Our May luncheon, dedicated to Real Estate for the first time, focusses on the construction process within China’s real estate sector. From design to plan to construction and to handover, how does that work? What are communalities and differences with Europe and Switzerland? What can we learn from China’s construction industry? And, what can China’s construction sector learn from Switzerland? What are the investment opportunities for Swiss financial as well as construction players?

China’s construction industry achieved 17% growth in 2016, an increase of 5% from 2015 according to PwC UK Blog on China’s Construction Industry. This marked a strong contrast to the slow-down of other traditional industries in China. China’s policy of pushing infrastructure investment to sustain economic growth thus meets the passion for fixed assets of the Chinese people. The results can be observed by every visitor to China: The whole country seems under construction.

Our speakers:

Ms Xi ZHANG

MSc ETH Arch SIA, CEO & Founding Partner, EXH Design Shanghai and ZurichFollowing her master degree in architecture obtained from ETH Zurich, Ms Zhang worked in the team in charge of the Olympic Stadium “Bird’s Nest” at prestigious Herzog & de MeuronArchitetcs. In 2006, Ms Zhang co-founded EXH design architecture studio in Shanghai and Zurich. 

Mr. Gerd Voith

Dipl. Ing. FH, Partner, Member of the Board, EXH Design Shanghai and Zurich. Providing consulting services and technical expertise for building technologies, lab design, energy concepts and sustainability in the areas of life sciences and green building projects. Mr. Voith  is encouraging and supporting third parties to find and go with innovative solutions and accompany them through implementation up to the end. 

About EXH Design Shanghai and Zurich:

EXH Design is based in Shanghai, where it was founded in 2006, and has an office in Zurich since 2016. EXH’s approach is to covers the entire construction cycle strategically and interactively from Master planning, energy design, architecture to landscape and interior; from design to realization.  

EXH has executed, among many others, construction projects well-known to Swiss business visitors to China, such as the Shanghai Roche headquarter, one of the highest quality office buildings in China, the Visa Section at the Swiss Embassy in Beijing, cleverly wrapping a modern bamboo-and-glass-curtain around the old brick building, and the Swissnex Shanghai office, dividing a large space into a private and a public area with only a curved, semitransparent screen. In Switzerland, EXH architects have recently completed the ICBC Bank’s Zurich Branch Office, where they have proven their ability of turning restraints into opportunities, maintaining contemporary Chinese elegance within a short time schedule and budget.