with how air flow in the region slows in the winter months and the millions of people who live in Delhi are left exposed.

Other important factors in the suffocation of Delhi come from within the city. The rate of population growth in the city is amongst the highest in the world and has kicked off a construction boom. The faster the city grows, the more dust and fumes are created by construction.

Another consequence of rapid population growth is the increased number of those in poverty who end up burning things to stay warm during the winter. This excess smoke adds to the general miasma over the city and makes things worse.

No real solution has appeared to date and in the meantime the city’s Chief Minister, Arvind Kejriwal, has described Delhi as a “gas chamber”. Schools have been closed, cars are crashing into each other on highways, United Airlines briefly cancelled all flights to Delhi, trains were delayed and cricket matches were called off due to the toxic smoke making players vomit on the pitch.

“Delhi cannot build quickly enough to provide homes for everyone, so, in the meantime, people will continue to burn things and create smoke.”

Many cities are polluted, so what makes Delhi a special case? India as a whole endures approximately 2.5 million premature deaths every year as a result of air pollution, and many of these are in Delhi. The really bad particles are known as PM2.5 pollutants - particles with a diameter of 2.5 microns or less. These come from sources such as diesel exhausts and wildfires, and can cause heart attacks, strokes and cancer as well as being able to breach the brain-blood barrier. This barrier stops circulating blood from entering the brain and central nervous system, thereby stopping neurotransmitters and xenobiotics from disturbing neural functions. It goes without saying that having your blood enter your brain is an unfavourable outcome.

The complexity of the overlapping issues makes it difficult to see a solution. The varying rural and urban concerns relate to different constituencies and political parties which have been deadlocked for many years.

Alternative methods of crop clearing rather than setting the countryside on fire are more time intensive and costly, which leads to the farmers demanding subsidies to stop their practice. The National Green Tribunal has created laws against crop burning, but they are not enforced. The effects of the burning are not felt by the farmers so it is felt that there is no real rush, and the power of the agricultural lobby has acted as a counterweight against such concerns as human suffering in the inner city. Likewise, it has not proven practical to force people to stop making fires in the city to stay warm as the alternative is death. Delhi cannot build quickly enough to provide homes for everyone, so, in the meantime, people will continue to burn things and create smoke. A growing population is also bringing more and more cars into the city which only adds to the problem.

“This is an age old technique which has become more problematic as farms have grown in size to cope with the massive demand in one of the world’s most populous places.”

Delhi is particularly susceptible to high levels of these toxic particles. The most significant issue originates in the farms outside the city and in adjacent states, including some in neighbouring Pakistan, where the stubble of the last rice crop of the year is burned towards Christmas time in order to clear the land to plant wheat. This is an age old technique which has become more problematic as farms have grown in size to cope with the massive

The urban and rural concerns are diametrically opposed, and so the debate will continue into the future. However, whilst the political battle is waged, the sad fact is that millions of people continue to suffer and die prematurely, and it is likely that the problem will get worse before it gets better.

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MARKET IN FOCUS HAMBURG Words : Andrea Wong | View : S.Borisov

H

amburg is a port city in the north of Germany which has earned itself a reputation as the trading capital of Germany over the centuries. It is not surprising that the city has a strong focus on its maritime location as it has brought Hamburg much success over the years. Hamburg’s historic label “the gateway to the world” may be a bold statement, but the city’s port has never been short of business.

incendiary bombs used in an attack by the Royal Air Force and the United States Army Air Forces which led to the deaths of more than 42,000 civilians and the wounding of 37,000 more, as well as leaving large parts of the city completely destroyed.

The city has suffered mass destructions previous to this event, and the people came together once again to make a quick recovery and redevelop their city. One of the reasons why the Hamburg economy has performed so resiliently over the years is the determination shown by its citizens to rebuild the city each time. In the last few decades the city has completely transformed and is almost unrecognisable, with most people visiting the city today unaware of how much damage was caused during World War Two.

The importance of its port dates back to when Hamburg first joined the Hanseatic League back in the Middle Ages. The League managed to dominate the majority of the commercial trade activity that took place in Northern Europe during the 13th to 16th century and Hamburg’s success has continued since.

Today, Hamburg is home to Europe’s third largest container port which has a major role in distributing the flow of goods worldwide. In 2014 there were approximately 9.73 million 20ft standard container equivalents (TEUs) handled at the famous port. The sea port is undoubtedly the main focus, with around 12% of the total employment related to the harbour.

Investment The development is continuing today, with Hamburg experiencing one of the largest inner-city urban development projects in Europe on its waterfront. As part of the former port area, HafenCity will develop into a lively urban district where residential, leisure and work opportunities will fill the area.

It is a leading port for trade with China with a high volume of Asian routes. In fact, Hamburg is constantly attracting national and international investment with Chinese investors recognising it as a top location for business in Europe. The city has overtaken Berlin as the leading destination for entrepreneurs in the country, with many start-ups such as Dreamlines, Kreditech and Stuffle now well-established brands.

There will be eight sub-districts developed along the Elbe River which are expected to expand the size of Hamburg’s city centre by approximately 40%. The regeneration is expected to continue through to 2025-30 where it will be eventually home to around 12,000 people and the workplace for 40,000 people.

There are already large corporations located in the area, for example Kühne & Nagel and the international shipping conglomerate, the Spiegel Group.

However, it has not always been plain sailing for the city. In July 1943, during World War Two, Hamburg was devastated by

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Additionally, the heavily publicised glass paneled concert hall, Elbphilharmonie, designed by Swiss architects Herzog and de Meuron was completed last year and now sits like a glacier by the scenic waterfront. As one of the largest and most acoustically advanced concert halls in the world, the so-called Elphi is now Hamburg’s defining landmark, but it controversially came at a hefty price. Originally it was estimated to cost around €272m but the final bill came to a total of €789m. Many people now claim that the dazzling concert hall alone is a reason enough to visit Hamburg.

The redevelopment of the port area has seen innovative flood protection technology being implemented as as it is particularly prone to periodic flooding. This has involved building new roads and public spaces on sand terraces which are around 25 feet above the high-tide line. In addition, buildings situated adjacent to the shore are required to have an entryway specially designed to be accessible even in the event of a flood.

Property market Homeownership in Germany is generally low, and Hamburg is no exception with just over half of its residents being homeowners. Renting is a tenant’s dream in Hamburg, as in many other parts of Germany, with regulations in place which favour the tenants, for example controlled rents. It is also an opportune market for investors who are keen to invest in property in a city where construction activity is low and rental demand is high.

Hamburg has long been seen to have a stable and buoyant property market, shown in the first half of 2017 where asking rents increased marginally. The introduction of a cap on rent rises in 2015 could be an explanation for the sluggish increase but it is uncertain as rents performed similarly before this.

In 2016, 15,000 new homes were required but total house completions only came to 7,050, showing that Hamburg is way behind where it should be in terms of housebuilding. The Hamburg Senate recently set the new target of 10,000 additional homes annually, but it is unlikely to be achieved when taking into account the current population trend.

Apartment prices have performed consistently well in recent years with year-on-year rises of 8.65% in Q2 2017 and 7.47% in Q1 2017, highlighting our shift towards urbanisation. Overall, Hamburg property prices have risen at the second highest rate after Munich’s increased by 10% on average in 2016.

Construction activity will continue to lag behind and fail to meet demand in the coming years as Hamburg’s population of 1.8 million people is set to balloon, resulting in a higher demand for rental property. According to the Federal Statistical Office, the city’s population is predicted to increase by over 100,000 by 2030, which will require homes for 70,000 more households to fill the gap between supply and demand.

Germany’s wealth is distributed evenly across the country and does not focus on just one major city. The majority of the key regional cities in the country are in good economic shape with a stable property market, giving investors plenty of opportunities to choose from. Although Hamburg is not the capital city as such, it has managed to perform strongly year on year at a similar level to Berlin.

This is different to how the UK property market has operated historically, with most of the focus on London in the past. This has now of course changed, with the key northern regional cities now finding the limelight thanks to the government-backed Northern Powerhouse scheme.

Tourism industry Hamburg has never been considered as a top leisure destination as it was overlooked in the past, with many choosing to go with the obvious choice of Berlin. However, recent figures are indicating that the tourist industry in the northern German city is actually growing at speed.

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Hamburg City Hall and Alster River, Germany

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Hamburg Port, Germany

“Hamburg has long been seen to have a stable and buoyant property market, shown in the first half of 2017 where asking rents increased marginally.�

HAMBURG FACTS --Area: 755 km2 Population: 1,805,316 (estimate) Per capita: $72,900 Figure correct January 2018

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“With such a diverse local economy, Hamburg is truly blessed to be home to world class infrastructure, a skilled workforce, innovative businesses and leading research institutes.”

New data shows that tourism in the city is growing by at least 7.2% every year, which is no surprise as the government’s recent campaigns were targeted at bringing in more tourists in from the US specifically.

In the last decade alone, the number of overnight stays has more than doubled and the number of tourists each year has been at a record high. Many now consider Hamburg to be the most successful tourist destination in Germany and this is no surprise with the city’s excellent mix of activities available.

The Speicherstadt warehouse district is the core of Hamburg’s tourism and was awarded UNESCO World Heritage status back in 2015. As the largest complex of warehouses, spanning an area of 260,000 sqm, the century-old Speicherstadt is symbolic of enduring trade which has established Hamburg as a major powerhouse in Germany.

A ‘liveable’ city Not only is Hamburg a great place to visit, it is now considered one of the most liveable cities in the world, according to the Economist Intelligence Unit’s 2017 rankings. Five different categories were analysed - stability, healthcare, culture and environment, education, and infrastructure. Hamburg took tenth place in the rankings with a score of 95 out of 100.

Recent statistics also indicate why Hamburg is amongst the best places to live. In 2016 it was revealed that unemployment stood at 4.2%, the lowest on record since February 1981, suggesting that job prospects are good in the city. Additionally, household income is notably better than other German cities, with some reports claiming that it is 7.7% higher than any other city in the country.

Binnenalster is an artificial lake formed by the River Alster

Hamburg Metropolitan Region is now an incredibly competitive region with around five million people living and working in the area. Despite being famously known for its shipbuilding and trade, many people have been drawn to the growing number of employment opportunities in the technology and chemical industries.

With such a diverse local economy, Hamburg is truly blessed to be home to world class infrastructure, a skilled workforce, innovative businesses and leading research institutes. These factors have all contributed to the city’s stable economy, and it is expected that Hamburg will have a long and prosperous future.

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Dancing houses over the River Amstel, Netherlands

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It is no secret that the global meat industry is unimaginably wasteful. The cost to the planet of our escalating meat production is extreme, and the price animals themselves pay throughout their short lives and death is a cruel one.

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Meat production is wasteful on a global scale. 36% of all calories in the form of grains and pulses that we grow, and 53% of the protein, are used to feed farm animals. Two thirds of that energy is then lost in the conversion from plant to animal according to IOPscience. Recent research from Our World in Data confirms that you need to use 100 times as much land to produce a gram of protein from cows or sheep as you do if you use that land to grow beans or peas.

Farming animals for meat is also wasteful on a micro level.

Even with state of the art mechanical recovery techniques there are still many parts of an animal which are inedible and form no part of the human diet – hooves, bladders, hair, gristle, and all the rest. It has been estimated that the inedible, discarded parts make up about 49% of a cow; 44% of a pig; 37% of a chicken; and 57% of most fish species. When you then consider that all of the plant energy which went into growing the useless parts is also wasted it is clear that we have a lot of work to do.

One of the animal parts we often don’t think about is blood.

More than 60 billion animals are slaughtered on behalf of the global meat industry each year. All of them are filled with blood – but where does it go? Simply dumping it into general sewage systems is out of fashion thanks to the obvious health risks this presents. Likewise, pouring it into the sea isn’t a realistic option.

Instead, the billions of litres of animal blood which we discard every year must be treated and sanitised at great expense.

We probably need to adopt a new attitude towards meat production in the near future to avoid beating the planet into submission, but the question of how we do that is a tough one.

Basse Stittgen, a graduate of Design Academy Eindhoven, has recently had a go at putting wasted blood to good use by turning it into a solid material.

Blood is a tricky subject for many people. As Stittgen’s website puts it: “Blood tells a thousand stories and every story is loaded with meaning. They speak of heritage, mysticism, aversion and, in the end, life and death. However, none of these stories refer to blood as a waste material. Can blood also be understood as a simple but important biomaterial generated from a waste of slaughterhouses – one of the biggest industries in the world?”

The blood-material itself is made by drying the blood out into a powder before heating it and pressing it into a desired shape.

This is much the same method employed by those who make black pudding, but taken to an extreme. Compounds within the blood act as a natural adhesive when heated and given shape, meaning that it can be pressed into any form we choose.

By doing this, Stittgen makes his point about the symbolism of blood as well as its physicality, highlighting the poetic and metaphorical contrasts offered by something so elemental being created from such an unnatural mechanical process.

Items in the collection include a set of eggcups which stack up into a totem shape to play on the mystical side of blood at the same time as highlighting our consumption of animal products; a record which plays the heartbeat of a pig; and a jewellery box to hold things we consider precious, thereby highlighting the complete lack of value we ascribe to animals.

December 19th Making use of blood

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Whilst this art project was never meant to create a mass market product, the question it raises is an interesting one: Do we throw so much away because we cannot be bothered to find solutions? It certainly seems that we could make more use of the animal blood we discard, and if we can make use of it via a fairly simple manufacturing process then how can we justify the waste?

For a closer look visit: http://www.bassestittgen.com/

December 13th Is olive oil a good investment?

Olive oil is a staple part of the diet for millions of people across the world. The olive tree is native to the Mediterranean basin and there is evidence that people have been cultivating and collecting the fruit since at least 8000 BC. After 10,000 years countries such as Spain, Italy, Morocco and Greece are still the home of olive oil production which has become a global industry.

Olive oil has been a valuable trading commodity for thousands of years thanks to its versatility. Any product which can be used as food and fuel source as well as being a component of pharmaceuticals and soaps is bound to command a premium. The Romans loved it so much that they used it as a moisturiser and an aphrodisiac. However, even though it was traded widely in the ancient world, it was nowhere near as ubiquitous as it is today, where annual worldwide production is estimated at more than three million tonnes.

December 20th Paying salaries in Bitcoin

On the surface, the olive oil market looks like one which might not be an ideal investment. It is so well established and long running that you could be forgiven for assuming that explosive periods of growth are in the past. However this does not look to be the case, and in fact this could be the perfect time to consider investing in olive oil.

