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Reflecting to improve

The continuous monitoring of building

activity once tenants and other build-

ing users are in place helps show how

a building is really used, Veeger says,

and can be valuable to developers and

suppliers for future projects.

Wong agrees, saying, “We still go

back in and try and understand what

we can learn because a lot of the time,

the assumptions we made at the start

of the project may not be so relevant.”

Such follow up, through design

and construction to maintenance and

modernization, is a key element of

KONE’s life cycle approach to business.

But while important, improved

systems are not necessarily visible

to users in the way that design and

ride comfort are. Here again KONE is

prepared to innovate and accommodate

CapitaLand’s requests. For example,

the elevator operating panels in Rihan

Heights were designed to resemble a

smartphone interface to make them

more unique, Veeger says.

“That’s why we see our suppliers,

contractors, and consultants as partners

and not merely as service providers –

because they have to execute our

ideas,” says Wong. “We may have a

dream but if we don’t have a partner

who understands our vision, that dream

will never be realized.”

CapitaLand Singapore is a wholly-

owned subsidiary of CapitaLand

Limited, one of Asia’s largest real

estate companies. CapitaLand

Singapore is one of Singapore’s

leading developers and owners

of homes, offices and mixed-use

buildings. It is the sponsor and

manager of two listed commercial

real estate investment trusts,

CapitaCommercial Trust and

Quill Capita Trust, which are

separately listed in Singapore

and Malaysia. Over the years,

CapitaLand Singapore has

garnered several awards for

excellence in architecture and

design, construction, and energy

efficiency in its homes, offices, and

mixed-use properties.

KONE has a demonstrated commit-

ment to working with developers like

CapitaLand Singapore to adapt prod-

ucts to fit customers’ needs.

“We have a global offering that we

partly localize and that is what has

made us grow,” says

Noud Veeger

Executive Vice President at KONE and

Area Director for Asia-Pacific and the

Middle East.

CapitaLand Singapore’s Rihan

Heights residential complex in Abu

Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates

features 20 KONE MiniSpace

elevators, a card reader system to

control residents’ access to their floors,

and an intercom integrated elevator call

system that allows residents to authorize

visitors up to their floor – a first-of-its-

kind offering in the Middle East.

“Trends like energy efficiency are

global,” Veeger says. This is evident in

the five towers of Raffles City Chengdu,

a mixed-use landmark building in the

capital of Sichuan Province in China.

KONE collaborated with CapitaLand

to provide 38 elevators, 22 escalators

and 6 autowalks there. The project

received LEED Gold Pre-Certification

by the US Green Building Council

to acknowledge its energy saving

features, in which KONE solutions

featured prominently.

In addition to Rihan Heights, KONE

and CapitaLand Singapore have worked

together on the Raffles City Chengdu,

a mixed-use building in the capital of

Sichuan Province, China, and a number

of office, retail, and mixed development

projects around Singapore.

Partners in progress

Working well together has been a

priority for both companies.

“The most important part is that we

never stop listening… that we always

think, ‘what can we do better?’” Veeger

says. “When unavoidable challenges

come up during projects, we have a

good understanding of how to work

together to solve them.”

A significant part of the partnership

has been to exchange ideas. Veeger

describes a recent session in which key

technology representatives from KONE

presented some innovations they were

busy with to CapitaLand Singapore.

CapitaLand Singapore heard how

new products like KONE UltraRope

–

a super light and durable elevator

hoisting technology – break the

limitations of traditional heavy elevator

cables, allowing buildings to soar

higher.

Wong notes that such innovations

are important for places like Singapore,

where the expected boom in residential

development and limited land area

require upward movement.

“As developers, we like to build iconic

buildings, but that may be restricted by

technology at the product level,” Wong

says. “When you work with like-minded

partners who share your vision, that

drives the product to a different level,

and we appreciate that.”

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Responding to customer needs across the globe

CapitaLand Singapore

PEOPLE FLOW |