A boutique office building situated in the heart of Bryanston, Block C was specifically designed for and by Boogertman + Partners as its new Johannesburg headquarters. As tenant, the practice requested a base build rating and Solid Green will also be submitting documentation for a Green Star SA Interiors rating during the second half of 2018.

Situated within walking distance of both the Gautrain and the Metro bus stops, the development is close to the Post House Centre, giving easy access to amenities such as retail outlets and restaurants. The building boasts various spaces to work privately and collaboratively, and to interact socially; and it facilitates employee wellness by incorporating spaces such as a canteen for daily meals and crèche for young families.

Green building features were incorporated from the outset, to demonstrate commitment to sustainability, enable employee wellbeing, and reduce resource consumption. Energy strategies were implemented to reduce the overall energy consumption of the building, thus reducing energy expenses as well as greenhouse gas emissions associated with energy generation from fossil fuels.

Lighting levels were designed to be 80% less than the prescribed standard, while still being above the Occupational Health and Safety (OH&S) requirements so that sufficient lighting is provided for specific tasks without wasting electricity. All individual or enclosed spaces are less than 100sqm in size, and are individually switched. This approach, together with light intensity and motion detector sensors used throughout the building, offers greater flexibility for light switching, making it easy to light only occupied areas.

All office lighting, both direct and indirect, is equipped with electronic programmable lighting ballasts, which allow the building management team to address each ballast individually. All ballasts are high frequency luminaires, eliminating the chance of discomfort to building users caused by the flicker of low frequency lamps.

The behaviour of occupants is critical to reducing the building’s overall consumption, and gathering information is key to understanding and managing building systems, and to assessing opportunities for water and energy savings. Accordingly, sub-metering of lighting, power and all substantive energy use items greater than 100kVA is provided, along with an effective mechanism for monitoring energy consumption. An integrated BMS system records and logs all energy and water usage within the building, and this data can be displayed in real time.

Management of water consumption was also a key consideration. The HVAC system is a cooled air system, which uses minimal water. Sanitary fittings were installed that reduce predicted potable water consumption by building occupants. Water meters and an automated monitoring mechanism are in place to effectively monitor and manage consumption. These measures have resulted in the building’s outflow from occupant usage being reduced by 50% against an average practice benchmark.

In accordance with the base build certification requirements, a waste recycling storage area was provided to encourage recycling of resources used within the building to reduce waste going to landfill – for paper and cardboard; plastic, glass and cans; metals; and general waste.

Jesse Hamman, Sustainable Building Consultant at Solid Green and the Green Star accredited professional on the project, says:

It was a pleasure to work with such an experienced project team. The developer sought not only to provide the tenant with lower utility costs, but tenant and occupant wellbeing was also of top priority – a philosophy that is being carried through to the project’s interior fitout.