Mar 5 2008
The topic of "Instant Cities" will be addressed by Former U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Christine Todd Whitman today at the influential Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat 2008 World Congress in Dubai. Mrs. Whitman will be speaking before more than 750 delegates from 37 countries about "Instant Cities: Korea," a reference to the largest private real estate venture in history, the $30 billion, 1,500 acre Songdo International Business District in Incheon, South Korea.
The conference, "Tall and Green: Typology for a Sustainable Urban Future," features many of the world's thought leaders on sustainability and urban planning. Songdo International Business District will be home to the tallest building in Korea, the Northeast Asia Trade Tower (NEATT). NEATT is being constructed on sustainability principles and is seeking LEED Silver certification from the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). Songdo IBD will be 40 percent green space and the city's long-term sustainability and minimization of its carbon footprint have been considered in every design and engineering decision. Indeed, Songdo IBD was recently named a "green urbanism" pilot project by the USGBC, the first in Asia.
Also addressing the conference on Songdo IBD is James von Klemperer, a principal of Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates, the master plan architect of this new city. Kohn Pedersen Fox's international practice includes many of the world's tallest structures including buildings in Shanghai, Hong Kong, and London.
"Long-term sustainability must be at the root of every decision we make about design, whether it is an electronic device, a home, a neighborhood, a park, a factory or an 'instant city,'" said Mrs. Whitman. "Songdo International Business District is an example of how we can reclaim the balance between human activity and environmental vitality that is so essential to our global future."
"Gale International is very proud that Songdo IBD will set the standard for new cities in terms of reduced carbon emissions, reusing and recycling vital resources, mixing economic centers and green spaces. We are designing some of the most energy efficient and environmentally sensitive buildings in the world," said Stanley C. Gale, Chairman and Managing Partner of Gale International.
Mrs. Whitman is well positioned to speak on the role of the sustainable tall building in the urban future. She served in the Cabinet of President George W. Bush as Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency from 2001 to 2003. She was the 50th Governor of the State of New Jersey, and also the state's first woman governor, serving from 1994 until 2001. Mrs. Whitman is the President of The Whitman Strategy Group (WSG), a consulting firm that specializes in energy and environmental issues, and serves on the Gale International Advisory Board.
Songdo International Business District, "The Gateway to Northeast Asia," is the first new city in the world designed and planned as an international business district. This master-planned metropolis will be connected by a new 7.4 mile highway bridge to the Incheon International Airport, one of the world's busiest, and linked by subway to Seoul. It is estimated that when fully completed in 2015 Songdo IBD will be home to 65,000 people and that 300,000 will work there. Songdo IBD is located within the Incheon Free Economic Zone.
Songdo IBD will offer every conceivable amenity including a world-class hospital, an international preparatory school, museums, a 100-acre Central Park, a 1.2-million square foot premium retail mall and the Jack Nicklaus Golf Club Korea. More information can be found at http://www.Songdo.com.
Gale International is a premier international real estate investment and development company with headquarters in New York and offices in Boston; Irvine, California; Seoul and Songdo, South Korea.