Buro Happold opens Hong Kong office in Far East push

23/06/2009

Practice bolsters presence in region and lands major rail station appointment

Global multidisciplinary engineering consultancy Buro Happold has opened its first office in the Far East to extend its global reach, spearhead its new strategic push into the Asia Pacific region and enhance its service to international clients.

The new team will be led by Matthew Smith, who has been appointed Office Director, and overseen by Steve Brown, who recently took on the new role of Managing Director for the Middle East, Asia Pacific and Africa. It will provide a holistic and multidisciplinary service and play a leading role in growing the practice’s portfolio of international projects. 

The team has won its first appointment with an AECOM-Aedas joint venture for the West Kowloon Terminus of the proposed Express Rail Link (XRL) with mainland China. Buro Happold is providing structural engineering and sustainability consultancy services for the above-ground station, including its roof, and associated structures. 

Rod Macdonald, Buro Happold’s Riyadh-based Chairman and a founding partner, will be amongst the hosts at an invitation–only reception to launch the new office on 23 June at the British Consulate-General in Hong Kong.

Macdonald said: “Our new Hong Kong office is the latest chapter in the story of Buro Happold and follows our office openings in Copenhagen this spring and India last year. It is a clear sign of our commitment to international clients, as well as the Far East market, where we have been active since the 1980s. It will provide a strong platform for the future growth of the practice.”

Brown said: “Rapid growth in China and Hong Kong is being accompanied by an increasing awareness of the social, economic and political benefits of sustainable design – for which we have a long-standing track record and an enviable reputation. With sustainability climbing up the agenda in the region our new team will inject fresh thinking into projects for the benefit of clients and end users.”

The practice’s push into the Far East and appointment on the XRL project comes on the back of a series of major wins in the Middle East – including the design of four stations for the new high-speed Haramain railway in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in a joint venture with Foster + Partners. Other recent successes include the Grand Museum of Egypt, the Louvre in Abu Dhabi and the Riyadh-based headquarters for leading satellite services provider Arabsat.

The new Hong Kong office address is:
Buro Happold
45/F The Lee Gardens
33 Hysan Avenue
Causeway Bay
Hong Kong
Tel: +852 3180 2270