On 30^th May, Hong Kong Quality Assurance Agency held a symposium with the theme of “Builda Livable, Competitive and Sustainable City” and held the "Hong Kong Greenand Sustainable Contribution Award 2024" presentation ceremony at the samevenue. The event invited Ms Bernadette LINN Hon-ho, JP (Secretary forDevelopment) as the main guest, Mr. Liu Genghui, Deputy Director-general ofHousing and Urban-Rural Development Department of Guangdong Province, Mr. ZhouZhuohao, Director of the Construction Market Supervision Division, and Mr. PangDachun, Level 2 Inspector of Guangdong Provincial Administration for MarketRegulation (Intellectual Property Bureau), as special guests.

It is with great excitement that we share the news of thebrand-new citizenM, Menlo Park hotel opening in Silicon Valley, which is also thesecond modular citizenM hotel supplied by CIMC MBS in the US.

The hotel is 5 storeys tall and is composed of 161modules, with a total of 240 guest rooms. Each room is equipped with anintelligent room management system, enabling guests to control the TV, heating,air conditioning, day/night shades and lights within the rooms through use oftablet computers. By downloading the citizenM APP guests can also check-in and out,use other room reservation services and track the hotel's sustainabilityperformance.

Its developer claims it is the first such use of Chinese modules for building in the US, but said the approach did not save as much money as expected.

The 22-unit building will be leased to graduate students attending the University of California, Berkeley, in a deal that sees developer Patrick Kennedy’s company provide maintenance and cleaning.

Completed at the end of July, the building is squeezed into a narrow lot measuring just 5,200 square feet at 2711 Shattuck Avenue, near the city’s downtown.

Having arrived fitted out, the apartments will be open to students in time for the autumn semester.

In all, the project, took four months starting with site preparation and foundation laying.

Kennedy, whose company Panoramic Interests specialises in novel and infill developments, told local news site Berkeleyside that he’d have preferred to source the modules from domestic companies, but that their backlogs of orders were too great.

“This is the first steel modular project from China in America,” Kennedy told Berkeleyside, adding that new tariffs on imported Chinese steel hadn’t affected this project.

Kennedy has been working on the project, called Shattuck Studios, for some time. It was initially approved by the city in 2010 as a hotel, then re-approved in 2015 as studio apartments. In that guise, Kennedy leased the units to the university student housing.

He said the modules were shipped to Oakland then trucked to the site, noting that the US leg of the journey cost more than the voyage from Hong Kong.

Each module is a 310-square-foot studio apartments with a bathroom, pre-fitted with a kitchenette, a sofa that converts to a queen-size bed, flat-screen TVs and coffee makers.

Birmingham Airport has just welcomed Hilton Garden Inn as an additional hotel to its existing selection of four onsite hotels. Providing customers with convenience and ease of travel, Hilton Garden Inn Birmingham Airport is located approximately 100 metres away from the airport passenger terminal.

The hotel held a launch event last week, with guests invited to celebrate officially opening the hotel doors to the general public. Guests included Deputy Mayor and Councillor, Bob Sleigh OBE and Castlebridge Managing Director, Alastair Cattrell. 

Rooms start in the region of £89 with the hotel boasting 178 guestrooms, along with The Odyssey Bar & Bistro - a restaurant which brings a modern English adaptation to the traditionally known bistro. In addition, the hotel offers amenities and services including; complimentary Wi-Fi, a 24-hour business centre, two meeting rooms over 800 square feet and a fitness room.

Passengers and holiday seekers looking for short or long stay accommodation have a range of hotels to choose from. Seven hotels are available, all within proximity to Birmingham Airport, the National Exhibition Centre (NEC), and Resorts World – providing visitors with a range of restaurants, bars and shopping options. The city centre is also a short 10-minute train journey away for those wanting to explore what the area has to offer further.

Hotels located within the airport site include Travelodge, Novotel, Holiday Inn, Ibis, Ibis Budget as well as the newly opened Hilton Garden Inn. The Genting Hotel at Resorts World is situated less than two miles from the airport.

Completed in under two years, Park View Student Village has been officially opened by Newcastle University Vice-Chancellor and President, Professor Chris Day. The opening ceremony was attended by University staff, teams from the principal contractor, Galliford Try plc, and members of the public.

Paul Bandeen, Director of Accommodation Services at Newcastle University, said: “We were very excited to see Park View Student Village open its doors and welcome our students to this high-quality facility, designed to meet their needs and expectations.

“This has been a major project for Newcastle University and I’d like to thank everyone who has helped to bring atop-class living environment to all of our students. I think everybody involved should be very proud of what has been achieved.”

Professor Chris Day, Vice-Chancellor and President, added: “Access to high quality accommodation is an important part of student life and a significant factor in defining students’ university experience. As a University, we have a long-standing commitment to delivering an outstanding experience for our students, not only through the excellence of our teaching and learning provision, but also by providing facilities of the highest possible standard, and that includes safe, affordable, comfortable living accommodation.

“We recognise that students making the transition to University require support and guidance, so our Accommodation Services team are implementing a Residences Life programme that’s designed to educate and support students while they are living in our accommodation. This means we can ensure they develop the skills they will need to enable them to move on to living within the wider community when they leave University accommodation.

“I’m pleased to say that our students already consistently rate the standard of their accommodation very highly, and I feel sure that with the addition of Park View Student Village to our portfolio, our standing can only improve.”

Newcastle University’s largest capital project

Replacing the 1970s buildings in Richardson Road, the £75m Park View Student Village is Newcastle University’s largest capital project. Almost 800 modules have been assembled together to create the halls of residence, making the biggest project using pre-fabricatedunits in the UK.

Cliff Wheatley, Managing Directorof GallifordTry North East and Yorkshire, said: “Park View student village has been an outstanding project to be a part of. The team has pushed the envelope in terms of the technical excellence and response to the challenges presented by such a significant build process and I congratulate them for that. I genuinely believe that we have produced a high-quality development that provides a fantastic place to live for the students of Newcastle University for years to come.”

The six accommodation blocks are namedafter local rivers: Alwin, Breamish, Derwent, Irthing, Pont and Rede.

Park View Student Village provides 1,261 self-catered en-suite bedrooms in four, six, seven and eight-bedroom flats, as well as 16 single studios across six residential blocks.

As part of the redevelopment, Newcastle University worked with charities to donate 6,500 out of the 10,000 items off urniture from the Richardson Road site - students have been involved in the planning and design project.

Prior to building works, an ecology survey was carried out where it was found that the site was an active area for bats. Two bat houses with solar panels were built for the bats to encourage the animals to stay on the site.

Only weeks after opening its doors,Park View Student Village has started winning industry awards. The accommodation site won the Most Innovative Project of the year and was recognised with a Special Commendation in the Large Project Category at the Northern Counties Institution of Structural Engineers Award.