Senior architect Eric Tam Yee-lak is no stranger to handling challenging tasks. Last year, he and his team took on a large project near Hangzhou which required them to design a mixed-use development with more than 30 tower blocks and a large mall.
Tam, from Dennis Lau & Ng Chun Man Architects & Engineers, says he and his colleagues try their best to understand the users' different requirements and daily habits.
'As Hong Kong architects, we offer new ideas about how buildings could be and then we connect these with local requirements,' he says.
Demand for Hong Kong's architectural expertise on the mainland is creating many new opportunities. Dennis Lau & Ng Chun Man, for example, is looking to recruit about 20 administrative or design architects, plus several renderers and trainees.
'We are getting more projects, especially on the mainland,' says Dennis Lau Wing-kwong, chairman and managing director, who estimates that its workload is up 30 per cent from last year. 'Developers want architects from Hong Kong because they feel they have more experience.'
Other construction companies are picking up more mainland projects and want experienced architects from Hong Kong, says Christopher Armstrong, a senior consultant with property recruiter Judd Farris. Site architects, project architects and design managers are in demand for residential, hotel, leisure, commercial and industrial construction projects.
Armstrong expects the number of projects to keep growing as more of the lesser mainland cities develop. 'Second-tier and third-tier cities are now fairly key,' he says. 'A lot of residential developers are keen to get into these areas and are using Hong Kong architects.'