Partnering with the London Olympic Delivery Council, Lend Lease build the village currently home to 17,000 athletes from 200-plus countries which will be sustainably transformed into quality residential estates. Now it’s working with the Sydney Theatre Company to “create positive social impact”. Actress and theatre director Cate Blanchett says: “The cultural ribbon stretching from the Sydney Opera House to The Rocks and Walsh Bay and through to Barangaroo can be one of the most exciting cultural districts in the world.” Read More

Lend Lease partners with Sydney Theatre Company to create positive social impact

Announcement on 16 July 2012:

Lend Lease has today entered into a strategic partnership with Sydney Theatre Company (STC). The four year partnership will focus on developing programs that facilitate awareness and engagement in the creation of sustainable futures.

It is anticipated that the programs will touch more than one million individuals over the period of the partnership. Key areas of engagement will include Environmental and Social Sustainability, Indigenous Engagement, Cultural Development and Workplace Safety.

Lend Lease clients and employees, STC patrons, Barangaroo tenants as well as surrounding communities will be engaged to drive awareness of sustainable futures and its importance. Much of the content developed will be further communicated across Australia and internationally.

Throughout the four year partnership, innovative events will be staged focused on improving the built environment and interactive online learning tools will also be developed to educate individuals about sustainable futures.

The partnership will also see the formation of the Lend Lease Ideas Consortium. The consortium will meet a number of times annually and involve key business leaders and government with a commitment to develop a blueprint for creating sustainable environments.

Chief Executive Officer for Lend Lease’s Australian business, Mark Menhinnitt, explained that Lend Lease was delighted to partner with an organisation that also aimed to influence and lead the adoption of sustainable behaviour.

“Wherever we have a presence, Lend Lease aims to leave a legacy for future generations. Whether it be through the communities we create, the infrastructure we develop or the assets that we manage.

“By partnering with Sydney Theatre Company, we can now also look to educate individuals on the importance of sustainable futures through the programs we create,” said Mr. Menhinnitt.

Andrew Upton said: “We are thrilled to welcome Lend Lease as a Major Partner for STC. The relationship is underpinned by shared goals to be culturally inclusive and community engaged; to create and leave behind something genuinely valuable to our companies and the community.”

Cate Blanchett added: “The cultural ribbon stretching from the Sydney Opera House to The Rocks and Walsh Bay and through to Barangaroo can be one of the most exciting cultural districts in the world. STC looks forward to working closely with Lend Lease to this end.”

In addition to working on new initiatives, STC will be involved in the Millers Point Youth & Employment Partnership (MPY&EP) an association that has a long heritage with Lend Lease. The two organisations will determine activities that will enhance Barangaroo community involvement with MPY&EP underpinned by the goal of building awareness around sustainable futures.

Along with the STC partnership, Lend Lease Australia has also kicked off relationships with the new western Sydney AFL team, the GWS Giants and the Lend Lease Breakers, Cricket NSW women’s cricket team. All partnerships support Lend Lease’s key principles; safety, sustainability and diversity.

About Lend Lease

Lend Lease is a leading international property and infrastructure group, with a focus on core markets in Australia, Asia, Europe and the Americas. We create innovative and sustainable property solutions, forging partnerships and delivering maximum benefits to clients, investors and communities. Sustainability has always been an integral part of our culture and through design and investment in new technologies, we are delivering the next generation of sustainable property solutions. Safety is our number one priority and Lend Lease is committed to operating Incident & Injury Free wherever we have a presence.

Source: www.lendlease.com

Jonathon Moore for Australia Unlimited (26 July 2012):

Under the direction of Tim Urquhart, Australian property and infrastructure giant Lend Lease has delivered London the most advanced Olympic Village yet. With up to 6000 people working each day, the A$2.2 billion project, which will be retro-fitted to become permanent housing in London’s east, is one that will have a lasting effect.

