At a prestigious celebratory event held this week at Sage VIP's green home in Menlyn Maine, the Green Building Council of South Africa (GBCSA) honoured founding sponsors and pioneers in the green building industry for their part in contributing to the organisation's growth over the last six years. The GBCSA is a non-profit company and leads the transformation of the South African property industry to ensure that buildings are designed, built and operated in an environmentally sustainable way.
Menlyn Maine is one of Africa's first green cities, designed for better living and a more dynamic, healthy lifestyle. Located in Pretoria's eastern suburbs, Menlyn Maine offers offices, residential, shopping and entertainment facilities situated in the heart of the new business district.
"It was a privilege to host the GBCSA's honorary event and we are proud of our association with the organisation," says Anton van Heerden, MD of Sage VIP, a leading supplier of human resource and payroll management solutions.
"Our green office building is extremely energy efficient and environmentally friendly and was designed to be simplistic in nature. In addition, maintenance costs were limited by integrating sustainable design principles into all aspects of the structure. Our building has a four-star rating, according to the Green Star SA - Office v1 design rating, which recognises best practice principles that the building project demanded," explains Van Heerden.
The GBCSA's CEO, Brian Wilkinson, said: "Our mission is to lead the transformation of the South African property industry to environmental sustainability. This would not be possible without the support of organisations such as Sage VIP, who have made significant contributions to the green building movement and are changing the perceptions in the industry.
Notes to the editor
The following green principles were incorporated into the design of Sage VIP's green home:
Harnessing natural light
The building uses external shading devices in the form of aluminium louvres as well as overshadowing by balconies to shade windows from direct sunlight. In addition, care was taken to limit glass windows on the east and west facade, as it is more difficult to treat the low angle of the sun on these facades.
Building management system
The Sage VIP building boasts a building management system (BMS) that monitors the electrical demand, temperature and water usage in all areas of the building. The gathered information is analysed and compared with historic data and alerts the facilities manager when something is awry. The system highlights areas where energy or water consumption is wasted, allowing for faster response times to resolve issues. The BMS also monitors the lifts, fire protection, CO2 levels in the basement and landscaping systems.
External lights
Highly lit buildings have a devastating effect on the behavioural patterns of nocturnal creatures. As a result, all lights on the facade are dimmed to minimise light pollution and are positioned to avoid upward light spillage into the night sky.
Vegetable garden on the roof
When stepping out onto the roof, visitors may be surprised to find an operational vegetable garden that is utilised to stock the Sage VIP canteen and client restaurant. The mini farm on the roof further expands the building's green footprint by focusing on sustainability.
Occupancy sensors
Motion-detection sensors automatically switch lights on when there is movement. The sensors are also linked to the air conditioning system to avoid unoccupied space cooling. The result is a comfortable and controlled environment that saves on energy consumption.
Recycling
Close to 80% of waste produced in the office is recyclable, and recycle bins are placed in the pause areas and central points to enhance recycling efforts. A waste chute has also been incorporated into the cafeteria and kitchen, which accelerates the recycling process.
Transport
Sage VIP has gone the extra mile to encourage employees to utilise environmentally friendly transport alternatives. Prime parking bays have been reserved for employees who carpool as well as motorcycles. Menlyn Maine boasts its own cyclist sidewalk, offering convenient bike racks where bicycles can be stored, in addition to change rooms with showers and lockers that cyclists may use. Gautrain and taxi bus stops are also conveniently close to the Sage VIP building to encourage the use of public transport.
Volatile organic compounds
All the paint, adhesives, sealants and carpets used in the Sage VIP building comply with Green Star South Africa's standards. It effectively eliminates the eye, nose and skin irritation that gases and vapours from new buildings may cause. The carpets are also 100% recyclable and extremely hard-wearing.
Water efficiency
Rain water is captured on the roof and stored in massive 100 000-litre storage tanks in the basement. It is used for general water usage such as flushing toilets and irrigating the gardens and roof garden. Water flow is established by means of the Earth's gravity. Hot water is heated on the roof by means of insulated tanks in addition to being instantly accessible due to an insulated closed loop circulation system. The irrigation system's water is also captured and circulated back into the tank, with all efforts saving a massive 4.5 million litres of water a year.
Building material
The concrete used inside of Sage VIP's office is much stronger while using 30% less cement that is combined with fly ash and GGBS (waste products from electricity production and steel furnaces). The steel used in the building is 95% recycled, which significantly reduces the impact on the environment. All timber used in the building comes from a certified forest that promotes responsible forest management. The use of any ozone-depleting gases has been minimised, while the use of PVC has been reduced by 60%.
Air conditioning and heating
The air conditioning unit is using a refrigerant that has a zero ozone depleting potential. Each area is monitored with sensors, which has automated the control of the environment. Heating is also gathered from the atmosphere on the roof and the heat from the hot water pipes.
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