Krrish Square’s architects and retail leasing firm outline project plans

By Cheranka Mendis

For LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton former Chairman Renaud Dutreil, luxury means the perfect synchronisation of tradition and innovation. It is the blend of something contemporary with the old, rekindling memories while shaping the future.

And Dutreil, who is the Consultant and Face of the Krrish Square project, believes nothing spells luxury more in this region than the intended US$ 650 million Krrish Square that is likely to change the face of Colombo by 2016-2017.

In Sri Lanka with architect of the project Edouard Francois who excels in converting heritage buildings to modern complexes and representatives of Cushman & Wakefield, the company handling retail leasing for the commercial towers, the group has been discussing the latest structural changes and aspirations for the project and agrees that the project will make Sri Lanka a world class destination.

With only 15% more to be paid to the Government, which is likely to be settled before 31 July, the payment deadline, a total of Rs. 41.1 billion has been paid so far and construction work is tipped to start early August, pushing back the initial announcement of work beginning in June due to land ownership issues.

Transworks Square and the three towers featuring 95 floors and 600 apartments, 80 stores, two bridges and 200 hotel rooms spans across 4.3 acres of land and sums up the basic inventory of the multi-complex high-rise building.

Dutreil told the Daily FT that Krrish Square would be the signature and the new face of Colombo as the country readies to transform itself and become part of the economic race in the region.

“If you want to be attractive today, you need to make yourself visible. Over and above a country’s key assets, you need luxury, shopping, hospitality and style,” Dutreil said.

Krrish fits the description perfectly – if you want to make a luxury product you need to be able to put heritage and innovation in the same box, he expressed. “Only heritage is boring, only innovation is artificial.”

To be visible as a country, it also needs to develop itself as a shopping destination. “You need brands; luxury, world-class brands. We have a first class team bringing the best brands in the world,” Dutreil said, acknowledging Cushman & Wakefield, which will target key brands in the world for shopping and leisure for the complex.

“We want to have the best portfolio of luxury brands. However, we understand that it has to be attractive for all kinds of consumers in Sri Lanka and not only for the high end. We assure you that it will be a good mix, with department stores along with high end brands.”

The third element vital to create visibility for a country is hospitality, he said. Observing that most hotels today have a similar feel, Dutreil stated that guests would flock in to get rooms in a hotel located many feet above ground, closer to the sky. “The hotel itself will be a destination. People will rush to have a room in this hotel because it will be different and connected with the shopping mall.”

The fourth element is style. “We are bringing a French element to this project which is open to international brands and partners. People like to have something unique and in this part of the world, French architecture is something unique.”

“If you add all those components you have a unique project not only in Sri Lanka but to this part of the world,” Dutreil said. “We are visible in terms of architecture because there is no other project similar to this in the world. We are also unique in terms of luxury experience and destination for shopping and will be well integrated with urban Colombo.”

With over 30 years of experience, architect Edouard Francois is probably the best to make it all happen. Chief Architect for Louis Vuitton, his passion lies in enhancing existing buildings and making them more interesting. Krrish Square is an interesting concept that requires him to blend modernity with the old charm of Transworks Square and build it up to “slowly disappear among the clouds”.

“It cannot be just an oversized building. It has to fit in,” Francois said.

“My first reflection is that it must really fit well on the ground; the other was the ecology. Transworks Square is an important building; we cannot destroy its appeal, yet it must be given new value.”

According to his design, the old building will be the entrance into Krrish Square. The luxury commercial centre is organised on several levels within the thickness of the tower bases and the facades will be covered with vegetation – a reminder of the hills of Ceylon Tea production.

“We think it will be interesting to recreate a landscape of Ceylon Tea. The buildings will be surrounded by hills of tea. It will be emotional and contextual,” he explained.

“What I want to create is a story,” Francois said. The story begins from the heritage building. In trying to give it the best role to play in the story, it has given it the role of the entrance into the project. “You enter through the heritage building and you enter into modernity that is behind. This will be a mutual entrance for hotel, retail and office buildings.”

After this the project becomes less complex – there is a high luxury mall which connects to the heritage building with a multiplex underneath. All are connected for luxury and efficiency. The towers itself will be simple. The three towers are organised in an uncomplicated manner – two residential towers and one office tower. Two spectacular bridges unite the three towers.

“One faces the port and is the lobby of the 200 room hotel and will be situated 300 metres in the air, equipped with a swimming pool, restaurant and garden,” he divulged. “The other faces the beaches and the sea. It is the lobby for the apartments, the spa and other commodities.” The peak of the hotel is said to be at 400 metres, just above the offices.

“The composition is quite simple,” Francois said. Everything will be constructed at once, he noted. “We are thinking we will build it in one phase itself. It could be problematic for Colombo to do it in a number of stages. It is better to concentrate and build it all.” The construction will take two to three-and-a-half years depending on the quantity of energy.

Cushman & Wakefield California Executive Vice Chairman Kazuko Morgan noted that preliminary discussions had already been held with a number of key retailers who they wish to bring in for the project. The largest private real estate brokerage company in the world, Cushman & Wakefield will conduct a global marketing effort targeting premium brands for the retail complex as well for restaurants at the square.

“We will be in the market within the next few months,” Morgan said. “We believe this will be one of the most iconic projects in the entire region between Southeast Asia and India. It truly is one-of-a-kind and an interesting project. Our goal is to attract international luxury and premium brands that are new to this market, not just to the country but to the overall region.”

The company is currently working with Krrish on two projects in India in the residential and hospitality sector.

“We will carry out a targeted marketing approach. We are specific with the type of tenants we want. It will not be mass marketing but more personalised.” The key targets are the luxury market in Europe as well as the high end brands in America. Unable to divulge the names of principals that have shown interest, she said: “It is no secret what the main luxury brands are. As a firm we have very strong relationship with all of them. We will be talking to major luxury apparel retailers, jewellery, watches and cosmetics, etc.”

There is no question of interest, she assured. “Everyone is interested. The next phase is really getting into commitment and timing.”

Morgan added: “Because of the uniqueness of the project we may be able to attract retailers who otherwise may not look at this – the design, the fact that it is a mix use component and that it will have a lot of traffic throughout the day and from the residence side and in the night as there is a hotel, cinemas and restaurants is very unique.”