ICD Property takes centre stage at The Urban Developer’s Urbanity conference and annual award gala

How can you elevate a community and transform a place through considered developments? This was a question ICD Property’s Managing Director Matthew Khoo addressed as a keynote speaker for The Urban Developer flagship conference Urbanity this week.

Leveraging ICD Property’s first New Zealand project as a case study, Matthew spoke on the Transformative Power of Place, that is, significant urban regeneration projects that are having a transformational effect on existing city precincts.

In 2018, ICD Property launched a design competition of an international standard, whereby five of the world’s leading architects designed an urban icon that sought to balance Auckland’s rich and unique heritage with its identity as a growing, vibrant and future-ready city.

The winning design by globally renowned architects Woods Bagot, in partnership with New Zealand locals Peddle Thorp, is a sleek 48-level tower that will stand around 180m high. Comprising mixed-used assets, the vision for the landmark tower is to deliver approximately 226 apartments, a 233-room five-star hotel, ground floor Market Place, and rooftop Zen Garden to Auckland’s city centre.

Intended to become a building for the people, the ground floor specifically will provide significant contributions to the streetscape in the form of a local Market Place, with everything from local vendors selling produce through to eateries and bars.

Matthew’s presentation on October 23 was not only inspiring but incredibly informative, with 65 Federal Street set to complement Auckland’s future direction and desire to be recognised as a global city.

To round out a successful day, ICD Property nabbed an award that evening at The Urban Developer awards, with ICD Property’s retail development HWKR taking home the top spot in the Commercial Innovation category.

The category is one that recognises forward-thinking commercial concepts that disrupt the traditional way things have been done and provide an alternative solution to the way that business is conducted.

Opening in February 2018, HWKR was one of Melbourne’s most innovative food centres with a focus on offering a frictionless dining experience for consumers and kitchens alike. Inspired by the hawker food centres of South-East Asia, it was HWKR’s creative offerings that truly stood out including artificial intelligence menu ordering via HWKR’s ChatBot, plug and play interchangeable cooklines within kitchens and futurist digital menu boards.

Being recognised by one of the industry’s most respected publications is a testament to ICD Property’s inherent commitment to innovation and passion, and we couldn’t thank the ICD Property team more for achieving such great heights, and never settling for ordinary.