JOHOR BAHRU, Malaysia, Dec. 9, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- On November 29, 2019, the ceremonies for the 2019 Asian Townscape Awards and the Tenth Anniversary of the Awards were held at Kyushu University in Fukuoka, Japan. Nearly 300 government officials, business executives and representatives from academic institutions across Asia attended the international conference and celebration event. 

Themed ‘Resilient Urban Landscapes That Adapt to Climate Change’, the event focused on the continuous improvement and enhancement of living environments in Asian countries in the process of urbanization. Notably, ‘Forest City’, a smart city project developed by Country Garden Holdings Company Limited ("Country Garden," 2007.HK), won the 2019 Asian Townscape Jury's Award for its international business complex ‘Feathers of the Sea’, including the green and environmentally friendly construction design, the sustainable development design and planning concept, the exhaustive planning for smart cities and the comprehensive measures to protect the ecological environment. 

Feathers of the Sea was the only complex to receive this award this year. It also marks the first time that Country Garden Forest City has participated in the event and won the international award. In addition, the complex also garnered the Innovative Design Award of the Asian Townscape Design Award by the Asia Townscape Design Society.

In his keynote speech entitled Smart and Inclusive City, United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific director Atsushi Koresawa noted that the tech revolution is changing the way people connect, do business, provide services and live in cities. Technological progress provides many opportunities for city leaders to address urban challenges, helping them make informed decisions effectively. 

"Smart City" is no longer just a concept. According to the jury of the Asian Townscape Award, Forest City is an international collaborative project designed to promote the development of southern Malaysia, while its international business complex Feathers of the Sea not only shows a unique way of thinking when it comes to architectural design, but also improves the fragile ecological environment of the coastal area through the construction of a wetland park and the development of a seagrass restoration plan. The complex helps protect biodiversity in terms of environmental and social aspects and sets a good example for the future construction of buildings in other countries.

Deputy general manager of overseas division at Country Garden Wang Jiying said in her speech that the best way to think about the effective use of land and planning for sustainable development in the longer term by adopting technology prospectively is a topic worthy of consideration. Based on the principle of sustainable and resilient development, Forest City has taken an innovative approach to exploring the topic by making sure that an environmentally responsible viewpoint has been included in every aspect. The earning of the award represents an important recognition of Forest City's green and sustainable development concept.

The Asian Townscape Award was jointly launched by the UN-HABITAT Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, Asian Habitat Society, the Fukuoka Asian Urban Research Center and Asia Townscape Design Society in 2010. The annual award aims to honour projects and activities that make important contributions to sustainable townscape construction.

All the award-winning projects have been selected first through a preliminary examination and then a review by the relevant institutions in the country where they are located, and then submitted for final review and selection. In the 10 years that the award has been offered, 107 projects from China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Myanmar, Nepal, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand and Vietnam have won Asia Townscape Award, while 16 projects from 11 countries, among them, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, China, India, Japan, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Philippines, South Korea and Vietnam, received the Asian Townscape Jury's Award.

SOURCE: Forest City Malaysia