The London 2012 Athletes Village wasn’t built in a day – but it was built well before the Opening Ceremony. In the middle of London’s newest urban regeneration quarter, an Olympic Athletes’ Village has been redefined beyond imagination.

With Australian property and infrastructure group Lend Lease at the helm and a collective total of 40,000 hands on deck, the finished project contains 2818 apartments and everything a city of the world’s greatest athletes might want for in any given month.

Charged with the four-year creation and delivery of this monumental project Lend Lease brings a vital Games experience to the task. With involvement in construction and management of three of the four Summer Olympic Games including and since the Atlanta Olympics in 1996, as well as the Turin Winter Olympics in 2006 and the Rugby World Cup in 2003, few, if any, comparable firms match the Australian giant’s pedigree in this arena.

Tim Urquhart, who is Development Director Athletes Village for Lend Lease in London, has overseen it all since the beginning. “There’s no doubt we’ve been, for a long time now, a key part of a number of significant projects with the Olympic Games,” Urquhart says. “Interestingly it started out in America for the 1996 Atlanta Games where the local Lend Lease business had a large role in program management for most of the venues.”

It was four years later, however, that the company found itself responsible for an even bigger role delivering a number of major venues for the Sydney 2000 Games. Lend Lease was a joint developer for the Olympic Athletes’ Village, two critical venues – the Athletics Centre and International Aquatic Centre – within the Sydney Olympic Park precinct, the expansion of Sydney Airport as well as providing long-term project management and operational roles for the government and the Games organising committee.

After its success in Sydney, the company was charged with the daunting task of delivering the Athletes Village in London.

“The Village in London is the single biggest project that we’ve ever undertaken given the time frame – and, from a Games perspective, far more complex than any of the projects in Sydney,” Urquhart says. “The Village here is a A$2.2 billion project and we’ve been involved from day one – our role has effectively been identical to that of the Village in Sydney, however the Village for 2012 is a more complex project, probably by a factor of three.

“It was a huge task – looking after 6000 people a day, making sure they came to work and got home safely at the end of the day. All up we worked 25 million man hours to deliver the Village and it is the first time ever that a Village has been delivered without serious injuries, which is an extraordinary achievement,” Urquhart says.

Unlike the Village in Sydney, which was partly made up of temporary and portable accommodation, at the London Village every single dwelling will become a finished legacy apartment.

“Coming back after the Games, we will be fitting out all 2818 apartments into their final legacy state,” Urquhart says. “It’s a complex logistical job but we’ll do that in about 18 months, on a phased basis so people can start moving in by mid-2013.”

“There was a lot of consideration for future-proofing the development, with issues such as the sustainability credentials, where the future marketplace is going to be, and what sort of living amenity people will want potentially a decade down the track being key. Today’s residential purchaser is a lot more selective about what he or she wants to buy. So that’s been just part of the complexity.”

As an Australian who has been at the heart of such a monumental task within the broader project of delivering the London Games itself, Urquhart feels privileged to be involved.

“There’s always a great competitive relationship between the Australians and the Brits but you take a huge sense of pride in being involved in, not just the Olympics, but because it is London, one of the greatest cities in the world,” Urquhart says.

And for someone who has been close to many Olympic projects in the past, he agrees that the London Games certainly have an Australian feel.

“There have been a lot of Australians working in London – both individuals and many companies involved in a multitude of different capacities.”

Like many who have worked to deliver the London Olympic Games, Urquhart says he feels a unique level of satisfaction and enthusiasm for the success of the Games in 2012 and in the future.

“When Jacques Rogge, President of the IOC, stands up in the main stadium in August this year I’m almost positive that he will say, ‘London you have delivered the best Games ever’,” Urquhart says.

“I never thought I’d actually surpass my experience from having worked on the Games in Sydney,” Urquhart laughs. “I think already my personal pride and satisfaction have far exceeded my expectations in London, and it’s not even my home town!”

Source: www.australiaunlimited.com