Japanese internet service provider GMO Internet Group is looking to introduce a new payment option for their employees. It will allow employees to receive a proportion of their salaries in bitcoin, the cryptocurrency which is now worth four times as much as an ounce of gold.

Whilst it is true that consumption in the traditional heartlands of olive oil – Europe and North Africa – has pretty much peaked, there are two extremely significant markets which are growing at an impressive rate.

The first is Asia, where people are becoming wealthier and are able to purchase higher value foods from outside of their traditional diets for the first time. For instance, a population with increasing wealth tends to eat more meat which is why the amount of beef being eaten in China is increasing every year. Olive oil is considered to be a similar luxury product which is available to more and more people in Asia every year.

This emerging market is certainly something to look at when considering a new investment.

The second major growing market for olive oil is the USA which manages to be growing at the same speed as the Asian market despite already being the third largest in the world. ADM Capital, an investment firm which is making moves in the olive oil market, notes that high level demand for the product in the USA is a relatively new phenomenon and that American consumers were previously unfamiliar with the product by and large. To complement its growing popularity, the United States Department of Agriculture has established clear standards for olive oil to enable consumers to understand the product better, and the Food and Drug Administration has both promoted the health benefits of olive oil and acted swiftly against companies mislabelling their products.

Olive oil production in the USA has grown by 9.2% in the last decade and this growth has been projected to continue until at least 2021. Do you know of an up and coming olive oil business in California, the state home to 99% of the USA’s olives? This might be the perfect time to invest and reap the rewards available in a growing market. At a time when olive harvests in Europe have been having issues with yield and disease, it could be a smart move to invest in California and get ahead of the curve.

December 27th Could a new Concorde be on the horizon?

Bitcoin has been attracting people across the world with many eager to latch onto the soaring prices in the last year. Currently valued at around $17,000 per bitcoin, Bitcoin has risen by over 1,500% since the beginning of the year, making it one of the most intensely debated investments in the modern day.

GMO Internet Group, which consists of more than 60 companies, is only adopting this practice to one of the companies, GMO Internet Co. Ltd in March 2018, but will be rolling it out to 4,000 other employees in other companies within the group in the future. Despite concerns of volatility shared by many analysts, GMO remains confident that bitcoin will eventually become part of the ‘economic currencies’.

The group is heavily involved in the bitcoin trading and mining services, which means the company will directly benefit from how well the bitcoin performs. A spokeswoman from the company said: “We hope to improve our own literacy of virtual currency by actually using it”.

According to Mainichi Japan, the law states that all companies must pay employees in recognised currencies such as the yen. The GMO Internet Group believes that the new system would conform to Japanese law as any agreement between the company and the employee would be consensual and the amount deducted from their salary and used towards bitcoin would be entirely up to the employee.

Air travel is a mode of transport that continues to grow in popularity, with China expected to become the largest market by 2022. Yet in terms of technology it feels as though technology has stagnated following the demise of the iconic passenger plane known simply as Concorde. Its development and introduction was expected to stand as a catalyst ushering in the age of supersonic air travel. Following its retirement in 2003 there has been little to no hint that its legacy will ever be matched.

Now however there seems to be some light at the end of the tunnel. Blake Scholl, founder and chief executive of Denver-based Boom Supersonic, seems to think there is now the potential for supersonic travel to return. And on the surface, it seems he’s not the only one, with 76 pre-orders from an array of airlines, not to mention another 20 carriers currently in talks Mr Scholl is yet another example of the dotcom effect, standing as a former Amazon executive and founder of mobile payments firm Kima Labs. He’s keen to point out that advances in composite materials and quieter more efficient engines could help boost interest allowing the economies of scale to bring prices down further.

Blake was quick to state: “I remember thinking, in 2007 when the iPhone came out, that the world was getting faster and better. That wasn’t so true with flying - flights today take as long as they did in the 1950s.

“When I started looking into this, nothing much was going on in the supersonic market. There was some sci-fi stuff. I thought it was probably impossible,” he continued.

“But after researching the field, I started to think - it’s possible, but difficult. If you have enough courage and you get the right people together you can do it, I thought”. He added.

Bitcoin is growing in popularity all over Japan with many large retailers now accepting the virtual currency as a form of payment. However, critics remain cautious of the bitcoin and believe that it is a bubble that is simply spiralling out of control and will eventually crash.

Currently in Dubai trying to gain further orders from some of the Middle Eastern carriers, the aim is to tap into a potential 2,000 supersonic aircraft over the next 10 years. He also hints at a possible production facility somewhere in the Gulf, which is likely to help support his sales driver in the region.

GMO’s move to introduce the bitcoin could have the potential to boost its employee’s earnings and bring many benefit for the business itself but as the bitcoin continues its rollercoaster ride, how will the company react to the massive fluctuations in value?

The project has a long journey ahead, with the aircrafts first iteration set to utilise a 55-seat configuration, with a range of around 4,500 nautical miles. The business case certainly stands up, but it will be well into 2020 before we see anything shooting through the clouds.

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January 4th Greenest year ever for UK 2017 was the very first year since the advent of industrialisation that the UK generated more than half of its total energy from low carbon sources. The big winner was wind power which supplied twice as much power as coal, and the big loser was coal which plummeted to new lows. In fact, the UK had its first totally coal free day since 1882, the year the first residential coal power plant was switched on.

Record levels of wind and solar power generation were recorded over the year, as fossil fuels supplied only 47.5% of the UK’s total energy demand over the year – this is a reduction of almost 28% since 2010.

As renewable energy costs continue to decrease, it is clear that the current government’s Luddite plans to slash subsidies may not make much of a difference to the march of renewable power. The technology is maturing at such a pace, and the commensurate amount of investment is following it, that the idea of subsidising renewable energy may soon belong to the past. Likewise, it is to be hoped that the policy of subsidising fossil fuel energy producers will soon be seen for the folly it is and ended.

January 8th $1 trillion? The race is on Given the news emerging this week with regards to Intel’s processor fiasco, which Apple admitted has affected all iPhones, iPads and Mac computers, it may be worth counting Apple out of the running for 2018’s hottest race: becoming the world’s first company valued at $1 trillion.

As well as the ongoing subsidies to fossil fuel energy suppliers, it is also worth noting that the “low carbon” sector includes nuclear energy. Whilst it may be a low carbon option, that does not mean that nuclear power is not incredibly polluting and bad for the environment.

The fact that the Irish Sea is the most nuclear sea in the world thanks to nuclear waste water is a damning testament to the long term effects of nuclear energy. In addition, the lack of a plan to store excess waste and the still-unknown consequences of living near one of the power stations do not inspire confidence that this should be our long term option.

On Friday Apple released a statement admitting that the Spectre or Meltdown microprocessor has left all of their devices vulnerable to hackers and subject to potential slowdowns in speed of up to 50%.

According to Sky News, there has been no evidence so far the flaws have been exploited by hackers.

However, as developers try to fix the flaws this is causing devices to slow down by up to 50% when performing computer tasks requiring a lot of storage or network usage.

Likewise, the cost of renewable energy compared to the cost of brand new nuclear power stations – Hinckley Point C being the most egregious offender in this regard – mean that nuclear surely is not our best option. With wind and solar power already half the price of the projected cost of Hinckley Point C energy per kWh, the shelf life of new nuclear options is surely limited. It makes no sense at all to do anything other than produce and install renewable solutions on a mass scale as quickly as possible.

In a blog post, Apple said it had released software updates for iOS its phone and tablets software, macOS used by its computers, and tvOS for its television products.

Despite this, they’re aiming to be the first company in the world to hit the trillion dollar landmark.

The overall headline statistics are impressive and are surely the latest evidence of a long term trend away from fossil fuels. If the UK can increase its low carbon energy supply by another 28% in the next 7 years – without increasing its reliance on polluting and costly nuclear energy – then that would be a serious, world-leading achievement.

Investors and many in the finance industry have recently been predicting that, due to 2017’s meteoric performance of tech giants, this could well be the year that sees the milestone passed.

All eyes are now on the likes of Microsoft, Apple, Amazon, Facebook and Alphabet, the parent company of Google, to see who starts the year the strongest. At the time of writing Apple leads the way with a market valuation of $869bn, $130bn ahead of nearest rival Alphabet.

Apple would need an increase in share price of just 15% to hit the landmark, with its shares rising nearly 50% last year. Amazon, some think, is in a better position to break the threshold, with its shares increasing a huge 57% last year.

The world’s top five companies are collectively worth $3.35tn – more than gross domestic product of the UK and every other country on Earth bar the US, China, Japan and Germany.

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January 10th MUJI moves into hotels

MUJI is one of the most interesting companies in the world. Formed in Japan in the 1980s, Muji has a philosophy based on design minimalism, and emphasis on recycling and avoidance of waste, and a policy of not imposing a logo or brand on their products.

The idea is that if you buy a MUJI product you are buying the antithesis of a foreign-made luxury brand and are stepping aside from a consumerist society. The company was worried that low-priced, poor-quality designer goods were flooding Japan to the detriment of society and the national soul.

Thereby, a high-quality product which was made with respect for the environment and came without a logo was a critique of Western consumerism and brands, with the purpose of “restoring a vision of products that are actually useful for the customer and maintain an ideal of the proper balance

between living and the objects that make it possible”.

The range of products produced by MUJI has always been impressive; everything from stationary to clothing to food and kitchen appliances can be bought from the company. The lack of branding has in itself become a brand, though it is one which requires little to no marketing and appeals to a whole demographic of people to whom the idea of acting as glorified billboards for companies is anathema.

Now, MUJI is spreading out into the world of hotels with its first hospitality project set to open in Shenzhen, China later this month. Promoted as an “anti-gorgeous, anti-cheap concept,” the hotel is designed to reflect MUJI’s simple approach to aesthetics. The company believes that it can provide a better hotel experience through its superior design standards and its attention to detail when it comes to choice of materials and furnishings.

Emphasising wood and stone over concrete and vinyl should take care of that, and other additions such as a library, a gym, a diner with a shop further

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improving the experience. It is fair to say that this sort of minimalist design, which nevertheless provides modern living, is set to be a big trend in the coming years as people continue to psychologically rebel against consumerism and globalisation, desirous instead of a more fulfilling and personal experience. Hotels of this nature are sure to become more and more popular over time.

It is not hard to see other companies with a similarly strong design aesthetic getting into this arena in the future. IKEA stands out as a great example of this.

The Swedish company operates several own-brand hotels in its native country as well as having partnered up with Marriot for its Moxy brand of budget hotels. It makes a lot of sense – if you have a stake in a hotel as well as being the company which supplies all the furniture then you will be able to do it rather cheaply.

In the case of MUJI, the design principles and aesthetic espoused by the company make the idea of staying in one of their hotels very appealing, and it is to be hoped that this experiment goes well and the chain expands further across the world.

For more information and details about products contact Tel: +44 (0)161 772 1394 Web: www.forshawland.com

VERTICAL CITIES Words : Andrea Wong | View : Takaki Nakajima

T

he global population is growing at an unprecedented rate, causing land to become scarce and the earth to become severely overcrowded. We are wiping out forests and farmland to create more space for unplanned development and it is putting more pressure on the environment. Low lying parts of the earth are struggling to stay above water due to rising sea levels and with time running out, architects are being urged to explore new ways to build.

the street. The pressing issue of pollution caused by traffic would be immediately resolved with road transportation likely to become obsolete. Instead, lifts would have the ability to carry passengers horizontally or vertically to their destination, a concept which may be almost available to use.

Whether the vertical city concept is a viable option in the future is difficult to say and of course, it would depend on a number of technologies advancing further and building codes being rewritten.

So, what’s the solution? Many believe that the simple solution is to build upwards and create self-sufficient cities as opposed to building horizontally as we currently do. A vertical city is a concept that is being explored by many and involves creating interconnected eco-friendly mega towers with the components of a city such as housing, universities, retail stores and hospitals, making it a more convenient living situation for many.

Regardless of this, Vertical City, a non-profit organisation established by Ken King in 2012, is now driving this concept forward as a solution to our global issues. On the website, it says: “We advocate this new urban form because we hope to inspire the creation of the World’s First Vertical City. A superstructure that 100 years from now people will point to and say, “That changed everything!”

“We advocate this new urban form because we hope to inspire the creation of the World’s First Vertical City. A superstructure that 100 years from now people will point to and say, “That changed everything!”

With the team based in many parts of the world including Portland, Oregon, New York City and Shanghai, China, their goal is to use emerging modern day technology to their advantage and create a sustainable way of life but the concept is entirely reliant on how rapidly technology develops. Despite this, Vertical City strongly believes that it is a matter of when not if.

Moving towards a sustainable future It is predicted that vertical cities in the future will be entirely self-sufficient and provide unobstructed surfaces for solar panels.

This is already a method that is being adopted by many buildings worldwide, but there has been another concept that has also materialised in recent years - vertical forests. This is an idea involving residential high-rises being packed with plants, which will

Living in a vertical city would involve people commuting to work, going to the supermarket, watching a film at the cinema, going for dinner and returning home without even stepping outside onto

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act as filters, absorbing carbon dioxide, filtering dust and producing oxygen to combat the issue of pollution on our planet.

Stefano Boeri’s brainchild, Bosco Verticale in Milan, has inspired the world with the pair of green residential towers hosting 240 large and medium trees, 300 small trees and 5,000 shrubs. In 2017, China committed to building its first vertical forest in the eastern city of Nanjing to reduce the severe levels of pollution in the city. As China’s urban population continues to skyrocket, an urgent solution is required for the major cities, and this may be the one.

Sustainability is not just a major focus for China. The rest of the world is responding in the same way and coming up with new techniques to create self-sufficient buildings. There is no doubt that if vertical cities were to be built, sustainability would be at their heart. There is a big possibility that vertical cities will also be covered in greenery when they are built.

Challenges for vertical cities Lifts Coming up with a suitable transportation system for vertical cities is one of the biggest challenges that architects must face.

Conventional lifts with ropes that we use now would not be a realistic option as vertical cities would require a system in place that has the ability to carry thousands of people up and down a mile-high tower. Lifts currently have a height restriction which is why in some cases we are required to transfer between lifts when ascending to higher floors in high rise buildings.

According to Business Insider, the lifts today are limited to travelling 120 stories, which is inadequate for vertical cities which are expected to contain around 400 storeys. Several firms are now exploring the concept of rope-free lifts and this includes ThyssenKrupp who unveiled the first ever ropeless, horizontal lift system in 2017.

