The green movement in the built environment is spreading like wildfire and in September alone the Green Building Council of South Africa (GBCSA) certified three new green buildings in SA under the Green Star SA rating system.
This brings the total number of Green Star SA ratings in SA to nine, with two of these receiving office design and office as built ratings. August was also a red letter month, with the awarding of the first ever five star rating in South Africa a significant achievement.
The three latest buildings to get Green Star SA ratings are Aurecon’s Tshwane offices in the Lynnwood Bridge Office Park with a four star Green Star SA – Office Design v1 rating; 24 Richefond Circle, in the Ridgeside Office Park in Umhlanga with a four star Green Star SA – Office As Built v1 rating and the Nedbank Menlyn Maine Falcon Building in Tshwane with a four star Green Star SA – Office Design v1 rating.
This is the second Green Star rating for 24 Richefonde Circle, which also got a four star design rating late last year. This is also the second Aurecon office to get a green rating, with the firm’s Cape Town offices at Century City, developed by the Rabie Property Group, having received the first ever five star rating in SA. The Nedbank Falcon Building in Tshwane is also the third Nedbank building in SA to get a green rating.
“These innovative buildings set the standard for commercial green buildings and there are many more in the pipeline which have submitted applications for certification under the Green Star SA system,” says Brian Wilkinson, chief executive of the GBCSA.
“A year ago the GBCSA had issued only one official Green Star SA rating, and now there are nine. The message is clear: SA has reached the stage where it has become a necessity to develop green commercial buildings and not merely a nicety. It’s a case of go green or go home,” says Wilkinson.
The other developments rated through the Green Star SA Rating Tools are Nedbank Ridgeside Office Development in Umhlanga Rocks (four star Green Star SA – Office Design v1); Villa Mall in Pretoria (four star Green Star SA – Retail Centre Design v1); Nedbank Phase II in Johannesburg (four star Green Star SA – Office Design v1 and four star Green Star SA – Office As Built v1); and Aurecon’s Century City Office in Cape Town (five star Green Star SA – Office Design v1).
“It is a significant task for developers to put together a submission – something not done lightly – and the fact that we are seeing such an increase in certified buildings as well as so many submissions coming in, shows that the local property industry is embracing global best practices in green building and following international trends,” says Wilkinson.
For more information about Green Star SA, certification and professional accreditation, and the GBCSA’s upcoming convention and exhibition in October visit www.gbcsa.org.za or email info@gbcsa.org.za.
