The International Design & Development conference (IDD) recently attracted 597 attendees- made up of of architects, engineers, interior designers, construction firm managers, facility managers, hotel owners, and government officials-to its inaugural event.
The conference, a two-day symposium produced by Nielsen Expositions and sponsored by Hospitality Design (HD) magazine in partnership with K&C Associates, Guri City, and Dong-A Daily News, made its debut in Seoul, Korea, and will be an annual event.
Focused on commercial and residential design issues, the overriding initiative of the IDDC is to provide the Asian design, architecture, and development community with inspiration, insight, and information from a global perspective, according to Michelle Finn, VP market development, Hospitality Design Group, Nielsen.
“This year’s IDD conference focused on innovation, sustainability and globalization-the key drivers shaping the future of global design, architecture, and development,” Finn says.
Conference presenters included Steve Galbreath, vice president of RTKL. “The audience was engaged and excited to see what is currently going on in the industry,” says Galbreath, adding that the architectural firm has been selected to provide the phase two master plan for the NCD 2015 project.
The Guri World Design Center, one of the world’s largest mixed-use development projects, is being planned on the outskirts of Seoul in Guri City. Set for completion in 2015, the multibillion-dollar development project, called the Nature Culture and Design (NCD), will include the Guri World Design Center, an Exposition Center, hotels, retail, condominiums, single-family homes, foreigners commercial zone, design graduate school, cultural centers, and more.
Panelists discussed Emerging Brands: Strategies for Success [ITAL] led by moderator Michael Adams, editor in chief of HD. Panelists included David Ashen, David Ashen Designs; Craig Briggs, Brand Images; Ed Bakos, principal of the Rockwell Group; and George Scammel, VP global design, Wyndham Hotels Worldwide.
Rebecca Jones, principal of RD Jones & Associates, spoke about both the millennials and baby boomers seeking new living environments and are effectively influencing the convergence of hospitality and multi-family design.
Designer Clodagh addressed Life Enhancing Minimalism, The Power of Design. “I think of design and architecture not just as disciplines but also as healing arts that support and enhance the spirit as well as the body,” she said in her presentation.
Chang Kuk Ko, president of K&C Associates, spoke to Seoul as a city in transformation and the new sustainable design city. He then presented the different approach to the concept of the New City that will be Guri City. Guri City seeks to respond to the urban planning issues of today and the future by creating a city for tomorrow, today. The fully integrated urban framework for the development of Guri will take place over the next 15 years, according to Ko.