The German elevator manufacturer came up with a solution to use multiple magnetised cabins which operate in the same shaft on an electromagnetic track so that the lifts can travel vertically and horizontally. Using the linear motor technology for the magnetic levitation Transrapid train, the cabins would move up, sideways and then down again in a loop, operating in a similar way to a metro system.

“There is no doubt that if vertical cities were to be built, sustainability would be at their heart.”

Antony Wood, the executive director of the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat described the system as “the biggest development in the elevator industry since the invention of the safety elevator some 165 years ago.”

It was revealed that the ground-breaking lift, Multi, could reduce peak power demand by at least 60% compared to the conventional lifts that we currently use. Other benefits are that passengers would have shorter waiting times and the lift would have no height limitations, which is ideal for the concept.

The invention of a lift that moves vertically and horizontally is what urban designers have been crying out for as vertical cities would require a good transport system in place to carry people to the connected towers in order to work optimally. Could the development of the ropeless lift be the catalyst for the first vertical city to be built?

Height restrictions Although there is a lift without height limitations now on its way, there are still height restrictions to buildings that could stall the progres-

432 Park Avenue, New York

sion of vertical cities. There are specific construction codes in each country to which buildings must conform in terms of height and, if the regulations do eventually change and we are able to build higher, there will be much bigger safety risks involved.

Supertalls are sometimes referred to as ‘resilient’ but in the event of a natural disaster such as an earthquake, tens of thousands of people could be wiped out. This is something that architects driving the concept forward must consider. Many high rises today have required unique foundations which have the stability and strength to withstand high winds and earthquakes.

Vertical cities would take it to a whole new level and safety measures would need to be brought in to ensure that it is a safe place for such a large population to live in.

Lifestyle changes The thought of being able to have your home, workplace and amenities in the same building may sound convenient but will everyone be able to adapt to the way of life? Concerns of feeling confined and claustrophobic have been raised by some people, with many uncomfortable with the idea of spending most of their time in the same building. Exploring services outside the immediate area will naturally become limited with the majority of facilities available only a lift away. The question is: will people become less active when everything that they need is so close to home?

Over half of the population is now living in urban areas and this is forecast to grow to 66% by 2050 according to the United Nations. If our development continues in the same direction, our impact on the environment will become irreversible, drastically affecting our health and well being. Regardless of whether the vertical city concept will eventually materialise, architects have realised that building upwards is the only real option that we have and will undoubtedly be a huge part of our future.

The ‘megacity’ concept, which provides a metropolitan area of more 10 million people, is already being replicated in the many populated cities around the world. There were 27 megacities back in 2010 and, due to rapid urbanisation, researchers predict the number will jump to 32 in 2020.

However, congestion in these areas is getting worse and millions of people are dying from the effects of air pollution every year.

In comparison, vertical cities have the potential to offer a much better solution by protecting the environment and replacing road transportation with a sustainable transport system. Could it be the answer to the global crisis?

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“Regardless of whether the vertical city concept will eventually materialise, architects have realised that building upwards is the only real option that we have and will undoubtedly be a huge part of our future.”

The Dubai Marina in Dubai, also known as the “tallest block in the world” is home to seven of the ten tallest residential buildings in the world.

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GPS ATTENDS Global Property Scene attends some of the most exclusive events on the international calendar. To find out more visit our website. www.globalpropertyscene.com

TRIPLE SPLIT A. Lange & Sรถhne

SIHH 2018 Words : Michael Smith

“In the past many commentators on the industry have stated heritage can sometimes mean the focus is on any year but the present. Brands can be swept up in their own legacy, leaving customer tastes overlooked.”

Standing as the first event of 2018 on the GPS calendar, SIHH is an event known to deliver incredible innovation and design in the field watchmaking. With many of the brands showcasing some real firecrackers, it’s easy to be swept up by the whole event. The sensation is similar to that one experiences from a 12-course tasting menu. Each stage has its moment, but when so much sensual stimulation occurs in such a short period it can be hard to distinguish a favourite moment.

This was certainly the case for me at this year’s SIHH, I found myself having to make a few passes before I could focus on what really stood out. In the past many commentators on the industry have stated heritage can sometimes mean the focus is on any year but the present. Brands can be swept up in their own legacy, leaving customer tastes overlooked.

Polaris Memovox, Jaeger-LeCoultre

One could be forgiven for thinking this could have been the mantra for most of the brands this year, with a whole host introducing model roll backs. Jaeger-LeCoultre took us back to 1968 with their new Polaris collection. Not just a single homage to a historical reference, the new Jaeger-LeCoultre Polaris collection takes the spirit of Memovox Polaris and applies it to today’s man of action with a full range of timepieces: a three-hand automatic, a chronograph and a chronograph world time, as well as two models with a stronger vintage feel: The Jaeger-LeCoultre Polaris Date and the Jaeger-LeCoultre Polaris Memovox.

Vacheron Constantin were next to step back with the new Fiftysix collection, which delivers the wearer a retro-contemporary style from an elegant masculine watch designed to be worn in any circumstance. The collection utilises self-winding movements with the option for a horological complication at the six o’clock position.

Cartier too delivered a popular flash from the past with the 1978 Santos, an era-defining design that proved extremely popular with the rich and famous of the time. This perfectly proportioned watch features an automatic movement based inside a 39x45mm case.

The watch is available with re-engineered bracelets including a double-turn design.

Audemars Piguet also introduced new models inspired by their heritage. The Royal Oak Offshore collection appeared as a larger, more rugged sibling of the Royal Oak in 1993. To celebrate its 25th anniversary, Audemars Piguet is issuing a re-edition inspired by the 1993 model, incorporating all the knowledge and techniques of 2018 while remaining faithful to the timeless design of the original.

This is accompanied by two new limited series of the Royal Oak Offshore Tourbillon Chronograph: one in stainless steel and one in 18-carat pink gold.

History should certainly be celebrated in the watch industry as it’s this heritage which helps keep the drive for innovation alive. SIHH itself has moved forward in leaps and bounds. The event had 16 exhibitors as little as three years ago, it now boasts 35. The event has also seen great success from introducing a public day, bringing the brands closer to their audience.

Fabienne Lupo, President and Managing Director of the Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie, said: “The SIHH is the major annual rendezvous for Fine Watchmaking stakeholders. It simply has no equivalent. This year, the major new introduction is the creation of a new place conducive to encounters and open to all-comers, which will serve as a platform for all the exhibiting Maisons. The Salon thus actively fosters ties and generates content.”

This year’s event proved to be a great success and goes to show there is still a strong appetite for great horlogerie.

Turn over the page to look at three more amazing pieces from this year’s event.

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FIFTYSIX®, Vacheron Constantin

Santos, Cartier

Royal Oak Offshore Tourbillon Chronograph, Audemars Piguet

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RM 53-01 TOURBILLON RICHARD MILLE

The RM 53-01 Tourbillon is the result of the encounter between Richard Mille and world-renowned polo player Pablo Mac Donough. Sporty and dynamic, this watch reveals a suspended tourbillon calibre, visible through the unprecedented laminated sapphire glass of its Carbon TPTÂŽ case, a complex armour of an entirely new kind for this high-risk sport.

MOONMACHINE 2

GMT EARTH

MB&F + SARPANEVA

GREUBEL FORSEY

The MB&F MoonMachine 2 brings us the world’s first projected moonphase display. The projection is accomplished via an optical prism, which refracts the hours, minutes and moon discs in their flat positions to appear as if they are perpendicular to the engine.

The GMT Earth enables a clear view of three time zones simultaneously to within a quarter of an hour.

Furthermore, on the movement side of the timepiece, 24 time zones are displayed with the summer and winter times to complement the universal time indicated by the terrestrial globe.

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PEOPLE PLACE IDEA What we build shows what we value, how we think and what we are trying to achieve at a specific point in time. It is how we take the world of thoughts, ideas, fears and dreams and make it real – a time capsule by which future generations can know us, or by which we can look backwards and understand those who came before.

In this series, Global Property Scene examines the midpoint between architecture, history, culture and society in order to explore what the built environment can tell us about our past, present and future.

MOSUL

Words : Alex Timperley | View : Lena Ha

O

n the 9th December 2017, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi announced to a conference in Baghdad that the country’s war against the so-called Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) was over. The Iraq Civil War had been ongoing for almost four years by the time victory was declared. Tens of thousands of civilians were killed in the fighting and genocides were carried out by ISIL in their conquered territory against groups as disparate as Yazidis, Shia Muslims and Christians.

At its height, ISIL controlled huge swathes of western Iraq and eastern Syria as well as having branches in at least 18 more countries including Afghanistan, Pakistan, Indonesia, Somalia and the Philippines. This was an organisation which franchised itself out across the world with a speed and efficiency which would make the board of McDonalds jealous.

Nowhere in Iraq suffered more than the city of Mosul which was uniquely valuable to ISIL. In practical terms, a large population centre is vital to a new ‘state’ for the purposes of taxation - or directly stealing the wealth of a city, in the case of ISIL. From Mosul’s strategically central location it is easy to raid north into Turkey, east into Iran and west into Syria with impunity whenever funds are running low. We have largely moved on from a world where widespread raiding is a common occurrence so there are no standard defences in place around towns to stop a heavily armed group from doing so. Another practical benefit of controlling Mosul was the industrial base which already existed there. Crucially, this included many chemical factories which allowed ISIL to build chemical weapons.

Mosul was also vital for its symbolic status. Since its formation ISIL had one core message for the world - that it was the only legitimate Islamic government on earth. In this way ISIL presented itself as something separate from other groups such as al-Qaeda, its forerunner, which continues to argue that the Islamic Caliphate cannot be created until the enemy forces which will try to destroy it have already been eliminated. ISIL believed that the Caliphate could be enacted on its own terms and would successfully hold together in the face of aggressors.

Fighters from around the world rushed to join this cause because, to be frank, ISIL overwhelmingly succeeded in its goals for a long time.

Mosul was the key to this whole thing, making it by far the most important piece in the ISIL puzzle. It is not hard to see why shifting

“This was an organisation which franchised itself out across the world with a speed and efficiency which would make the board of McDonalds jealous.”

the organisation from the city became the overriding priority for the alliance of forces arrayed against it.

A flat city The capture of Mosul by ISIL in June 2014 was greeted with international shock. It was not deemed possible that the second largest city in Iraq could fall to what was viewed as a dangerous but ragtag and largely untrained militia group. 60,000 defenders were routed by an attacking force estimated to be only 1,500 strong, and more than half a million civilians fled the city ahead of the invaders.

At its height in Mosul, ISIL controlled approximately 40% of Iraq - an area home to at least 10 million people.

Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the group’s leader at the time, declared the foundation of his Caliphate from the top of Mosul’s Great Mosque of al-Nuri. The Mosque and its famous leaning minaret were consecrated in the 12th century and gave the city its nickname of ‘the hunchback’. However, after withstanding 850 years’ worth of invasions, the Mosque and minaret are no more. ISIL declared that they would never lower their flag from the minaret, and so they blew it up when on the verge of defeat rather than let it be captured. This act was described as “an official acknowledgement of defeat,” by Haider al-Abadi, the Iraqi Prime Minister.

Aerial photos of Mosul after the eviction of ISIL forces showed scenes resembling historic disasters from the latter days of World War Two. Comparisons to Hiroshima after the nuclear attack are not wide of the mark. To see a modern city completely flattened is an experience which manages to be both bizarre and unsettling at the same time. The bones of civilisation remain but all of the life has been stripped away from them, the occasional broken shell of a building remaining as a terrible reminder of the cost of conflict.

Prior to being conquered Mosul was home to complex, medium-sized industries as diverse as pharmaceuticals, furniture, leather goods and textiles. It was a place where dozens of different ethnicities and religions mixed happily. Its total destruction was a modern tragedy.

The United Nations (UN) estimated following the recapture of Mosul that at least 5,500 public or infrastructural buildings would need to be rebuilt, along with tens of thousands of houses. The airport, university and railway station were completely gone along with all five of Mosul’s bridges. Its water and sewage systems were dismantled, and the electricity network was purposefully torn down.

The streets of the city are still carpeted with thousands of Improvised Explosive Devices which were produced in the re-purposed factories of Mosul. This deadly litter will slow the speed of rebuilding down to a crawl.

Another factor seriously slowing everything down is that 75% of all the government buildings in Mosul are thought to have been destroyed, a situation which is making it difficult to organise the 1.5 million residents of the city and begin the recovery in earnest.

Making sure that services, aid and investment are available in liberated areas is the first concern of a new government. The estimated cost of rebuilding the city and removing the booby traps and explosives we be at least US$50bn, and the UN has called for almost US$1bn to be made available immediately in order to provide humanitarian relief - although at last count only about half of that

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Destroyed grave of Prophet Jonah, Mosul, Iraq amount had been pledged.

As well as being the ethically sound course of action, providing emergency relief to people who have been terrorised also serves a strategic purpose through the creation of what is known as a ‘peace dividend’ - in which citizens of a devastated area feel an immediate benefit from a new government. Providing a good level of services and security is really the only way to head off the next insurgency before it happens. If the new government is better than the old government it can be hoped that people would rather stick with it in the long term.

Much of the required funding will necessarily come from abroad.

Iraq itself has one of the least diverse economies in the world, with 99% of government revenue being a product of oil sales. When the price of oil fluctuates, everything fluctuates. The budgets for government departments go up and down and investment projects can be suddenly halted. The government in Baghdad currently enjoys a monopoly over the oil, energy and service sectors which has effectively stymied the growth of private business in these areas. Whilst this is not inherently a bad thing, having an economy tied to such a mercurial market makes the government unable to pour money into cities such as Mosul if the international markets are down.

“Estimates of the amount needed vary, but the Iraqi government has come up with a figure of around US$100bn to finance a proper reconstruction.”

The foreign investment which will hopefully fill this gap comes in two forms. The first is the aforementioned support from foreign governments and NGOs. This is needed in both the short term to deal with the humanitarian crisis and the longer term to support the nascent city government. Estimates of the amount needed vary, but the Iraqi government has come up with a figure of around US$100bn to finance a proper reconstruction. This has been requested as a conscious echo of the Marshall Plan which provided money to Western European nations looking to rebuild after World War Two. It has been reported that some in the West are reluctant to pile in at the moment thanks to a lack of faith in the ability of the Baghdad government to effectively distribute the funds.

