The Barmy Army

New week, new format. I realised this post would be far too long (probably because I chat about beer too much), so it’s shorter on days and early. Cor, aren’t you lucky.

Xi’an - Poncho Villa

I flew to Xi’an Friday afternoon and booked myself into the Han Tang Inn Hostel situated within the historic city walled centre. Hostels are great for meeting new people, and also utilising the local’s intimate knowledge to explore the area, especially when somewhere for only a short period of time. Given the fact I’m now the wrong side of 30, I did book the privacy and comfort of a private double with ensuite for the solid price of ￡20 a night. It was a great hostel, lots of fun, great staff, with a great crowd whilst I was there. I met a variety of travellers including a young married couple from America who were travelling together after quitting their jobs, a couple from England on an 18 month adventure, lots of younger students exploring the East before returning to their studies at the end of September, and others like me exploring new parts of China from their work bases in the bigger cities.

I arrived at 7:30pm and was immediately told of a ‘dumpling making party’ to celebrate the Moon Festival. It was a great way to get to know the other guests whilst making poorly constructed packages of meat and vegetables. We utilised the cheap beer towers (contraptions I’d gotten to know very well during my time in Thailand) and conversation flowed until the early hours about travel plans and the greater world.

Saturday I booked onto the hostels organised excursion to the Terracotta Army warriors, which obviously included the authentic addition of 1 hour free beer on return to the hostel. A theme was forming… The bus journey took an hour+ from the city and when we arrived we set about exploring the 3 exposed pits/vaults which have uncovered the treasures of the Qin dynasty. We had a very enthusiastic and authoritarian guide that helped keep the 28 member strong tour in check. There was a panic at one point that we’d lost a Japanese member of the squad, but she was found safe and sound.

Constructed from 246–206 BC, to accompany Emperor Qin Shihuang in the afterlife, life-size terracotta soldiers, horses, and chariots stand in full battle array and formation, in unjustifiably high level of detail for their time of creation. Every figure differs in facial features and expression, clothing, hairstyle, and gestures. The count stands at circa 8000, but with a mausoleum that covers more than 50km, many more are expected. It took an estimated 720,000 people to build in an operation that dwarfs the expected workforce of the Great Pyramid of Giza. Given the years of erosion, theft, and earthquakes, it’s a painstakingly slow archaeological process to uncover that will continue for many years to come.

Sunday I explored the other sites of Xi’an with Xander, a student from Belgium, and we started out by cycling the 14km circumference top of the ancient city wall. I have to say the weather was abysmal and it barely stopped raining, but it was good fun none the less, and we powered on aided by the wonders of packet wet weather gear. We then visited the Giant Goose pagoda before heading towards the much talked about Muslim quarter. The hub of the Muslim community in Xi'an is known for their food offerings on Huimin Street, and it was insane. Bright lights adorn hundreds of stall fronts that sell an exotic array of dishes. We worked our way through marinated lamb stuffed inside a freshly baked bun, fried squid, spiced bean curd, grilled beef, hand pulled noodles, fig cakes and fruit juices. The weather could not dampen our spirits if it tried.

I’d thoroughly recommend Xi’an to anyone coming from Beijing or Shanghai where travel is relatively quick and fairly reasonably priced. It’s a vibrant city that offers much more than a buried army. My main advice is that a Terracotta tour does take a long time so if you’re prepared to brave it with an audio guide alone, you can do it quicker, and probably cheaper.

The Shanghai Maglev train - Strap in

On arriving back in Shanghai, and although a bit travel weary, I made sure to take the opportunity to witness the Shanghai Maglev train. My dad had enthused about experiencing it when my parents travelled here a few years ago, so having come by the car on my previous arrival in Shanghai, I thought I would use it to get home.

Initially a German theorised technology, as the name suggests the system utilises magnets to levitate the trains on the tracks and is powered by electrical propulsion force that eclipses other high speed rail in Europe and Japan.

