Oberti Resort Design Case Study
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Oberti Resort Design Case Study by Phil Bamber, Kelly Chow, Jessica Lortie & Tanay Wood 1 OBERTI RESORT DESIGN: A SLIPPERY SLOPE Oberto Oberti, founder of Oberti Resort Design, is in first stages of designing a unique resort concept to add to his record. Oberti is determined to be at the forefront of the next innovative project in British Columbia by developing a new ski hill and resort in North America. The resort will operate during the summer months in order to cater to skiers and snowboarders year round. Oberti’s perplexing vision encompasses a unique mountain experience that will increase Oberti Resort Design’s market share of the ski resort industry. However, the implementation of a new ski resort is tricky due to the large project scope and implementation costs. The timing of opening the ski resort and the location of the resort will be critical to the success of the resort. Now, with financing from Japanese investors, Oberti needs to decide which direction to steer the project in to maximize the success of the new ski resort and adhere to its shareholders. This extraordinary mountain experience plans to attract 180,000 ski visits in the first year of operations, whilst maintaining a stable financial position. OBERTI RESORT DESIGN & PHEDIAS GROUP: BACKGROUND After growing up in Northern Italy within close proximity to the Alps, mountains have been a constant source of inspiration in Oberto Oberti’s life.1 Oberti’s personal mountain endeavours have stimulated curiosity and enriched his design concepts. He first started out as an architect and later established Oberti Resort Design in 2005. Oberti Resort Design was derived from Pheidias Group, a project management and architecture based company.2 The goal of the Oberti Resort Design subdivision was to incorporate the resort design experience of the company under one umbrella. As a division of Pheidias Group, the company has obtained extensive knowledge and experience in project development and the architecture of large-scale resorts. Specifically, Oberti specializes in master planning, resort design and architecture, ski and base area planning and golf course planning.3 Collaborating with Pheidias Group, Oberti Resort Design emphasizes a comprehensive approach offering holistic services, effectively delivering upon client requests and bringing client visions to life. The company has contributed to the development of several well-recognized ski resorts in Western Canada including Crystal Mountain Golf and Ski Resort, Crowsnest Pass Resort, Twin Peaks Resort, and Pinnacle International Resort Hotel. Pheidias Group was founded in 1976 in British Columbia. It is a North American company that 1 Ebner, D. (2017, August 18). Vancouver man’s proposed ski resort garners support from government, First Nations. The Globe and Mail. https://beta.theglobeandmail.com/british-columbia 2 Oberti Resort Design. (2017). Progress is a wonderful thing. Retrieved from http://obertiresorts.com/about/ 3 Pheidias Group. (2017). Project management. Retrieved from http://pheidias.ca/project-management/ 2 encompasses project management, planning, and architecture.3 Since its conception, the group has produced multiple successful projects throughout North America. Before developing Oberti Resort Design, Pheidias developed the first luxury high-rise waterfront condominium development situated in Greater Vancouver in the 1970’s.4 The group further strengthened its presence in British Columbia by partaking in some of Whistler’s top mountainside development projects such as Whistlers’ ski village’s northern expansion during the 1990’s. In the year 2000, Pheidias opened a state of art ski resort named Kicking Horse, situated in the heart of Golden, British Columbia. COMPANY CULTURE Oberti’s mission is to “turn visions into reality.”5 Being that Oberti Resort Design is a subdivision of Pheidias Group, the company has inherited the strong value-system and culture of Pheidias. Pheidias is committed to offering, “award-winning, economically sustainable and environmentally responsible projects”, which have enabled them to focus on the three core pillars of integrity, capability and innovation.6 Pheidias stresses the importance of team collaboration in developing new ideas and capabilities, and creating strong relationships with their clients. They achieve this through being honest with their clients and with the community in order to build trust and develop strong solutions. The company also emphasizes the importance of a professional workplace and having a well- educated, technical employee base in order to deliver a vast spectrum of development services to its clients. Oberti Resort Design employees specialize in a wide array of areas, such as