The Iraqi government is, of course, aware of this and is seeking private investment to fill the gap as well as to establish long term partnerships with foreign companies and lenders which are of benefit to the country as a whole. So far these efforts have been going rather well. For example, Iraq has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the UK which will allow significant private investment into Iraqi infrastructure such as the water and electricity networks in order to improve the lives of Iraqis - and if this has the added benefit of stimulating the economy as well, then everyone should end up in a better situation. The total value of the money available through UK Export Finance is reported to be as high as US$12bn. Private investment is not charity, but it will certainly serve a purpose if it is utilised effectively.

Population of Mosul before conflict: 664,221 (2015)

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The next steps The road ahead is long and it is vital that new homes are built as quickly as possible. Infrastructure is all well and good but it becomes a secondary concern when there are thousands of homeless people. The Tamayouz Excellence Award Rifat Chadirji Prize aims to focus global attention and talent onto some of Iraq’s most pressing social issues - the theme of the latest edition was ideas for rebuilding Mosul by supplying affordable housing.

With more than 220 entries from 42 countries, the competition was fierce and the jury was looking for a housing solution which was practical and scalable in order to add density and housing capacity to the city in a way which was both efficient and inspiring at the same time. These principles were followed by Dr. Rifat Chadirji, the prize’s namesake, who is considered to be Iraq’s greatest modern architect and has exercised a huge influence over the country’s built environment over his lifetime.

Ahmed Al-Mallak, the founder of the Tamayouz Excellence Award, said: “All contributing ideas responding to the humanitarian crisis are heartwarming.

This competition had the value of reflecting difficult and controversial situations but through a reasonably optimistic lens. Although the competition finished, our work starts now to help organizations responsible for the reconstruction efforts.”

The winning entry came from Anna Otlik, an architect from Wroclaw, Poland.

Her ‘Re-Settlement’ plan is notable for not only taking into account the needs of the hundreds of thousands of returnees to Mosul, but also considering what the future might hold for the city. Her optimism in Mosul’s future growth reflects the values of the competition and it is not a surprise that this elegant tessellation design won - it is tough to imagine a worthier winner.

The first phase of re-settlement will be determined organically by those who return to the city. The modular design will allow the new Mosul to be built around where people naturally end up congregating. It is worth remembering at this point that much of the city is completely flattened, so the old system of roads and districts is largely irrelevant.

Once this initial matrix of people and areas is established, the new settlements can grow and evolve in a modular fashion. The city will naturally grow in the ways it is needed to, and the beauty of the modular system is that this will now be a city which truly reflects the lives and needs of the people who live there, both in the short and long term. Furthermore, it is a nice nod to Iraqi architecture from the past which has been heavily influenced by modular designs and patterns to a greater degree than most other places in the world.

Other noteworthy entries include The Five Farming Bridges by Vincent Callebaut Architectures which aimed to build the new city around the five destroyed bridges of Mosul, and The Big Mosulian Family by Ali Nashwan and Fatima Ehsan, which aimed to use the built environment to create a community network to raise future generations in a healthy environment.

What is clear is that this competition will not solve all the problems of Mosul.

Too much has happened to the city in recent years to allow everyone there to move on. However, building new homes for the people there is clearly of the utmost priority, and where you essentially have a blank canvas this is the perfect time to consider something which is both innovative and beautiful.

Re-settlement is an ideal solution and hopefully the people of Mosul will be better served in the future.

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A street liberated following occupation from the Islamic State

Rifat Chadirji Rifat Chadirji is recognised as Iraq’s most significant modern architect and during his long career he has done more than anyone else to define his country’s architecture in the 20th century. His love for his subject was apparent early in his life when he made efforts to photographically document much of the architecture in Iraq and Syria which was being lost to development during the first oil boom. These regional influences would later be woven into his work with a rare intelligence. Chadirji devoted himself to mixing the culture and history of Iraq with the realities of the modern world and technologies.

The combination of a deep appreciation for his regional roots and an enthusiasm for the principles of modernism led Chadirji to create some truly unique designs such as the Baghdad Offices and Tobacco Warehouses, the National Insurance Company building in Mosul, and the Unknown Soldier in Firdos Square which was a modern adaptation of the arch of Ctesiphon, an ancient city in what was then known as Parthia.

“Let us architects acknowledge our problems and make art of them. Let us accept our fate and celebrate our art as beautifully as Rifat Chadirji celebrated his.” Robert Venturi 1984 However, it is likely that Chadirji’s true legacy will be the influence he had over others. As a major figure in one of the most influential schools in Arab architecture, the Baghdad School of Architecture, his contributions to architecture are somewhat greater than a mere body of work. In his own words: “I set out to learn from traditional architecture and to achieve a synthesis between traditional forms and the inevitable advent of modern technology. My aim was to create an architecture which at once acknowledges the place in which it is built, yet which sacrifices nothing to modern technical capability. At the same time I was concerned to understand analytically the reasoning behind traditional devices of environmental control such as courtyards, screen walls, natural ventilation, and reflected light.”

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INVESTOR SEMINARS EXCLUSIVE EVENTS ACROSS THE WORLD

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HONG KONG Kowloon Shangri-La, Kowloon Room 16th March - 18th March 2018 Free tickets available

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WHAT TO EXPECT AT THE SEMINARS

NETWORKING

PEOPLE

LAUNCHES

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A GUIDE TO HUNGARY Words : Will Leyland | View : Yulia Grigoryeva

F

ollowing on from its defeat in World War One, or The Great War, Hungary suffered badly for its sins. Having been an aggressor in the build up to the world’s first example of mechanised warfare following the assassination of Franz Ferdinand, Austria-Hungary had entered the war as one of Europe’s great powers.

spirits. ‘Gloomy Sunday’, a song attributed to worsening the crisis, was never banned but when the song was later covered by Buddy Holly, the BBC banned it in 1941 saying that it was detrimental to wartime morale.

This type of deeply sad, disturbing but fascinating episode is typical of the incredibly rich culture and history of Budapest and wider Hungary.

It controlled an area of over 675,000 square kilometres and a population of over 52 million people, of which Hungary hosted 21 million. Having engineered the start of the war they sat defeated and humiliated following the Treaty of Trianon, signed on June 4th 1920, in which Hungary lost two thirds of its territory and more than half of its population, which was more territory than any other country at that time. Eight million Hungarians left Hungary and more than three million were stranded outside of the newly established borders. New nations, such as Czechoslovakia, Poland, and the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes were established, and some already existing countries such as Italy and Romania had extended their territories.

History The city at the centre of Hungarian culture and their current capital, Budapest, was founded in roughly 1AD by the Celts and is the jewel in the Hungarian crown. Sitting next to one of the world’s most famous rivers, the Danube, it attracts millions of tourists every year, and a not insignificant number of foreign investors too.

The city is one of Europe’s largest and most populous, with a population of almost 1.8 million. The name famously comes from the 19th century unification of the two cities Buda and Pest and was first noted in contemporary literature in 1831.

Following their humiliating defeat, many attributed this and the post-traumatic stress of fighting in the war to a strange phenomenon and deeply unsettling solution; Budapest became the suicide capital of Europe.

To combat this upsetting epidemic, Professor Jeno and a hypnotist named Binczo started a ‘smile club’ which was seen by the local government as an ideal resolution to widespread suicidal tendencies. Having initially started the practice as a joke, its popularity spread quickly and practices included watching film clips of celebrities in order to try and emulate their happiness.

What we may consider to be modern Hungary has its roots in the Roman Empire when they conquered the territory west of the Danube from smaller tribes, established originally as Pannonia.

Within this area a Roman legion of 600 founded the settlement Aquincum in 41 AD. It grew over time into the focal point of the Roman territory, becoming a commercial hub and the capital of Pannonia. The area is now recognised as the Obuda region of modern Budapest.

According to similar reports of the time, the classes took place in schools and workplaces across the city in order to lift people’s

Following the collapse of the Roman Empire, Hungary was established as a federation of united tribes in 895 AD. Having

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A tram entering Liberty Bridge in Budapest, Hungary

originally been a principality consisting of semi-nomadic natives, it underwent a huge transformation into a more modern Christian nation in the 10th century.

remaining central area, including the capital Buda, was known as the Pashalik of Buda.

The ethnic diversity of the country was enhanced significantly by the Ottoman wars, with Germans, Serbs, Slavs and Turks settling in and around various parts of the country. The following 200 years saw various uprisings and internal strife, with political unrest commonplace throughout the Napoleonic wars.

The next 500 years was marked by the Age of Arpadian Kings, or the Arpad dynasty, followed by the age of elected kings. The time was marked by a number of hugely successful military campaigns, taking in victories as far as Constantinople and modern day Spain.

In this time the Hungarian Kingdom reached its peak, roughly between 1301 and 1308, with Louis the Great ruling over a large area of Eastern Europe.

In July 1849 the Hungarian Parliament proclaimed and enacted the first laws of ethnic and minority rights in the world, marking Hungary as one of the most progressive countries in European history, jarring somewhat with its current government and political standpoint.

In the 30 or so years that followed this period of relative stability, the last king of Hungary, Matthias, died without an heir or any lawful sons, leaving the aristocracy to ascend their own choice to the throne. With its political stability shaken, Vladislaus II faced a peasant rebellion which was ruthlessly crushed by the nobles. It sounded the death knell for a Hungarian state controlled by the monarchy and paved the way for the Ottoman conquest.

Having a unique and treasured national language which bears little resemblance to other European languages from Latin and Germanic heritage, the Hungarians have often felt isolated and there is deep historical anxiety over national identity and loss thereof.

Far right government

The Ottomans had to some extent been warring with Hungarian armies for almost 150 years before they scored a decisive victory over the Hungarian forces in the Battle of Mohacs in 1526. The eastern part of the kingdom became independent as the Principality of Transylvania, under Ottoman (and later Habsburg) suzerainty. The

Having won a second term in the 2014 Parliamentary elections, Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s Fidesz party once again went into an alliance with the right-wing Conservative Christian KDNP.

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Hungarian Parliament Building, located in Lajos Kossuth Square on the bank of the River Danube.

The government, sitting in its current form since a landslide victory in 2010, has recently been inviting increasing international condemnation for its perceived illiberal policies and, according to some, autocratic political moves.

In many ways it has been the spearhead of the Eastern European revolt against Angela Merkel’s immigration policies in which Germany opened its doors to unlimited immigration at the height of the refugee crisis, which started at the beginning of the Syrian civil war.

Its anti-immigrant and anti-refugee policy has been widely covered and condemned, with the government seen to be demonising those fleeing war and starvation with widely circulated images of large fences erected on the border which put it on a collision course with the EU. The government has claimed to be passionately pro-EU whilst criticising the organisation often.

Hungarians, having been polled regularly, are vastly pro-European and pro-EU, which puts a sizeable fly in the ointment of a party which often positions itself as anti-establishment and a defender of national identity.

“We would like a work-based and performance-oriented economy, and we do not want to live in an empire again. The EU must be an alliance of nations.”

In an article for the Guardian, Andras Schweitzer noted that: “According to the EU quota system, despite Hungarian objections, Hungary ought to allow 1,294 asylum seekers into the country - with this number potentially rising in a quota system should there be another influx of refugees. But even if Hungary were to be required to accept three times as many, that would still be fewer than the number of people who were allowed by the government to settle in the country through a dubious state-run bond scheme that ran between 2013 and 2017”.

The ruling party was polling at roughly 50% of the vote as recently as November 2017, with the next elections occurring later this year. The government, having been accused of being autocratic and Machiavellian, has fined the country’s largest opposition party, the far right Jobbik party, €2m for illicit funding and has also arrested and charged its leader for espionage.

It will depend on your political tastes whether you consider that to be comforting or unsettling but one thing is for sure: investment loves stability and the Hungarian government is seemingly approaching a third consecutive term.

Current economy Having initially won its large majority on promises of protectionism and an economy that works for Hungarians, not unlike Trump’s ‘America First’ campaign of 2016, has the ruling party managed to deliver on its promises?

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The Turul Statue The Turul is a mythological bird of prey, mostly depicted as a hawk or falcon, in Hungarian tradition and a national symbol of modern Hungary and Transylvania (now part of Romania).

By and large it would be fair to say that Eastern and Central European countries, including the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Poland, have seen something of an economic revival after some seriously shaky times following the 2008 financial crash and the Eurozone crisis caused by the Greek sovereign debt defaults.

Indeed, Viktor Orban noted after a recent meeting with his Polish counterpart that “we are the economic engine of the European Union,” seemingly wanting to rebuke the EU’s attempts to regulate immigration and judiciary issues. He also said: “We would like a work-based and performance-oriented economy, and we do not want to live in an empire again. The EU must be an alliance of nations”.

According to the latest Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) predictions, Hungary’s economic performance has actually been revised up for this year. The OECD had originally forecast growth of 3.8% but has now raised that prediction to 3.9% which is an extremely strong performance in the context of wider Europe.

The OECD forecast GDP growth in 2019 at 2.8% and stated that Hungary’s economic growth will continue to rely on domestic demand.

It added that public infrastructure spending will benefit from European Union funding and business investment from cheap credit.

Housing All this good economic news doesn’t always naturally translate into a good investment environment, and certainly not into a healthy housing market that attracts foreign money. It can be easy when being overseen by nationalist and protectionist governments to retreat into an ideology of suspicion with regards to foreign investment.

Chain Bridge, Budapest

“The chaotic scenes in Budapest surrounding the refugee crisis have attracted headlines but have had little impact on the Hungarian capital’s booming property market.”

HUNGARY FACTS --Area: 93,030 km2 Population: 9,797,561 (estimate) Per capita: $30,538 Figures correct January 2018

“Hungarian property in general remains extremely affordable, coming in at €2,500 per square metre, in comparison to €20,000 in the UK.”

According to the Financial Times in 2015, “the chaotic scenes in Budapest surrounding the refugee crisis have attracted headlines but have had little impact on the Hungarian capital’s booming property market”.

In the heart of Budapest lies its world famous spa baths. With Buda and Pest, the two sections of the city, lying so close to fault lines its numerous and architecturally varied thermal baths are fed by 120 hot springs and are ideal destinations for both tourists and locals intent on relaxation. Not only this, but over the past 20 years the bath spas have become famous around Europe for their ‘sparties’ in which famous DJ’s play to thousands of revellers across the baths.

