Reimagining the future of real estate

Dec 18, 2020 Latest News

The current pandemic prompts us to rethink the way we live and work and what the next, post-COVID-19 reality will be like. From social distancing to remote working, how we adapt to this ever-changing landscape will be crucial for our ability to navigate beyond it and emerge stronger in the long run.

For this reason, FIABCI organized a new, innovative format of its annual summit to offer the real estate community new insights and tools to overcome the ongoing uncertainty while moving forward and staying competitive.

Students from the Real Estate and Sustainable Development Chair at ESSEC Business School - a FIABCI-France Academic Member - attended the Summit and provided a summary of some of the online sessions that can be read here.

From the “Global Leader of Tomorrow” Arch. Fernando Romero’s keynote on the cities of the future, to a panel discussion on the trends for 2021 with high-level representatives from some of the most important real estate companies worldwide, day 1 of the 39th Leadership Summit brought together industry thought leaders from different fields who shared their expertise and perspectives for the future.

Day 2 of FIABCI’s annual online event started with a panel discussion that focused on commercial real estate – particularly office real estate -, and on the guest speakers' insights regarding the needs and trends emerging in this new context, how the real estate industry is reacting, and what are the perspectives for the future. The panelists came from Germany, Hungary, Georgia, and Brazil and the session was moderated by Andreas Schulten, Chief Representative of Bulwiengesa AG.

FIABCI members and partners who took part in the summit also had the opportunity to learn more about two innovative, forward-thinking projects from France and Switzerland: Ampère (La Ville E+), and Quartier de l’Etang (PCM Opérateur Urbain SA). Through these projects - currently in different stages of development -, FIABCI wanted to share the developers’ experiences taking into consideration four different aspects: their objectives before the project implementation, the results after implementation, the challenges of the COVID-19 outbreak, and necessary adjustments after COVID-19.

The last session of day 2 was dedicated to the showcase of some of the best properties and investment opportunities worldwide previously identified by FIABCI from several countries and regions – USA, Philippines, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Singapore, Ukraine, Nigeria - in the form of 8 presentations of 3 minutes each.

On Friday, December 11, the last day of the professional program of the Leadership Summit, two sessions took place: Architecture Projects and Leadership Keynote.

The first part of the day was marked by the presentations of three winners of the Jacques Rougerie Foundation’s annual International Architecture Competition, which encourages and rewards worldwide bold and visionary architects, designers, engineers, and urban planners who imagine the habitats of the future in the coastal, oceanic, and outer space fields.

The following (and last) session of the day was delivered by Tom Phillips, Managing Director of TLP – Training Learning Progress. “The importance of communication in a virtual age” gave the audience interesting insights on how to best refine our communication styles in the age of virtual acceleration, and help us understand the challenges and opportunities of digital technologies. One of the highlights of the presentation was the Colours self-assessment tool that can be accessed here.

We would like to thank our Global Partners, Event Partners, and FIABCI Members for their outstanding support in helping make the 39^th Leadership Summit happen.