engineering, interior design, marketing, accounting, and business management.7 The company has maintained success as a result of effective collaboration and communication between the company’s expert staff, contractors, and clients. Furthermore, Oberti focuses its efforts on enhancing an innovation based-culture for its employees in order to stimulate creative ideas and equip their employees to better cater to the developmental needs of their clients. Oberti encourages its employees to push the boundaries of conventional thinking in order to come up with design concepts that are superior to those of their competitors. THE VISION In order to capitalize on the possible advantages currently available in the ski market, Oberti Resort Design intends to develop a unique North American mountain experience. The resort will 4 Pheidias Group. (2017). Projects. Retrieved from http://pheidias.ca/projects 5 Oberti Resort Design (2017). What we do. Retrieved from http://obertiresorts.com 6 Pheidias Group. (2017). Inegrity, capability, innovation. Retreived from http://pheidias.ca/about/ 7 Pheidias Group. (2017). Our story. Retreived from http://pheidias.ca/our-story/ 3 provide a safe and relaxing sightseeing location that would be available year-round. By operating in the summer months, this mountain will give consumers an extended ski-season and bring in revenue for the company year round. This will also mean that local people will be employed year round, rather than seasonally. Oberti Resort Design aims to ensure that the destination will appeal not only to skiers and snowboarders, but also to sightseers and various other tourists in order to optimize the number of visitors that the resort attracts each year. The resort will provide access to high-elevation viewpoints for sightseeing so that tourists can immerse themselves in the beauty of the surrounding National Park. The ski hill project needs to facilitate dual use for skiing and sightseeing through large terrains accessed via gondola lifts at feasible cost.8 Since the resort will be a year-round snow sports destination it will also need to provide skiers access to high elevations with at least 400 metres of vertical. In order to meet ski racer needs, a high alpine with a 700 metre vertical is required. 9 Finally, a flat glacier is needed for summer cross-country skiing and Nordic race training. Mountaintop facilities and lodges will need to be created to accommodate the athletes and public users of the ski hill. Ski hill resorts require a stable amount of snow guaranteed by elevation and climate. Large mountains with outstanding scenery are also required. Oberti intends to achieve this with low infrastructure costs. Additionally, wildlife conservation and other possible areas restricted due to environmental or religious factors are of critical importance to this project. Oberti must be aware of the legislation that may impose restrictions on the project, as well as the needs of the community in order to gain their local support. BUILDING SKI RESORTS IN BRITISH COLUMBIA British Columbia (B.C.) is a province in Canada that is well known for its vast mountain ranges, enabling alpine skiing to be one of the most popular attractions for both locals and tourists in the province. This beloved winter sport allows individuals of all ages to be fully immersed in the beauty of the mountains. This makes British Columbia the perfect contender for Oberti’s innovative ski resort project. Many ski resorts have been constructed in order to expand tourism in B.C. In the past, most ski resorts have been developed in areas with pre-existing human access. Furthermore, ski resorts have mainly utilized small parts of the mountain that the resort is constructed upon. As alpine skiing is a snow sport the ski resorts have “on” and “off” seasons. The “on” season occurs during the winter months, which leaves many of the ski resorts closed during the “off” season of summer. Another consequence of this snow sport is that the quality of the ski hill is contingent upon the amount of snow or “fresh powder” for the skiers to enjoy. For this reason ski resorts 8 Master Plan. (2016). Retrieved from http://valemountglaciers.com/master-plan/ 9 Kantrowitz, E. (2017, March 7). Building a ski resort from scratch. Retrieved from https://blueprint.cbre.com 4 often end up using snow-making machines to create a higher snow base during the winters in which there is little precipitation. TOURISM The current population of B.C. is 4.6 million, which is 13% of the population in Canada. The province attracts approximately 15 million people per year.10 In 2014, the tourism industry generated $14.8 million in revenue and accounted for $7.7 million (3.2%) of the province’s gross domestic product.11 In 2013-2014 the province received 6,000,000 skier/snowboarder visits.12