They also go on to note that the relative crisis in the wider European market between 2008 and 2013 makes the recent surge in activity and profits all the more impressive. According to Hungarian agencies there were 40% more transactions in the first half of 2015 than in the same period a year earlier.

It’s a phenomenal sight in the height of summer with its beautiful ruin bars serving drinks around the outside of the spas. Herein lies the epitome of the clash between tradition and modernity, as is the case with many old cities.

It’s not to say that there aren’t plenty of opportunities across Hungary, but nowhere are the rewards richer than in its capital.

It regularly features in ‘best cities in the world’ lists and recently featured in the Telegraph’s ‘Best European Cities’ list.

Hungary’s government has made quite a few economic promises that it needs to deliver on in order to win another election. Budapest represents Hungary’s best path forward in modern Europe; young wealthy professionals and international investors bringing money into the country.

Known for its culture, friendly welcome, breath-taking views and world famous metro system, the city of Budapest is a tourist hotspot as well as an urban hub for wealthy young Hungarian professionals.

As with cities such as London and Krakow however, the whole country is not represented at large by its liberal and wealthy urban hubs. Outside of these areas lies a hunger and desire for traditional Hungarian values, often conservative and Christian.

According to Global Property Guide, “the national house price index went up by 11.6% year-on-year (8.6% inflation-adjusted) year-on-year to the 1st quarter of 2017, based on the Hungarian National Bank’s (MNB) house price index. Budapest’s house prices surged by 16.9% (13.8% inflation-adjusted) year-on-year.”

As has been seen the world over, from Brexit to Trump to Austria, tough economic times have translated into a desire for a return to the past and introspective politics. Natives, angry at a perceived failure by the global elites, want their government to look after their own, and political parties keen on taking power are keen to deliver.

Hungarian property in general remains extremely affordable, coming in at €2,500 per square metre, in comparison to €20,000 in the UK. Further to that, average rents per month are €1,300 in comparison to €5,000 in the UK (accounting for rents in their respective capitals). Average yields by the same measure are 5.24%, compared with 2.61% in the UK. This brings Hungary in at eleventh across the whole of Europe for rental yields.

The country’s future looks stable inasmuch as the ruling party is looking set to win a third term, but this potentially puts them on course for a clash with the EU which is still popular with the electorate. It will be an interesting 12 months for the country.

There is also, of course, the temptation to purchase property in Budapest just for the sheer pleasure of being able to wander its historic streets, eat at its plentiful restaurants and cafes, or stroll down the banks of the Danube.

What of investment into the country, though? It looks a safe bet right now. Tourism is growing, as is manufacturing, and political stability is so often a reliable indicator of favourable economic environments.

Yields, rents and property values are all growing.

Aside from that temptation, there can be few alternatives that represent better comparative value for money. If we’re to assume that the ultimate goal in property investment is stable and significant returns then, despite perceived extremism, the Hungarian government seems to offer that stability, whilst the riches of its capital city and its popularity are offering profitable returns.

It may well be the case that after consultation with the EU the Hungarian government might relax its stance, but we shall see.

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Hősök tere, Andrássy Avenue next to City Park Popular with tourists, Heroes’ Square is noted for its iconic statue complex featuring the Seven Chieftains of the Magyars and other important Hungarian national leaders, as well as the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

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ZIMBABWE AND THE FUTURE Words : Will Leyland | View : Ulrich Mueller

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the house arrest wasn’t a coup, but a move made for the president’s own protection.

he last time an event in Africa was covered so enthusiastically by the Western media probably involved Nelson Mandela. That’s not to say that situations in places like Libya, Somalia and the Central African Republic aren’t, or weren’t, newsworthy, but they perhaps didn’t have such significant ramifications for Western countries and their governments.

It’s hard to define entirely and accurately what a military coup may actually look like, but it’s fair to say it probably involves armed soldiers appearing on state media and the country’s leader held captive in his own home. Despite the humorous reactions to the coup that definitely wasn’t a coup, the move was met with celebrations in the capital Harare where taxi drivers beeped horns and locals waved Zimbabwean flags in triumph at the possibility of a new dawn for their country.

It could be argued that Robert Mugabe and Nelson Mandela didn’t follow totally dissimilar paths into government. Both freedom fighters, both initially castigated and eventually accepted by the UK government, both their country’s most significant political figure of the century. That is where their similarities end, of course.

On 21st November 2017, their hopes were realised when Mugabe handed his letter of resignation to the Zimbabwean parliament, read out by the speaker to applause and celebration. Mugabe, according to his letter, had resigned voluntarily to allow a smooth transition of power. How many people actually believed that after he had resisted attempts to oust him is unclear. Unclear, too, is how much money Mugabe and his wife walked away with, with some reporting it to be in the millions.

One, having been imprisoned for his politics, emerged to lead a country through unification and inspiration whilst the other fell into paranoia, brutality and despotism. Ruling through fear, cronyism and corruption, it was perhaps always a matter of time until Mugabe was pushed from government. That he was forced from power wasn’t the surprise, the surprise was the spark that lit the touch paper.

In his old age Mugabe’s frailty and deteriorating mental health were fairly well documented but it was becoming quickly apparent that his wife, Grace Mugabe, was being ruthlessly efficient in exploiting that frailty for her own ends. This culminated in the firing of life-long Mugabe ally and vice-president Emmerson Mnangagwa, thought to have been a move made by Mugabe’s wife in order to set a smooth path of succession for her once the President vacated his post.

Mugabe’s fall from grace is a remarkable one, if you’ll excuse the pun. There are still those in the country who worship him as the man who brought independence to Zimbabwe and an end to white-minority rule. In a biography of him by Joseph Winter for the BBC, it was noted that “for some, he will always remain a hero. Even those who forced him out blamed his wife and ‘criminals’ around him.

The firing caused uproar in the ruling ZANU-PF party, of which Mnangagwa had been a member as long as Mugabe himself. Seen as a deeply worrying move by Grace Mugabe, the military almost immediately stepped in to take control, putting the president under house arrest and taking over state media channels. They insisted

“But to his growing number of critics, this highly educated, wily politician became the caricature of an African dictator, who destroyed an entire country in order to keep his job”.

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Harare City, Zimbabwe

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“With elections later this year and economic crises looming, Mnangagwa really needs to demonstrate that he is a radical shift from the previous president.”

The history of Zimbabwe is one that could be said to perfectly encapsulate the horrors, racism and exploitation of British colonialism in Africa from the late 18th century through until the mid-nineties in South Africa.

In September 1890, Cecil Rhodes’ pioneer column made its way into Mashonaland to establish Fort Salisbury and the new colonial state named after its founder: Rhodesia. 90 years later, white-ruled Rhodesia became the independent state of Zimbabwe. The Rhodesian Bush War lasted from 1964 to 1979 and led to universal suffrage, the end of white minority-rule in Rhodesia, and the creation of the Republic of Zimbabwe.

The rebellion was led by Mugabe and the socialists of the Zimbabwe African National Union, as well as Joshua Nkomo’s Zimbabwe African People’s Union. For black Zimbabweans the war was seen as one of liberation from foreign occupiers, although that definition was not one agreed with by white Rhodesians.

In a famous Reddit thread about the war, user ‘Prof Rhodes’ said that “from the very outset of the Southern Rhodesian state, discriminatory policies and practices were instigated and maintained. Here’s a quote from Peter Mackay, a once-prominent white radical: ‘We ordinary people who would pass unnoticed in our lands of origin were enabled to become rulers in the land we had adopted, a land which belonged to others and we said belonged to us. We did not say, ‘let us share. Let us live together in equality and fraternity.’

Instead we said Africans were different and formed a society which excluded Africans”.

Further to this he went on to describe the Colour Bar, which he said was “the single overarching policy of white Rhodesia most detested by Africans, ensured the division of the Rhodesian society into white and black. The 1947 Native Urban Areas Accommodation Act split the urban areas into African and European sections. It was not permitted for Europeans to live in the African areas (which were dusty, crowded townships) but Africans could reside in the European areas as ‘houseboys’ or ‘garden boys’, provided they remained in the service of a white household”.

The fact that Mugabe and his colleagues overturned such horrendously racist policies by the Ian Smith Rhodesian government meant that, at least from 1980 for a short while, he was a national hero. As his power was consolidated Mugabe attempted to press through with land reforms which quickly turned into an attempt to seize white farms without compensation, despite the fact it was initially agreed upon with the British government in the Lancaster House Agreement. Mugabe, confident of victory, ordered a referendum on the matter which he promptly lost 55% to 45%, prompting political violence and Mugabe supporting war veterans to march on white-owned land and chase owners from their homes.

Political violence, murder, vote-rigging and corruption marred Mugabe’s reign and many in the country felt unable to speak against the government, especially after Mugabe lost a legitimate election to Morgan Tsvangirai only to impose rigorous and unreasonable conditions on voting, with Tsvangirai also revealing that he had been beaten by state police.

With a new dawn come new risks, however. With Mugabe’s vice-president now taking the reins, how likely is it that significant political change will follow him?

Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa, the man known as ‘the crocodile’ because of his political cunning, has finally achieved a long-held ambition to succeed Robert Mugabe as Zimbabwe’s president. With elections later this year and economic crises looming, Mnangagwa really needs to demonstrate that he is a radical shift from the previous president.

Despite this, ‘the crocodile’ has been complicit in some of the ruling party’s worst atrocities and has been described by those who have worked with him as ‘a very cruel man’. What would Mnangagwa need to do to win the approval of the people? After promising an economic recovery and job creation, he needs to stick to his word.

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“Three million Zimbabweans are estimated to have fled the economic conditions and encouraging them to return may well bring the skills needed to ignite a keen workforce.”

His first task is going to be currency, considering that hyperinflation killed off the old Zimbabwean Dollar in 2009, famously culminating in One Hundred Trillion Dollar notes.

These notes are now reported to be trading online as novelty keepsakes. Where the new president can find a new currency remains an issue. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is the best placed, but would most likely insist on a list of conditions if it is to support or prop up any new currency. American Dollars and South African Rand have been the currency of choice since the demise of the old currency, but that can’t last forever.

Once considered the breadbasket of Africa, Zimbabwe saw its agricultural production start to plunge at the turn of the century after the government-sanctioned programme of farm seizures. The president will need to almost immediately address this issue after damaging legislation was introduced

by Mugabe in 2009 stating that 51% of all companies in Zimbabwe should be controlled by black natives. With that legislation even Chinese companies fled the country due to limited profitability.

Rampant corruption also meant that the majority of seized white farms went to army generals and politically powerful people who knew next to nothing about agriculture, letting the farms fall into disrepair. Bringing agriculture back will go some way to repairing the damage of Mugabe policies.

The country also sits in default on US$9bn worth of debt owed mainly to the IMF and World Bank. If the president wants to open his country to economic development his wisest move would be to negotiate restructuring of that debt and the possible wiping of some of it in order to encourage co-operation and further funding.

This in turn may provide the conditions for business and employment, with unemployment in Zimbabwe currently running at 90%. Three million Zimbabweans are estimated to have fled the economic conditions and encouraging them to return may well bring the skills needed to ignite a keen workforce.

In answer to the question: Does Zimbabwe have a bright future? It’s extremely difficult to say. On the one hand there’s a new president keen to impress and win an election later in the year. On the other hand the president has worked with his predecessor and is alleged to be just as, if not more, corrupt and brutal than him.

Perhaps the more pertinent question could be: Does Zimbabwe have hope? In which case, the answer is emphatically yes.

The central bank of Zimbabwe issued $100,000,000,000,000 notes during the last days of hyperinflation in 2009, at the time that would barely buy a loaf of bread.

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Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe

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BUILDING FOR NATURAL DISASTERS Words : Alex Timperley | View : Bruno Alves

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f you have lived through a natural disaster you do not need to be told how destructive they are. If you have been lucky enough to have so far avoided natural disasters you can rest assured that the experience is every bit as bad as it sounds.

NASA Earth Observatory. The Observatory predicts that increasing temperatures in the oceans and the atmosphere will lead to more severe storms across the world as well as the arrival of big storms in areas which previously were mostly immune. If everything is hotter then there will be more water vapour in the atmosphere to feed hurricanes and other similar events. This will also lead to more torrential rain in monsoon areas and an increased risk of drought in the drier parts of the world. Cycles between floods and droughts could become more extreme.

Asia is the most populous continent on earth and bears the brunt of the total number of annual disaster events due to its geography and position at the edge of many tectonic plates which are constantly moving. Other areas of the world are also extremely susceptible, such as the areas of the Caribbean and the USA which lie in the path of ‘Hurricane Alley’ in the Atlantic and areas of Africa which are particularly blighted by droughts.

Flooding is the most frequent natural disaster in the world and affects an estimated 2.5 billion people every year, making up approximately 40% of all events. The cause of flooding is complex, taking in factors as diverse as geography, deforestation and masses of impermeable paving for cars. For many centuries the standard attitude to flooding in our urban centres was to drain it away somewhere else and never mind the consequences. This approach was generally fine before humanity’s great shift into being a mostly urban population began to take hold. Now there are simply too many people and cars in too small a space for this to be viable, and traditional methods of drainage are falling out of favour as the environmental concerns become clear.

Globally, disasters are probably becoming more frequent although it can be hard to tell for various reasons; it is sometimes disputed what classes as one, and wall-to-wall news coverage makes them seem more common than they are. However, the average number of people affected is thought to be falling, thanks in large part to the world’s rapidly growing population which positively skews the figures.

One interesting and unfortunate effect of disaster events is that the poorest nations tend to be the least able to deal with the consequences. The bigger economies see approximately 56% of natural disasters but only 32% of annual deaths, whereas poorer countries see fewer events but account for almost 70% of annual deaths. The reasons for this - lack of resilient infrastructure and an inability to provide widespread aid - are self-explanatory, but that doesn’t make the reality any less sad. The greatest human cost falls on those who already have the least.

One solution appears to be a new wave of sustainable urban drainage masterplanning which is transforming the cities of tomorrow. The devastating floods experienced in places as diverse as Bangladesh and Texas have confirmed that the old approach will not work. The development of ‘resilient cities’ is gathering pace as the reality of increased flooding becomes apparent. Cities such as Jakarta, which is sinking at a rate of 25cm a year, can attest to the dangers of not planning ahead to deal with more water. Whether it is methods as simple as lining roads with greenery and porous rocks which can absorb excess liquid or as wide-ranging as China’s

The onset of climate change is very likely to make things worse than they otherwise might have been in the future according to the

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“The USA is a good example of a nation which is ravaged by yearly storms. The Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters has come up with a figure of more than US$900bn of damage caused to American cities by storms since 1994. ”

plan to build 16 ‘sponge cities’ which aim to re-use 75% of rainwater for other purposes.

