Real Estate Investor Magazine South Africa September 2013 | Page 48

GETTING STARTED
be supplemented by rainwater harvested from the roofs. The rainwater harvesting alone will reduce potable water demand by 56%. The building contains 50% evaporative cooling systems and 50% air-cooled chiller systems. While evaporative cooling systems are energy eff icient, they use a substantial amount of water. This consumption will be monitored. will add value to your building, one such is clay bricks. Clay bricks provide sustainability consequent to t hei r longe v it y, proven durability and structural integrity beyond 100 years. This mitigates future carbon debt associated with replacement and maintenance of less durable walling materials. Clay bricks contain natural mineral properties recognized for meeting all necessary requirements for healthy living, their inert qualities assure no release of toxic fumes or VOC’s to impinge on air quality and the mass enhanced R-value they provide to SANS 204 compliant brick walls assures superior thermal comfort and the lowest heating and cooling energy usage in South Africa’s major climatic zones. Clay bricks’ comparably low lifecycle cost further defines clay brick as peerless for sustainable house construction in South Africa. a nd s u s t a i n a bi l it y re q u i rement s . T he equipment has low-energy features, lowering power consumption. The building has the ability to manage lift and escalator trips to ensure passengers move through the building in the most efficient manner.

Interior design
Materials such as granite, marble, stone and natural timber speak of quality, permanence and integrity. They will wear gracefully and remain timeless. The sustainably-sourced timber has been selected for its pronounced grain and honeyed warmth, tactile to touch and natural in feel. “It’s an unavoidable fact that any development will have an impact on the environment,” admits Contardo. “However, we believe it is our responsibility to mitigate these impacts as far as possible and reduce the carbon footprint of each development as much as we can.” In addition to the obvious corporate social responsibility benef its, there are f inancial benefits to greening an industrial space, he reveals. “From a financial point of view there is no doubt that you do cut down on costs and you will save money in the long term. However, more than that, we believe all property developers have a moral obligation to ensure that their developments have less dependence on our planet’s natural resources than they have had in the past.” Going green should be a necessity for all property developers, argues Contardo. “We’re firmly of the opinion that the more you can, the more you should. Irrespective of the type of development, we make every effort to ensure a pleasant working environment which has as many green elements included as possible.” Improvon and Standard Bank are two of the many companies in South Africa that are becoming increasingly green and looking to incorporate functional and attractive bu i ld ings w it h susta inabi l it y a nd ecosavings. The buildings of today have to take into account the problems of tomorrow and one of the biggest problems facing the world is sustainability, and all it takes is one small green step in the right direction.

Energy
An existing Egoli Gas main gas line runs past the property. The building therefore makes use of a gas powered tri-generation plant. Trigeneration is the simultaneous production of electrical energy and heat and cooling from a single energy source such as natural gas. Trigeneration is commonly referred to as CCHP (combined cooling, heating, and power generation). Further energy savings will be achieved through efficient lighting. The lighting power density has been reduced to below 2.5W/m² per 100 Lux. A digitally addressable lighting system (DALI) has been installed for 99.26% of the usable area. This allows individual light fittings to be programmed according to need, and facilitates automatic dimming and switching of lighting based on occupancy and daylight availability in the space. Lighting and light power will be individually monitored per f loor and energy uses greater than 100KVA will be separately metered. No light beam on the piazza or in the garden is directed into the night sky, so external light pollution is minimised.

Facade
The glass curtain wall system covers more than 65% percent of the vertical external surfaces of the building. It extends for 12 50 0m² - equivalent to 50 tennis courts. It is tripleglazed w ith built-in remotely-activated shading blinds. The blinds can be retracted into the framing system to enable maximum natural light on cloudy days.

Electrical
The building’s Digital Addressable Lighting Interface (DALI) system, which connects the 4 ,500 luminaires in the office areas to a computer, enables lighting to be re-configured without re-wiring fittings. Different lights can be programmed to respond to different situations without affecting the surrounding lights. The energy usage of individual light fittings can be monitored and Maintenance can be alerted when a lamp or ballast fails, saving maintenance time. Five Dynamic UPS generators, each producing 1.65MW, provide the building with full “No-Break ” back-up power.

Materi