Industry News

CBRE Group announced in late March of 2015 that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire the Global WorkPlace Solutions (GWS) business of Johnson Controls. GWS is a market-leading provider of Integrated Facilities Management solutions for major occupiers of commercial real estate and has significant operations around the world. GWS will operate as part of CBRE’s Global Corporate Services (GCS) business, providing clients with a full range of combined occupier services including CBRE’s leasing expertise and GWS’s engineering technologies.

Apple is planning to build a four-story, 269,000-sf research and development facility in Yokohama, Japan. Constructed on the site of a former Panasonic factory in Tsunashima-higashi, the sustainably designed project will feature highly efficient building systems, water recycling technologies, and a green roof. Construction is expected to commence by the end of 2015 with completion in 2016.

Apple has initiated site work for the Apple Campus 2 in Cupertino, Calif. The new headquarters will provide 3.42 million sf of office and R&D facilities on a 176-acre campus designed to accommodate 14,000 employees. The project centerpiece is a four-story, 2.8 million-sf circular building with a glass curtainwall and 700,000 rooftop photovoltaic panels, the construction cost of which is $5 billion. A 120,000-sf auditorium, a 100,000-sf fitness center, 100,000 sf of utility plant space, and parking structures will also be built.

Hewlett Packard broke ground on an 89,000-sf R&D facility in Ballybrit in the Republic of Ireland in February of 2014. Designed by Taylor Architects, the building will house 700 employees engaged in software research and the development of cloud computing technologies. The project team includes general contractor M.J. Conroy Group, engineering consultants Arup and RPS, and project manager AECOM. Completion is expected in February of 2015.

The Federation of Korean Industries opened its 50-story headquarters in Seoul in early 2014. The facility features an advanced solar electric façade and has received the highest sustainable design rating from the Korean Institute of Construction Technology. The spandrel panels in the exterior walls are angled at 30 degrees upward toward the sun, maximizing the amount of energy collected, while the vision panels are angled at 15 degrees downward toward the ground, minimizing the amount of direct sun radiation and glare.