Making our cities flood resistant will also be a useful tool in the fight to alleviate the worst effects of storms. From hurricanes to typhoons, storms are the second most frequent natural disaster event and have caused an estimated 250,000 deaths in the last two decades.

Flooding is only part of the damage done by storms, with mass devastation of buildings and infrastructure also proving deadly.

Often it is not even the initial event which kills people but the after effects as cities struggle to get back on their feet. The USA is a good example of a nation which is ravaged by yearly storms. The Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters has come up with a figure of more than US$900bn of damage caused to American cities by storms since 1994.

The damage caused by storms can be somewhat mitigated by good architecture, such as buildings with rounded corners and the expedient placement of storm shelters such as the network found in Denver Airport, Colorado. However, the best solution is to resist the temptation to build brand new major urban centres in known storm hotspots. This is the sort of logic which also applies to events like volcanic eruptions where the best strategy is to simply not build towns and cities near the slopes of active volcanoes.

By far the most lethal natural disasters are earthquakes, and the related tsunamis. These two types of events are estimated to have killed more than all other natural disasters combined, with an estimated 750,000 casualties over the past two decades between them, of which at least 230,000 were from Haiti alone following the 2010 earthquake. Tsunamis are particularly deadly, averaging a death toll as high as 79 out of every 1,000 people affected. This is an atrocious level of destruction and one that has entered into folklore in some parts of the world.

The Japanese explain the many earthquakes they suffer with the myth of Namazu, a giant catfish is supposed to live in the mud underneath Japan and is guarded by the god Kashima who restrains it with a stone. When Kashima’s guard drops, Namazu thrashes around, causing earthquakes and tsunamis. Japan’s coastline is dotted with ‘tsunami stones’ which were designed to pass on warnings across the generations with messages like: “High dwellings are the peace and harmony of our descendants. Remember the calamity of the great tsunamis. Do not build any homes below this point.” Paintings such as The Great Wave off Kanagawa provide a somewhat more artistic reminder to the people.

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Typhoon, image furnished by NASA

“NASA Earth Observatory predicts that increasing temperatures in the oceans and the atmosphere will lead to more severe storms across the world as well as the arrival of big storms in areas which previously were mostly immune.�

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Whilst simply building homes high up might be a defence against tsunamis, protecting against earthquakes is an engineering and architectural challenge of a slightly higher order. We cannot build anything that is entirely resistant to earthquakes, but the general rule is to avoid building things which are entirely rigid. The trick is to not try and resist the swaying of the earth in favour of rolling with it instead.

Vibration control systems aim to dissipate the wave energy created by earthquakes through a series of dampening measures. The ‘base isolation’ method uses dampening footings to essentially decouple a building, such as San Francisco City Hall, from its base.

The basic idea is that when the ground shakes, it does so independently and the actual building above it moves very little.

Another interesting method has been built into Taipei 101, a 1,661 foot high tower which was the world’s tallest structure when it was completed in 2004. The building uses a massive internal damper - which takes the form of a giant ball - to control swaying and minimise the risk of structural failure. The goal isn’t to prevent the building from swaying like the base isolation method mentioned above. Instead, the internal pendulum system attempts to harness the movement in order to control it. This is achieved through a system of weights and measures which ensure the pendulum precisely mirrors the movements of the building, counteracting the sway and keeping the stresses on the structure to a minimum. This mass damper weighs 728 tonnes, is suspended between the 87th and 92nd floors and successfully resisted the 100mph winds of Typhoon Soudelor in 2005, officially making Taipei 101 a marvel of construction and a good example for future buildings.

It is true that we collectively tend to overestimate the impact of small-scale events, which is why we buy lottery tickets. However, that does not mean that we can’t plan ahead to try and lessen the impact of unavoidable disasters. Many places in the world already have measures in place, and other emerging ideas such as designing cities with drainage in mind and taking potential earthquakes into account when building tall structures are likely to become more and more prevalent in the future. This is particularly important for countries like New Zealand which sit on active faultlines between tectonic plates. Having suffered through more than 30,000 seismic events in 2017 alone, it is clearly vital that this is taken into account when considering future urban construction.

John Stuart Mill, a nineteenth century British philosopher, once noted that “what has so often excited wonder [is] the great rapidity with which countries recover from a state of devastation; the disappearance, in a short time, of all traces of the mischiefs done by earthquakes, floods, hurricanes, and the ravages of war.” Hopefully in the future we can avoid some of that pain by being smarter with our buildings in the first place.

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“The building uses a massive internal damper - which takes the form of a giant ball - to control swaying and minimise the risk of structural failure.�

View from inside Taipei 101 --Taipei 101 at sunset

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ARCHITECTURE AND DESIGN AWARDS 2017 Words : Alex Timperley | View : Anibal Trejo

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Honourable mentions: Bernardes Arquitetura; Duggan Morris Architects; MawsonKerr Architects

017 was another fascinating year in the world of architecture and design. We saw innovation, ambition and beauty in projects from around the world. Our most interesting and creative architects and designers certainly delivered the goods. There is much we can look back on admiringly and, as always, we can start to look towards the future.

House of the Year: Shawm House, Northumberland, UK Every now and again a house comes along which is so beautiful and fits so perfectly into its landscape that it feels like it must have been there forever, formed alongside the rivers and hills which surround it; Shawm House is one such building.

With that in mind, welcome to the inaugural Global Property Scene Architecture and Design Awards! The winners for 2017 are as follows...

The sensitive design, unbeatable position and sense of purpose - it was designed to be a manageable home for the parents of the designer - combine to make this a house with a real soul which feels connected to the countryside around it. Shawm House frames the landscape from its internal viewing areas, and is in turn framed by the landscape, both visually and by the local materials which went into its construction. It is the antidote to the rushed estates and blocks of flats which are proliferating across the UK. This is something very special.

Architect of the Year: RCR Arquitectes When choosing our Architect of the Year it was impossible to look past the winner of this year’s Pritzker Architecture Prize. As the winners of one of the most prestigious prizes in the world of architecture, RCR Arquitectes was recognised for its contribution to humanity and the built environment through architecture.

Unusually for a world famous architectural firm, RCR’s work is both stylistically and physically located in one place - in this instance, Catalonia. There is the odd project located elsewhere in Europe, but on the whole their work is a love letter to where they grew up. For this reason they do not often get the same billing as other ‘starchitects’ such as Bjarke Ingels, Santiago Calatrava or Renzo Piano, but that should not mean they are ignored.

Honourable mentions: Tiny House in Kobe, Kobe, Japan; South Street, East Sussex, UK; Tree House Tower, Seattle, USA Best Skyscraper of 2017: Ping An Finance Center, Shenzhen, China The Ping An Finance Center is the 4th tallest building in the world, the second tallest in Asia, and by far the tallest in Shenzhen - one of China’s fastest growing cities. Shaped like a missile emerging out of the ground, the new headquarters for the Ping An Insurance Company is the physical and symbolic heart of Shenzhen’s business zone, the Futian District.

Projects such as the Bell-Lloc Winery, the Soulages Museum, the La Lira Theater and the Tossols-Basil Athletics Track combine recycled plastics and metals with a true and deep understanding of their landscape and community to create buildings which manage to be both beautiful and poetic.

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Shenzhen skyline as seen from the Stock Exchange building with the Ping An IFC, the tallest building of the city in the background

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Soulages Museum in Rodez, Aveyron department of Midi Pyrenees, France

“As the winners of one of the most prestigious prizes in the world of architecture, RCR Arquitectes was recognised for its contribution to humanity and the built environment through architecture.�

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Aside from its sheer size, the Ping An Finance Center is notable for having a design which manages to be both aesthetically pleasing and practical at the same time. The tapering facades which meet at the tower’s point form a prismatic shape which improves structural performance, as well as reducing baseline wind loads by 35%. In addition, the tower is dressed in the world’s largest stainless steel façade which is corrosion resistant - important for dealing with Shenzhen’s sea salt air - and forms a protective net against lightning strikes.

Centre, Kaiserslauten, Germany Best New Museum/Gallery: Louvre Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi The Louvre Abu Dhabi opened to much fanfare in 2017. Billing itself as “one of the grandest cultural partnerships ever formed between two countries,” this £663m collaboration set itself up for a hubristic fall from the beginning. However, this venture between Abu Dhabi, the Musée de Louvre and 16 other French museums and partners turned out to be a big success.

Honourable mentions: Chaoyang Park Plaza, China; Beirut Terraces, Beirut, Lebanon; Lotte World Tower, Seoul, South Korea; Marina One, Singapore; American Copper Buildings, New York, USA

Jean Nouvel, the architect, designed the gallery as something between an Arab medina and a Greek agora, using water and light to create a peaceful environment a world away from the petrodollar glitz and glamour which is more commonly the theme of projects like this. The Sheikh originally asked for a “classical museum of civilisation” in 2006, and Nouvel delivered.

Most Ambitious New Development: Gigafactory, Nevada, USA Production began at Tesla’s Gigafactory in 2017 and it is no exaggeration to say that it is starting to change the world. Tesla’s mission to accelerate the world’s transition to sustainable energy through electric cars and battery storage is a lofty one, and the Gigafactory is set to almost double the world’s supply of lithium-ion batteries when fully operational.

Ancient Grecian sculpture sits happily alongside renaissance art, work from Matisse and Van Gogh, and more modern masterpieces from artists as diverse as Mark Rothko, Jackson Pollock and Ai Weiwei. Overall, this gallery and its beautiful dome, this “neighbourhood of art,” make up a remarkable cultural destination which should draw people for many years to come.

As well as being impressive in an abstract way, Gigafactory is also physically impressive. Its footprint will make it the world’s largest building when complete, and it is already an imposing achievement despite having reached only 30% of its final size. The modular design ensures that production can commence whilst the rest of the building is built out. Finally, Gigafactory is designed to be completely carbon neutral thanks to one of the largest solar panel arrays in the world which will be built on the roof.

Honourable mentions: Museum Barberini, Potsdam, Germany; Zeitz MOCAA, Cape Town, South Africa; Design Society, Shenzhen, China Idea Most Likely to Change the World: Chinese ‘Sponge Cities’ It seems that flooding is dominating the news more and more as years go by. 2017 alone saw major flooding in South Thailand, Peru, Quebec, Texas and New York - and that is without considering the general rise in sea levels which forced more people than ever before to abandon their homes. Cities like Jakarta and Miami are sinking at record rates and the projections for the future look bleak.

So what is the future of flood defence?

If that wasn’t enough, Tesla plans to take their ambition global. Their solar panel production facility in Buffalo, New York has already been nicknamed Gigafactory 2 and there has been something of an open bidding process around the world for future sites. Locations as far apart as Germany, China and Sweden have reportedly been in the running to host the next Gigafactory. They are no doubt mindful of the coming renewable energy revolution and want to be a part of it.

The traditional answer would be to build taller walls and spend more money on repairs. China has developed a different method - so-called ‘sponge cities’. This ecologically and environmentally friendly alternative to traditional flood defences may well revolutionise how we construct our built environment.

Honourable mentions: Google ‘landscraper’, King’s Cross, London, UK; ‘Re-Settlement’, Mosul, Iraq Most Imaginative Urban Structure: Spring Street Salt Shed, New York, USA

The proliferation of concrete has disrupted and blocked natural water flows and drainage systems, much to the detriment of people who find they live in newly flood prone areas. The idea behind a sponge city is to radically reduce the amount of impermeable space in our urban hubs, replacing impermeable paving and roads with green spaces filled with soil and plants. In addition, the preservation and restoration of natural waterways is a high priority.

You might think that there isn’t much exciting about a road salt storage facility in New York - but you would be wrong. Dattner Architects looked at the task of delivering a dull municipal facility and decided to do something extremely interesting with it.

The Salt Shed is 70 feet tall and sits on the busy intersection of Canal Street and West Street. A structure built to hold 5,000 tonnes of salt along with vehicles and office space could easily have been nothing more than a dull, functional, unremarkable box, but the reality is different. Dattner took inspiration from what the building was to contain, shaping and faceting the building like a giant salt crystal. The walls have a bluish tinge thanks to the slag metal that was added to the building in construction. The end result is an imposing and intriguing enclosure which draws and occupies the eye and the mind. Everyone involved should be proud of this one.

As well as effectively draining water once again - and capturing much more for re-use - the development of sponge cities will also be a victory for wildlife. The renewal of natural habitats will encourage animals, insects and birds to flourish once more. When nature is in full flow we are all better off for it. It is to be hoped that the initial success of China’s sponge cities will be replicated across the world over the coming decade. We might just save ourselves yet.

Honourable mentions: Tianjin Binhai Library, Tianjin, China; Undefined Playground, Seoul, South Korea; Community Refugee

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“Jean Nouvel, the architect, designed the gallery as something between an Arab medina and a Greek agora, using water and light to create a peaceful environment a world away from the petrodollar glitz and glamour which is more commonly the theme of projects like this.”

Interior of the Louvre Museum, showing reflections of the “Rain of Light” dome Exterior of the Louvre Museum in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

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FENG SHUI

Words : Emma Martin | View : DilKar

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A further illustration of how Qi can be interrupted is when you drive on a motorway in a car and become sandwiched on either side by a large van - your positive Qi is disturbed, resulting in feelings of anxiety.

he ancient Chinese philosophy of feng shui originated over 6000 years ago and remains globally popular today.

Literally translating to ‘wind-water’, the principles of feng shui relate to harmonising life through the arrangement and placement of surroundings and, in today’s society, is commonly used as a decorating technique - however, the underlying values of the ancient Chinese belief are complex.

Cheung comments on how this feeling of anxiety and interrupted Qi influences feng shui: “It is the kind of invisible pressure you feel when you’re right next to a bigger object or within a narrow space.

Low ceilings, low hanging chandeliers, and huge furniture also tend to give off this form of Qi, but you will feel it only when you’re right under these objects or very close to it.”

The philosophy of feng shui (although there are many different approaches which have changed over time) stems from a belief in ‘Qi’, or energy, which flows through everything. Ancient feng shui thinking relies on the idea that destiny is directly related to natural surroundings and that by controlling your environment you can ultimately control fate.

“Ancient feng shui thinking relies on the idea that destiny is directly related to natural surroundings and that by controlling your environment you can ultimately control fate.”