Constructed by Transrapid International, a German company who teamed up with Shanghai authorities, suggested that a segment of commercial demonstration line be built first to verify the economics and safety of the system. Finished in 2002, it is the world's first and only commercialised Maglev train line in operation. The line runs 30km from Shanghai Pudong International Airport to the city centre, and takes only seven minutes and reached a top speed of 300kmh when I was on board. During a series of tests carried out in 2003 however, a five-carriage Shanghai Maglev train recorded a top speed of 501kmph (311 mph). Maybe it was struggling under the weight of food i had consumed during the day in Xi’an.

The total cost of the venture was $1.58 billion which is obviously a lot of money, but according to the Shanghai Transport Centre, the cost per kilometre of track was about half of what it would have cost to construct a traditional metro system. The technology also means the Maglev is quieter, more energy efficient, gives off less pollution and requires less wear and tear maintenance than normal trains. Countries and governments need to be brave enough to embrace these kinds of technologies that clearly are advantageous across the board.

The technology may however already be outdated, with the ground breaking Hyperloop system souring past in the near future. This is another fantastic technology, spear headed by the enigmatic Elon Musk, with Richard Branson’s Virgin now a key partner. It’s a great concept causing global interest that is worth taking the time to read about. https://hyperloop-one.com/. UN Studios who I met earlier in my trip are involved in some brilliant master planning for Hyperloop stations and how these will influence and revolutionise travel and the cities of the future.

Me and Nicola are getting the train from Shanghai to Beijing on the next leg of the trip, and are also utilising the bullet trains when in Japan. So if there are any train enthusiast groups in Bristol, hit me up, I’ve already purchased a lovely anorak…

Concrete – The hard stuff

Historian Vaclav Smil argues that concrete is the most important man made material, and it appears China agree, with it being the material of choice for the vast majority of buildings in the country. It has been fundamental in laying the foundations (yup I said it), to the vast development and expansion of their urban areas.

I was astounded to read that China produces and consumes about 60% of the world's cement, and that they used more concrete between 2011-2014, than the US used in the whole of the 20th Century….

So a trip to China would not be complete without visiting one of the many factories in the country. I’m a big fan of this type of frame build, I think it possess some very useful properties, and from my experience with some great subcontractors, the build time rivals that of many other forms. It does however carry a large carbon footprint, with 8% of the world’s carbon emissions coming from concrete.

Unfortunately I don’t see the landscape drastically changing soon. Increased densification (it's a real word) of cities means increased requirement for taller buildings made of concrete. Even climate combating technologies such as wind turbines are built on concrete foundations, sea walls are generally made from concrete and hydroelectric dams are essentially massive concrete fortifications.

There are however initiatives to break to mould. The factory we visited, in fact specialises in precast concrete. Compared to in situ on site formed structures, precast comes with a variety of benefits; quicker to install, reduced labour (up to 50%), increased quality control, safer, avoidance of weather variables. It can also help reduce the impact on the environment by reducing waste concrete, 20-50% water, and utilising steel reusable templates in lieu of timber. Noise, dust, and sound pollution are also reduced and or contained within the factory for easier control. However, with the increase in required factory capacity, storage, increased reinforcement connection details, design etc, the cost is higher. This is another solution that needs to be procured with the essence of value, not just initial capital costs.

To increase the uptake, the Chinese government is financially incentivising companies to utilise it, and in 2016 there was an aim that 40% of concrete being used was precast. Worldwide utilisation of reused waste products such as ash from coal-fired power stations are also helping to reduce the environmental impact, although to be honest, I didn’t gather a great enthusiasm for this in China yet when I asked.

It’s the constant battle between progress and cost, not just financial. As Bill Gates has theorised, can we bring billions of people out of poverty without destroying the environment?

Eric is flying out to India on Thursday, visiting Mumbai and Bangalore with some other directors from the global practice, to further the research in setting up a first RLB office in the country. It’s another emerging market with a vast population that, with the introduction of large scale infrastructure improvements, offers great opportunity. I will watch in anticipation given what I’ve seen and learnt whilst working in one of its Asian neighbours.

