Hanwha E&C entered the housing business in earnest by launching an apartment brand called ‘Dream and Green’ in 2001. Hanwha E&C, which has grown based on civil engineering, architecture, plant, and overseas businesses, has expanded its presence in the Korean housing business through Dream and Green.
At the same time, it has also launched the officetel/residential complex brand ‘Obelisk’ and has been supplying officetels and residential complexes mainly in the Gangnam area of Seoul.
Hanwha E&C launched ‘Forena’, an integrated residential brand, based on the know-how it has accumulated with Dream Green and Obelisk for over 20 years. Forena is a culmination of Hanwha E&C's housing philosophy, and is a brand containing the will and determination of the company to lead a new residential culture.
The housing business started with Dream Green Obelisk
Since its launch in 2001, Hanwha E&C's Dream Egreen has established itself as a representative brand in the housing market by supplying more than 70,000 households to over 80 business sites across the country, including Seoul, Busan, Incheon, and Daegu. It is rare for an apartment brand to be named in pure Korean, so it has built a friendly image to consumers.
It is a brand name with the intention of making the ideal living life dreamed of by residents come true in reality. The logo expresses an apartment space where humans, nature, and high tech are in harmony. The shape of the entire symbol is expressed in the form of an organic curve rather than a straight line, implying that a comfortable living space can be maintained.
In addition, it has built a differentiated image from competing brands by hiring non celebrity models, not celebrities. The general public model delivered a relatively realistic image than the celebrity advertisement, which had a great influence on the recognition of Dream Green as a brand more familiar to end-users.
The familiar brand image has led to Hanwha E&C's housing orders. In particular, it is the representative performance of Hanwha E&C Dream E Green that greatly contributed to the completion of ‘Incheon Eco Metro (2.39 million m²)’, Korea’s first private urban development project.
Incheon Eco Metro, located near Soraepo Station, has a total of 12,000 households. Among them, Hanwha E&C supplied a total of 7146 households, including 2920 households in 2006 and 4226 households in 2007. About 60% of all apartments in Eco Metro are Dream Green. Inside and outside the construction industry, the Incheon Eco Metro is evaluated as a masterpiece of housing representing Hanwha E&C.
Together with Dream Green, the officetel/residential complex brand ‘Obelisk’ has been increasing the amount of pre-sale and supply mainly in the Gangnam area of Seoul. The obelisk is a spire built by the Phoenicians around 2000 BC. It is a building that is still in its original form after 4000 years. Timeless solidity and architectural aesthetics are the goals pursued by the Hanwha Obelisk.
The representative performance of Hanwha Obelisk was the 1533 officetel in Munjeong dong, Seoul, which was sold in 2011. 1494 applicants flocked to 1,922 rooms for general subscription, recording a competition ratio of 8.12 to 1. The obelisks sold at Gangnam Station, Mapo Dohwa-dong, Changjeong-dong, and Bundang have also established themselves as landmarks in the area, attracting many subscribers.
Dreamegrin and Obelisk were merged into ‘Forena’ in 2019. As the boundaries between apartments, officetels, and residential and commercial complexes became increasingly blurred, the two brands were merged into one. It is also a decision to instill the formula of 'Hanwha premium housing brand Forena' to real estate buyers.
The obelisk had lower brand recognition and advertisement exposure compared to Dream Green. As a result, despite the sharp increase in demand for officetels due to a surge in single person households, there was also a phenomenon of being pushed back by competitors.
As a measure to overcome this, a new integrated brand, Forena, was launched. Forena means “connection” in Swedish. The goal is to complete a new residential culture by connecting people and spaces. The brand slogan is 'the beginning of a special daily life'.
Brand name change strategy hit, increased popularity and demand
Although only the brand name has been changed, Forena is gaining popularity. So far, Hanwha E&C has sold 7,700 apartments in 8 complexes under the Forena brand. This year's new supply is about 18,000 households in 14 complexes, and when the sale is completed, 25,700 households will meet residents with the name of Forena.
In addition, about 10,000 households in 15 existing apartment complexes were renamed Forena. As requests to change the name to Forena continue even in complexes using the previous brand name, it is expected that the number of apartments using the Forena brand will increase nationwide.
In addition to housing such as apartments and officetels, Forena also contributed greatly to winning large-scale projects from Hanwha E&C. Forena played a big role in winning the Suseo Station Transit Center Complex Development Project, which is called the last yolk land in Gangnam, Seoul.
Hanwha E&C was selected as the preferred bidder for the project on June 25th. It is a project to build a complex facility including station, sales, lodging, business, and cultural spaces on an area of 115,927 square meters in the area of 197 Suseo dong, Seoul. Along with Shinsegae Department Store, Forena will also be built here, raising expectations that a new residential and commercial space will be created.
An official from Hanwha E&C said, “Forena pursues a housing philosophy that is a space where the value of life that residents want is realized. I will do it,” he said.