The concept of Qi in simple terms refers to the intangible energy surrounding us. Victor Cheung, a writer on the subject of feng shui and Qi, comments: “Qi is simply an ancient term used to describe what cannot be seen by the naked eye, such as sound waves, odour molecules, bacteria, heat waves, and others that were not scientifically known in ancient times.” The translation of feng shui to wind (the unseen) and water (the seen) is a portrayal of Qi. Both water and wind both naturally flow and should circulate without restriction.

“To avoid this Qi, feng shui suggests that we use higher ceilings and avoid placing big furniture right next to our bed. The goal is to give us more comfort in where we live.” Good feng shui means that Qi can flow freely, thereby resulting in good health, prosperity, love, success and a comfortable life.

The idea is that by controlling our surroundings carefully we can make things more comfortable and relaxing, which in turn will result in a positive life. Cheung goes on to explain the concept in terms of how placing a toilet next to a kitchen or bed would negatively impact not only the rooms ambience, but could adversely affect how well one sleeps, or could result in a diminished appetite.

Other feng shui base principles include Polarity which is concerned

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“Once used to orient temples, tombs and monuments, feng shui in China is a culturally significant practice which structured the early architectural formation of China itself, including influences on the Great Wall of China which is curved in order to maintain good flow.”

with the yin and yang, and Bagua (or eight symbols) diagrams.

To fully understand the philosophies that underpin both traditional and Western feng shui takes some considerable schooling, with much of the thinking rooted deeply in ancient Chinese literature and architecture.

Feng shui in China Once used to orient temples, tombs and monuments, feng shui in China is a culturally significant practice which structured the early architectural formation of China itself, including influences on the Great Wall of China which is curved in order to maintain good flow.

The snaking structure is also likened to the ‘sleeping dragon’, with dragons in China symbolising good luck.

Following the establishment of the People’s Republic of China in 1949, and the socio-political Cultural Revolution that swept through China from 1966, the practice of feng shui was widely discouraged in the country due to its spiritual and ‘mystical’ elements.

Categorised as one of the ‘Four Olds’ (Old Customs, Old Culture, Old Habits, and Old Ideas), feng shui was even punishable through beating and was described as “feudalistic superstitious practice”.

The Cultural Revolution, led by Mao Zedong’s Communist Party of China, had a lasting effect on the popularity of feng shui and has left the custom repressed in secular China today; however it remains popular in Hong Kong and Taiwan.

Western feng shui Today feng shui has been globally adopted in a broader sense, using the fundamental principles of the Chinese philosophy to design and decorate homes and offices, in order for them to have optimum use by the occupant.

Having been championed by the rich and famous, feng shui has become a popular western design principle and it has fuelled a fantastically lucrative business opportunity for many. With household names like Oprah Winfrey, Madonna, Johnny Depp, Bill Gates and even Donald Trump all practicing feng shui, there is money to be made as a feng shui ‘master’.

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Modern feng shui interior with sofa

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Top 5 feng shui tips for your home: 1. Utilise the command position Of primary importance when it comes to your sleep and work life, the command position in feng shui observes how placement of furniture can put you at ease in your surroundings, making you the master of your own environment. Beds and desks are both important pieces of furniture to be placed in the feng shui ‘command position’, this means that the furniture should be placed so your back is to the wall, and you are facing the door, allowing for the broadest scope of the room. By rearranging your bed and desk in this way you can maximise your power, ease and comfort at home.

2. Use plants Plants have long been seen as symbols of purity, health, wealth and prosperity. In addition to this the wood element is important in feng shui, with wood representing growth, energy and creativity. With this in mind, the addition of plants in the home or office can immediately improve feng shui. Palms, rubber plants and lucky bamboo are all excellent choices for house plants. It is important to note, though, that only plants and flowers in good health should be kept around as any plants that are dying release a negative energy, interrupting positive Qi flow.

3. Use the right colours Colour is of chief importance when decorating the home and the best feng shui colours can be determined by following your feng shui energy map, or ‘Bagua’. Literally translating to ‘eight symbols’, your Bagua maps out eight clear areas in the home, corresponding to different areas of life including: wealth, health, knowledge and marriage. Each area benefits from different colour combinations, for example marriage is boosted by red, white and pink; health benefits from yellows and oranges; and wealth is boosted by purple, blue and red.

4. Declutter Arguably stating the obvious, getting rid of clutter is one of the simplest ways to improve feng shui. By decluttering you can keep the energy flow in the home strong and make sure energy is not drained by futile items. Karen Kingston, author of ‘Clear Your Clutter with Feng Shui’, comments, “If you have a clear focus in your life and you surround yourself with things that have this marvellous free-flowing energy, you will have a correspondingly happy, joyous, free-flowing life.”

5. Keep the lid down A simple fix, keeping the toilet seat down can improve your life according to the principles of feng shui. The toilet is an open source where Qi can be washed away, along with your happiness, wealth and prosperity. Keeping the lid down (and the bathroom door closed) means that the open sources where Qi can be lost are sealed off, keeping the positive flowing energy in the home. The rule here is “don’t flush your money down the toilet”.

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“Each area benefits from different colour combinations, for example marriage is boosted by red, white and pink; health benefits from yellows and oranges; and wealth is boosted by purple, blue and red.�

Red and brown minimalist living room

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WHAT’S THE ALTERNATIVE? COMICS Words : Emma Martin | View : Drop of light

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For example, if we look at the most expensive comic book to have ever sold there is a certainly a compelling case for comic books as a serious alternative investment. The most expensive comic is the 1938 Action Comics #1, and has been described as the ‘holy grail’ when it comes to comic book collecting. Action Comics #1 holds a record breaking sale price of US$3.2m, making it the most valuable comic in the world.

hether it be rolled up in the back pocket of an avid enthusiast; on display behind a glass cabinet in an exhibition; or lost in an attic, buried beneath storage holding the fond memories of a happy childhood - comics have been capturing the imaginations of readers since they shot to popularity in 1930s America.

With household names like Superman, The Incredible Hulk, Batman, Wonder Woman and Spiderman having lasted through the decades, there is no doubt as to the affection that many of us have for these inspiring characters. With each character and series having gone through countless manifestations over the years they have yet to lose their appeal and remain a cornerstone of popular culture today.

First published on April 18 1938, the comic marks the first ever entrance of a known ‘superhero’ in the form of Superman and is considered by many as the beginning of comic books as we know them. Costing just US$0.10 when originally purchased, the seller of an original Action Comics #1 in mint condition could be looking at an 182,857,043% increase on their original purchase when inflation is taken into account - and we can’t argue with that.

As with any popular collector’s item, there is scope for investment.

With new comic books constantly entering the market, value comes to those which are older and in higher demand as well as to new editions. Both collectors and investors push up the value of rare comic books, with collectors desperate to get the must have issue at any price, and investors willing to go out on a limb and put big money into securing the rarest magazines.

However this kind of success in comic book investing is rare and the Action Comics #1 is an extreme case. The returns available depend on a number of factors, including (most importantly) the condition and authenticity of the issue.

Matt Nelson, Primary Grader of CGC, commented on the record breaking issue of Action Comics #1 sold: “Having seen many Action #1’s over the years, I am deeply impressed with this copy’s eye appeal. The book presents as a considerably higher grade than 5.5, lacking the usual fading, staining or creasing commonly seen on mid-grade copies. White and bright, this Action #1 is one of the best looking among the remarkably rare pool of unrestored copies in the world.” This goes to show the importance of caring for comics when it comes to selling them.

But are comic books a viable investment option? To answer this question it is important to assess the return value of comics. As with any investment you want to know what your initial outlay will be, the costs associated with the investment long term, and what return you can expect.

As with most investments, particularly ‘passion assets’ or collectables, the return will vary greatly based on the amount of knowledge in the sector, research done, and a healthy dose of luck on behalf of the investor.

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This leads us nicely on to the long term costs associated with the investment, as noted earlier. So with the initial outlay being cheap if you’re looking to buy originals, what will it cost to keep a collection in top nick?

of The Batman Adventures published in 1993 which features her first appearance are now selling for over US$1,000, where a few years ago they were worthless.

2. Investing in new comics

There are lots of ways to protect a comic book collection, varying from cardboard boxes to comic book backings, to Volstor storage cases. For investors also looking to have their collection graded you can receive your comics’ rating and have them returned in a special holder to protect them by the Comics Guaranty from the Certified Guaranty Company (CGC). The cost of this? A CGC rating will cost anywhere from US$12 per book to US$77 depending on the value and speed of the service. For this price you can ensure your collection is correctly graded and protected - a no brainer for any serious investor.

This avenue of investing would require an investor to have a finger on the pulse of the comic book world, with a keen eye on popular new releases. As well as looking out for all important first editions and variant covers which will generally sell for more than your average comic, it is important to understand the market in depth if you’re looking to invest in new comics.

There is money to be made by snapping up unique and anticipated series issues and turning them for a quick profit, but it is a riskier market and one that is arguably going to give a smaller return than the big hitters of the Golden Age editions (for now).

While there are a lot of variables to take into account, the basic principle of comic book investing is simple: that with only a number of issues ever printed, you can be fairly confident that a comic book will gain value in the future, it’s just a question of to what extent.

When investigating investment in comic books, one thing is clear there are numerous stories that have seen unwitting owners of rare comics make a lot of money.

When looking at entering the comic book investment market it is important to understand that there are two main ways to invest and that there are significant differences between the two methods.

One such story is told by Vincent Zurzolo of Metropolis Collectibles in New York who recalls a man from Minnesota coming to him with a beaten up copy of the famous Action Comics #1 which he had found in the wall of a house he was working on. The rare edition had been used to insulate the wall and been left undetected for years. “The guy bought the house for US$10,100, found a comic book that sold for US$175,000, and I collected a 10% commission on it.” Zurzolo explained.

1. Investing in rare comics This is probably the best avenue to look at if you’re a serious investor, with cash in the back pocket ready to be spent. By investing in Golden Age comic books you can appeal to a large number of fans. Generally sticking to popular series such as Spiderman or Batman will see a rare edition gain value over time.

Zurzolo also touches on the emergent market, and the future of comics. There is undeniable growth in the sector, with the media and internet boosting popularity in comic books as well as their revered characters. He says of Comic Con: “People with very big bank accounts are showing up in costumes. Nowadays it’s cool to be a nerd.” And with an attendance around 130,000-plus, he’s not wrong. This is big business.

Comic book expert Robert Storms commented in an interview with CNBC: “Buyers really need to understand their objectives before investing in comics,” “Are they buying because they’re serious collectors who really appreciate the product, or are they trying to make a quick buck?

What’s driving demand for the book they’re looking to buy, and is that demand sustainable? What condition is the book in? Every book will ultimately reach a plateau, so trends are important.”

So, whether you’re considering entering the world of comic books as a serious investor, or want to delve in further as a fan, it seems like comic books can offer a good investment opportunity with a little bit of luck and a lot of inside knowledge. In any case it is worth hunting through any old storage if you think you might have old comic books, because there is a good chance that they will have not only gathered dust - but considerable value!

Storms noted that new film and TV adaptations can help boost tends, too. An example of this is the popularity of the character Harley Quinn, known as baddie The Joker’s girlfriend. With Harley Quinn making a number of film appearances, notably played by Margot Robbie in the 2016 blockbuster Suicide Squad, edition #12

Who knows, Spiderman might really save the day…

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“When investigating investment in comic books, one thing is clear - there are numerous stories that have seen unwitting owners of rare comics make a lot of money.�

Street sale of comics in Manhattan, New York City

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SHOULD I MOVE TO? VANCOUVER Words : Emma Martin | View : Songquan Deng

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Other job opportunities in the city include the successful film and TV industry which has resulted in the city being nicknamed ‘Hollywood North’. As glamourous as it sounds, the film industry in British Columbia has spiked in the last few years, boosted by an easy journey to Los Angeles, advantageous tax credits and infrastructure equipped to handle numerous title productions at one time.

orbes describes Vancouver as ‘one part Hollywood, one part Pacific Northwest beauty’ and it’s not hard to understand why.

With its breath-taking waterfront vistas and dramatic mountainous surrounds, Vancouver has an outstanding natural landscape.

That, coupled with a growing film industry and an economy increasingly angled towards the upper echelon of society, means that Vancouver is a city bursting with charm and opportunity - for those who can afford it.

2017 proved to be a valuable year for the British Columbia film industry, with expenditures in the city valued at approximately CAN$2.6bn, up 35% from 2015-2016. With the likes of Netflix and Amazon in particular keen to work in Vancouver, it seems like the upward curve for the city’s most sparkling sector is set to continue.

Consistently voted as one of the most liveable cities in the world, Greater Vancouver has a growing population which currently sits at 2,463,431 making it the third-largest metropolitan area in Canada.

The city itself is one of the most ethically and culturally diverse cities in Canada with over half of the population speaking a first language other than English.

Some of the titles to have been shot in the city include Marvel Comics blockbuster Deadpool, successful fantasy series Supernatural, sci-fi series The X-Files and new comedy drama Richard Says Goodbye, starring Johnny Depp which is due to hit the big screen later this year.

And it’s easy to see why so many people, from so many backgrounds, are drawn to life in Vancouver.

Located on the Pacific west coast of Canada, Vancouver is a significant port city with a vibrant history. Today the Port of Vancouver remains the largest port in Canada and trades to over 170 global economies.

One of the key reasons for the success of the film industry in Vancouver is the location of the city. There are few cities in the world that benefit from the natural landscape of Vancouver. Nestled amidst water and mountains, the natural landscape of the city has led to a reputation for outdoor activities, making it the perfect place to live for the health conscious and active.

Statistics from the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority show that in 2016 the port dealt with 136 million tonnes of cargo, at a total value of over CAN$200bn. The port is an important driving force behind the booming economy of the city, providing CAN$24.2bn of economic output and CAN$11.9bn in gross domestic product (GDP) annually.

In addition the port sustains over 115,000 jobs every year, helping to support the growing population with work.

The city itself contains from the 405-hectare Stanley Park previously named the best park in the world by TripAdvisor - which supports many outdoor activities including walking, jogging, cycling, and skating. The park has numerous attractions including a path along the famous Vancouver Seawall, providing breath-taking views across the water, as well as a number of beaches and other water

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Siwash Rock in Stanley Park, Vancouver

“Consistently voted as one of the most liveable cities in the world, Greater Vancouver has a growing population which currently sits at 2,463,431 making it the third-largest metropolitan area in Canada.�

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“Property prices in the upmarket Westside of the city have risen by a staggering 57% since 2014, bringing the average price of property in the area to an unsustainable CAN$1.4m.”