Combined with holidays, it meant it would be one of the last times I would see Eric, for a while at least. We therefore went for food and drinks after work with Iris, Molly, DD, Peter and Katherine. I made sure to thank him for all the time and effort he spent in welcoming me to RLB Shanghai, talking to me on a level about the business, and showing me the wonders of the city.

IKEA – “If you build it (*in the right location*), they will come”

On Wednesday Eric arranged for us and Katherine to meet with Michael Horenko, Vice President of Project Development for IKEA Centres in China.

Michael is originally from Australia but has been working in China mainly, as well as Singapore and Vietnam, since 1993. He’s a very knowledgeable and experienced project manager with intimate understanding of the Chinese market. He has worked for Mace in the past and was a key consultant on the Marina Bay Sands hotel in Singapore.

IKEA as many know, is the world’s largest home furnishing retailer, with some 367 stores in 30 world markets. I had an appreciation of their other ventures from previously meeting some of their European development arm, Vastint, via a friend of mine. However, within 5 minutes of meeting Michael, I understood their ambitions and reach are much more than MALM bedroom furniture.

INGKA Group (formely IKEA Group), named after the IKEA founder Ingvar Kamprad, entered China and set up an office in Shanghai in 2009, and has been expanding ever since. INGKA Group, comprises of IKEA Retail (the big blue boxes of one way shopping systems we all know and love), INGKA Investments (in markets such as Renewable Energy with ownership of 30 wind farms in 11 countries), and INGKA Centres, a calculated concept that is looking to adapt to and take advantage of the changing retail market. LIVAT is the brand name for these centres, with a different brand given in each country. ￥10 billion has been invested to date and they are currently constructing their 6th Chinese project in Shanghai. RLB have been involved with 3 to date along with 12 conventional stores.

The concept is moving away from standalone stores in the outskirts of cities, to providing mixed use facilities with office and residential space in key inner city locations. The intent is to create meeting places for heightened customer experience, where people come for a day out, to shop, dine and enjoy themselves. Each one has an IKEA store embedded at its heart, with the main purpose to support the establishment of, and drive visitation to IKEA stores. My time in China has shown me it’s a winning model.

Michael then spoke to us about the way the company works and operates in China. Projects are undertaken via a quasi Construction Management route of procurement, utilising the FIDIC form of contract. IKGKA seem to take on a hybrid role of client and contractor if you compare it to the UK industry. Although certainly not embedded, it is a practice we are experiencing in the UK, with clients keen to keep a control in as many aspects as possible. The General Contractor (GC), employed to manage trade packages, seems to merely take on the role of Principle Contractor, with all packages tendered and let by developer, and the vast majority of management on site also being undertaken by the developer with as many of their employees permanently based on site. This Michael says, is due to both inexperience and capacity of the GC’s. Local labour for example do not have the inclination to adhere to more western approaches to safety or regulation. It is changing, but it’s a slow process.

A key driver for INGKA Centres, is understanding the market. Although introducing safer and more efficient methods, they are aware that local cultures, traditions and shall we say, handshakes, are part and parcel of the Chinese market. They are adept at pushing for change but also rolling with local customs and the capability of the supply chain. It takes adept management to remove ego from the equation and compromise if it’s for the greater good. Other large retailers such as Tesco and Marks & Spencer have failed to grasp this and suffered in this part of the world as a result.

One of their prerequisite processes that really struck a chord with me, was the amount of time and effort they put into their research for location. It’s clearly an integral part of the process that renders all other efforts obsolete if you create something that nobody visits or uses. They target key developing cities, research population trends and the geographical movement of city centres amongst a host of other factors. This is also key due to the timescales involved in a development. A project is unlikely to be finished until 5 years after identification, so they need to ensure that a location is going to be relevant when finished, as well as for years to come.

Although they have lots of in house skills to undertake procurement, tendering etc, they still see the Quantity Surveyor as a key consultant, especially in providing benchmarking for new schemes and individual packages. RLB are on their framework agreement and hope to continue working closely with them moving forward. It’s just another facet of the QS world that is being disrupted by technology and change, and as Mark Farmer quite matter of factly put it, we need to “Modernise or Die”.

Until next week.