The executive's voice carries easily across the auditorium, smooth and practiced, the kind of voice that has addressed rooms like this one many times before.
He talks about the project first. The community center, the site, the development goals, and the vision Dingshan had when they first acquired the land. He uses words like *sustainable* and *inclusive* and *future-facing*, words that are true enough and also designed to land well with the investors in the central rows who are here to decide whether this vision is worth their capital.
Then he talks about the competition.
He explains why Dingshan chose to hold an open process rather than simply commissioning an established firm. Access to new thinking, he says. Merit above reputation. The belief that the best idea should win regardless of whose name is attached to it.
