12311111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111OMA has recently completed some of its most important projects, including the Shenzhen Stock Exchange and CCTV headquarters. Projects under design and construction include the Taipei Performing Arts Centre, the Tencent headquarters in Beijing, and the SSI Tower in Jakarta.
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The firm is structured in such a way that it does the designs where its clients are, as the design strategy is very much based on communication with clients. Hence, OMA has its design centre in Hong Kong which operates throughout Asia, Australia and New Zealand. “Hong Kong is the design centre for this part of the world,” David Gianotten, Partner – Architect of OMA said.

While the design teams are based in the city, Gianotten and his team travel to see clients regularly, and Hong Kong is convenient in this regard. “It has one of the largest airports in the region, direct flights to almost everywhere within four to five hours. Also, the city attracts people, enabling us to find good talent and get them to move to Hong Kong. This helps create the cultural mix of people that we need to sustain our office. In other places in Asia that would be more difficult, because people may not want to live there and the creative industries are not as well-developed as they are in Hong Kong,” Gianotten said.

OMA chooses its projects carefully and prefers to grow organically with quality rather than quantity being the driver of potential growth. “We really want to be engaged with clients that are interested in building not only a unique place but also an innovative place,” he said.

OMA’s long-term plan is to grow its business from Hong Kong. “We are interested in creating not only a long-term relationship but also an architectural language and way of working that fit well with the Asian culture and that would enrich the overall portfolio of OMA,” Gianotten added.

Crossover between Nations and Cultures

Currently, the Mainland China market accounts for about one-third of OMA’s portfolio and Southeast Asia another third. OMA also operates in Oceania, Taiwan, Japan and Korea.

“It is a very healthy mix and we have been working very hard to establish our portfolio. We think it is important to work across the whole of Asia and Oceania. The crossover between the nations and cultures is very important in our work. There is not one Asian culture, but many, and they can be enriched by ideas from each other,” he explained.

Gianotten joined OMA in 2008, launched OMA’s Hong Kong office in 2009, and became partner in charge of OMA Asia in 2010. He finds Hong Kong a fascinating and human-oriented city. “My wife and I built our family here; my kids were born here and they love it here. For me this is a very good reason to try to contribute to Hong Kong and make it my own place. I come from a very different culture but in general, I really love this city,” he concluded.

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