Lion Gate Bridge, Vancouver

sports like the Lost Lagoon and Beaver Lake.

Beyond the city, snow-capped mountains wait for those who are keen to try out winter sports. The world class ski facility Whistler Blackcomb is a short drive from Vancouver across Route 99 or ‘Sea to Sky Highway’, one of the most picturesque routes on the globe, and was the home of the Winter Olympics in 2010.

The stunning location of the city doesn’t just benefit those looking to keep active, but also means that Vancouverites can enjoy some of the best fresh seafood in the world. Food and drink makes up a large part of the local culture in Vancouver, with locals enjoying an abundance of fresh and sustainably sourced seafood.

From swanky eateries like the top voted Hawksworth Restaurant serving contemporary Canadian cuisine in the form of lobster tail, to street food cafes serving up authentic pan-Asian steamed bao stuffed with everything from crispy pork belly to Vietnamese catfish, Vancouver will have something to satisfy your cravings and tantalise your taste buds. In addition, Vancouver is particularly well known for its Japanese offering, with the East Asian culture stamped across the city with ramen shops and Sushi restaurants common.

So with a vibrant and creative culture, countless natural landscapes to entertain, a thriving food and drink scene and bountiful opportunities, it seems like Vancouver really has it all - but at what price?

When it comes to property Vancouver has a housing market boosted by buy-to-let investment which has seen both property price and rents skyrocket.

Property prices in the upmarket Westside of the city have risen by a staggering 57% since 2014, bringing the average price of property in the area to an unsustainable CAN$1.4m. Similarly, in the Greater Vancouver region the average property will cost upwards of CAN$1m. The Financial Post notes that this is 12.5 times as much as the typical household income of CAN$79,930, meaning that home ownership is unrealistic for a large number of locals - particularly millennials who are drawn to the city for the vast employment and lifestyle opportunities.

The growing population and natural surrounds mean that available space around the city perimeters is at a minimum and there is little room to expand or build more homes. Vacancy rates are also at the lowest they have ever been according to the latest figures, sitting at 0.7% - meaning that it can be near impossible to find somewhere to rent. Tenant footfall in the city is at an all-time high, pushing up the average rent of a one bedroom apartment to CAN$1900.

The government is hoping to remedy this within the next decade with their 10 year housing strategy which aims to rebalance the market by providing 72,000 new homes across Vancouver in the next 10 years - 50% of which will be available to households earning under CAN$80,000, 12,000 which will come under the remit of social housing and 65% of which will be geared specifically toward renters.

“From the stunning backdrop of the North Shore Mountains, to the views of the deep blue Pacific and the expanse of green spaces in the centre of an urban metropolis - there is adventure and inspiration to be found around every corner.”

In addition to difficulty renting, the general cost of living in Vancouver is high, with affordability a key concern for many residents and those considering a move there. Canada’s most expensive city - and the 39th most expensive city in the world according to the Economist - Vancouver can be a tough place for those living on a low wage.

In addition to house sharing being one of the only ways for millennials to move to the West Coast, the cost of food, petrol, bills and travel is also considered to be above average. This means that for the majority of young people looking to start out in Vancouver, extra help from family to subside wages is often required along with an ability to exist frugally.

But still the population of Vancouver continues to swell in spite of the high cost of living. And it’s not hard to understand why. From the stunning backdrop of the North Shore Mountains, to the views of the deep blue Pacific and the expanse of green spaces in the centre of an urban metropolis - there is adventure and inspiration to be found around every corner.

There are many little joys in Vancouver for those who take the time to look for them. The contentment and pleasure of simply existing in a landscape as beautiful as this is sometimes enough.

Vancouver’s famous steam clock was built in 1977 at the corner of Cambie and Water streets in Vancouver’s Gastown neighbourhood. Incorporating a steam engine and electric motors, the clock displays the time on four faces and announces the quarter hours with a whistle chime that plays the Westminster Quarters.

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Specialists at providing buy-to-let properties to the private investor market, Knight Knox has a wide range of developments available across the UK. Working alongside a team of experienced developers, solicitors and agents allows Knight Knox to provide expert advice and guidance on a range of investments.

Over the next 29 pages you will see a selection of the investment opportunities available through Knight Knox.

--Contact us today to speak to one of our experienced property consultants. +44 (0)161 772 1394 info@knightknox.com www.knightknox.com

Top: Left cgi image: X1 Media City Tower 4 - available. Middle cgi image: X1 The Campus - available and in construction. Right image: X1 Manchester Waters Phase 2 - available.

Middle: Left image: X1 Eastbank - Completed & 100% tenanted. Middle cgi image: X1 The Campus - available and in construction. Right image: X1 Town Hall - completed & 100% tenanted.

Bottom: Knight Knox Investor Seminar Manchester 2017 - X1 The Landmark is the featured model and plan.

GREAT CENTRAL SHEFFIELD --FROM: £110,000

> 131 modern apartments > Next big UK market > Short walk to city centre > Great transport links > Lettings and management company in place

​Great Central is the latest new development from Knight Knox in Sheffield, one of the UK’s fastest-growing cities which is set to be the next big national property market. Comprised of 131 stunning apartments spread over eight storeys, Great Central is set to be an extremely popular addition to the busy Sheffield residential market.

With both rents and house prices in the city predicted to rise significantly over the next five years, this is the perfect time to get ahead of the game and invest in Sheffield.

NEW LAUNCH

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BRIDGEWATER WHARF GREATER MANCHESTER --FROM: ÂŁ129,995

> Local rental market is growing strongly > Superb public transport links > Lettings and management company in place > Within walking distance of MediaCityUK > Perfectly placed between Mancehster and Salford

Bridgewater Wharf is the new development from Fortis Developments and Knight Knox in Greater Manchester, close to both Manchester and Salford city centres. Comprising 376 apartments spread over eight storeys, the development is a premium opportunity for investors looking for their next property.

The studio, one bedroom, two bedroom and three bedroom residential apartments at Bridgewater Wharf are sure to prove popular in Salford which is suffering from a ongoing shortage of high quality rental accommodation.

NEW LAUNCH

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NORTHILL APARTMENTS SALFORD QUAYS --FROM: ÂŁ162,995

> 269 luxury apartments > Excellent transport links > Within walking distance of MediaCityUK > High rental demand in the area > Easy access to Manchester city centre

Northill Apartments is the latest addition to the flagship development, Fortis Quay and is sure to be popular amongst the thousands of young professionals looking to live and work in Salford Quays.

There will be a range of luxury apartments from studios to three beds, which will raise the bar in modern living. All apartments will be designed to the highest possible standard with state-of-the-art fixtures and fittings, making it the perfect addition to any property portfolio.

NEW LAUNCH

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X1 MANCHESTER WATERS MANCHESTER --FROM: £109,995

> Five minutes to Manchester city centre > Waterfront location > Good local transport and amenities > Private tenant amenities > Managed by award winning X1 Lettings

X1 Manchester Waters is the 28th joint venture development from Knight Knox and X1 and will deliver luxury waterfront apartments to the thriving buy-to-let market.

Located just five minutes away from Manchester City centre the location of this development is unrivalled, giving tenants the tranquillity of waterside living as well as everything that the UK’s ‘second city’ has to offer on the doorstep.

NEW LAUNCH

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X1 MEDIA CITY TOWER 4 SALFORD QUAYS --FROM: £139,995

> Studios, one and two-bedroom apartments > Lettings and management company in place > Private communal facilities > Great transport links and shopping > All three previous phases sold out

The fourth and final tower in X1 Media City will follow in the footsteps of its predecessors, offering high-end residential living in a highly sought-after area.

This development’s stunning exterior perfectly epitomises the luxury within, and is just a stone’s throw away from the iconic MediaCityUK site on the picturesque Salford Quays waterfront.

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X1 THE LANDMARK SALFORD --FROM: £151,000

> Private communal facilities > Beautiful balconies with dynamic city views > Prime city centre location > Within walking distance of local amenities > Experienced management company in place

The newest addition to the Greater Manchester skyline, X1 The Landmark will provide 191 stunning apartments to the thriving Salford rental market.

Situated in a prime location between two thriving cities, X1 The Landmark will offer residents the best of both worlds—able to enjoy the picturesque waterfront destination found in Salford’s MediaCityUK, yet just a stone’s throw away from Manchester’s dynamic city centre.

IN CONSTRUCTION

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X1 THE CAMPUS SALFORD --FROM: ÂŁ89,995

> Built by experienced developer X1 > Close to excellent public transport links > Close to local shops, bars and restaurants > On-site gymnasium > Private student accommodation is a booming investment class

X1 The Campus is the latest student development from the award-winning X1. This newly-built development is well located on the university campus, and will offer students great on-site ammenities and facilities.

Salford plays host to everything which a modern student could possibly want from a university city – not just a fantastic university which is a leader in its field, but also a range of pubs, restaurants and shops in the local area.

IN CONSTRUCTION

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THE TOWER AT X1 THE QUARTER LIVERPOOL --FROM: ÂŁ124,995

> Highly sought-after location > Lettings and management company in place > Private communal facilities > Great transport links and close to shopping > Built by experienced developer

The Tower is the fifth and final phase of X1 The Quarter, X1’s award-winning development near the beautiful Liverpool waterfront, with all previous phases sold out and fully tenanted.

The success of the previous phases demonstrates the huge demand for prime residential accommodation in Liverpool, and The Tower at X1 The Quarter is sure to prove popular with both investors and future tenants.

IN CONSTRUCTION

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PALATINE GARDENS PHASE 2 SHEFFIELD --SOLD OUT

> In construction > Close to city centre > Public transport nearby > High rental demand in local area > Fully let and managed by an experienced letting agent

Palatine Gardens Phase 2 is the latest luxury residential development to arrive on the oversubscribed Sheffield rental market.

Situated in the Shalemoor area of Sheffield, Palatine Gardens Phase 2 is within walking distance of both the city centre and the trendy Kelham Island district.

These large luxury apartments will provide residents with high-end fixtures and furnishings, as well as a stunning enclosed garden and secure bicycle storage.

IN CONSTRUCTION

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BARREL YARD MANCHESTER --SOLD OUT

> One, two, three & four-bed apartments and townhouses > Lettings and management company in place > Short distance to Manchester city centre > Built by an experienced developer > Great transport links

Barrel Yard is located in South Manchester, just minutes away from the exciting city centre. The development benefits from local public transport as well as being a short drive from the city centre, where residents can enjoy all the retail, recreation and cultural amenities that Manchester has to offer.

Furthermore, trendy local areas such as Chorlton and Didsbury are only a short drive away from Barrel Yard.

IN CONSTRUCTION

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BRIDGEWATER GATE SALFORD --SOLD OUT

> Local rental market is booming > Private rooftop terrace > Great transport links > Built by an experienced developer > On-site lettings and management company

Bridgewater Gate is enviably located on the edge of Manchester city centre in the thriving area of Castlefield.

This luxurious development will have all the advantages of being a short walk away from the local parks and independent shops of suburbia, but also the vibrant bars and restaurants of the city.

It also sits within walking distance of MediaCityUK, home of the BBC and ITV.

COMPLETED & TENANTED

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X1 AIRE LEEDS --SOLD OUT

> One and two-bedroom apartments > Lettings and management company in place > Private communal facilities > State-of-the-art apartments > Prime location in the heart of Leeds

This newly-built development provides state-ofthe-art living for a vastly undersupplied Leeds rental market, containing a stunning array of apartments ranging from bespoke studios to two-bed penthouses.

X1 Aire will take boutique city centre living to the next level, providing state-of-the-art apartments to the private rental market.

COMPLETED & TENANTED

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SPECTRUM MANCHESTER --SOLD OUT

> Completed and tenanted development > Private landscaped gardens > Great central location > Finance options availlable > High quality fixtures and fittings

Spectrum delivers the best of both worlds, combining chic, urban living with the tranquility of private landscaped gardens.

These studio, one, two and three-bed apartments are finished to the highest specification, with floor-to-ceiling windows and full-length balconies in most apartments.

Light floods into the living space and views across the city are a constant reminder of how close you are to all conviniences and amenities.

COMPLETED & TENANTED

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MULBERRY PLACE SALFORD --SOLD OUT

> Highly sought-after location > Lettings and management company in place > Close to Salford and Manchester City Centres > Excellent local transport links > Sold prices in Salford up 22% on previous year - July 2017 Residents of Mulberry Place will benefit from excellent on-site facilities such as a beautifully landscaped communal courtyard, bicycle storage and off-street car parking spaces provided for selected apartments. Some apartments will also enjoy the benefit of having their own balcony.

COMPLETED & TENANTED

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BELLS COURT SHEFFIELD --SOLD OUT

> Assured 7% rental income for one year > Fully-furnished > Excellent city centre location > Luxury studio apartments > High rental demand in Sheffield

Located in the heart of the city centre Bells Court is a high-end residential conversion, bringing 29 luxury studio apartments to the ever growing rental market in Sheffield.

Ideal for both students and young professionals Bells Court answers the growing need for premium rental accommodation, and is perfectly located for tenants to enjoy all that the city has to offer.

COMPLETED & TENANTED

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LOOKING FOR PROPERTY TO BUY? BE SURE TO VISIT THE

The UK’s largest and longest running property investment event is presented at ExCeL London every April and October.

The major names in UK and international property will be out in force with plenty of ‘off-market’ bargain deals and show exclusives to choose from.

E FREW

SHO Y ENTR

REGISTER ONLINE AT www.propertyinvestor.co.uk NOTE: Seminar booking opens approximately 6 weeks before show opening day

From conception to completion Knight Knox has an established portfolio of off-plan premium investment opportunities ranging in price from ÂŁ89,995 - ÂŁ482,495.

Contact us today to speak to one of our experienced property consultants. +44 (0)161 772 1394 info@knightknox.com www.knightknox.com

Top: Knight Knox Investor Seminar Manchester 2017 - X1 The Landmark is the featured model and plan.

Middle: Left cgi image: X1 Media City Tower 4 - available. Middle cgi image: X1 The Campus - available and in construction. Right image: X1 Manchester Waters Phase 2 - available.

Bottom: Left image: X1 Eastbank - Completed & 100% tenanted. Middle cgi image: X1 The Campus - available and in construction. Right image: X1 Town Hall - completed & 100% tenanted.