The fit-out forms part of Takeda’s broader environmental strategy, including its Climate Action Program, which targets net-zero GHG emissions for operations by 2035, and net-zero across its full value chain by 2040. The organisation’s Sustainability by Design initiative has also been applied throughout the workplace, aiming to reduce the environmental footprint during construction and operations.

Resource Efficiency Embedded in Daily Use

The office fit-out is fully integrated with the base building, enabling it to benefit from energy- and water-efficient systems already in place. Water-efficient fittings limit usage, and environmentally conscious materials – many carrying third-party eco-certifications – were selected to ensure a healthy and sustainable interior. Most appliances and equipment are energy efficient, rated under the Energy Star® programme or the European Energy Labelling scheme.

Energy conservation continues into daily operations. The office uses sub-metering to track consumption from major energy systems and encourage behavioural change among occupants. Lighting systems are designed for efficiency, avoiding over-illumination, while the choice of electrical equipment helps minimise energy draw. The base building supplies hot water through a high-efficiency heat pump system.

Water-saving measures are comprehensive and intelligent. Automated systems monitor consumption and detect leaks across all major uses. Potable water use for interior planting is minimised through careful species selection and efficient irrigation.

Operational waste is managed by tenants, with guidance from building management, and waste tracking systems support improved landfill diversion over time. Dedicated recycling and general waste bins, as well as a sorting area, are conveniently located near the lift core to streamline waste management.

Indoor Air Quality and Wellbeing

Indoor environmental quality has been prioritised. High-efficiency air filters and low-emitting materials – such as low-VOC paints, flooring, adhesives, and sealants – help to ensure a healthy environment. 95% of air circulated through the office is fresh outside air, while pollutant sources like printers and photocopiers are isolated to maintain air purity. Glare control is achieved through baffles, diffusers, and louvres, ensuring well-lit yet visually comfortable spaces.

Biophilic design elements further enhance the interior. All plants were selected for their compatibility with indoor environments and their ability to improve air quality, contributing to a calm and welcoming atmosphere.

Elri Syfert, Sustainable Building Consultant at Solid Green, says:

This project demonstrates Takeda’s commitment to responsible building operations and resource efficiency. It’s a space that embodies the Takeda brand and mission while enhancing the health and comfort of its people.

Project Team

Owner: Takeda
Accredited Professional: Solid Green Consulting
Architect: Tétris Design x Build
Electrical Engineer: MD Electrical
Mechanical Engineer: Midrand Air Services
Quantity Surveyors: JLL
Sustainable Design Review: Solid Green Consulting
Sustainable Building Consultant: Solid Green Consulting
Main Contractor: Tétris Design x Build
Project Manager: Tétris Design x Build
Interior Designer: Tétris Design x Build
Waste Contractor: WastePlan
Landscape Management Company: Bidvest Execuflora
Electrical Contractor: MD Electrical
Recycling Contractor: WastePlan
Construction / Fit-Out Contractor: Tétris Design x Build

The post Takeda Pharmaceuticals Achieves 4-Star Interiors Certification appeared first on Solid Green Consulting.

Agile space planning

Looking at the space planning layout, workstations are placed all along the edges – against walls or adjacent to the glass facades – allowing for visual connections with the garden and nature outside. This frees up the central ‘in-between’ space, allowing for more collaborative type seating to be placed between the workstations, resulting in a change in space and scenery for other tasks and activities.

We positioned a trellis for deciduous plants to grow up the east façade and this serves multiple purposes, providing much needed shade in summer, reducing glare and bringing with it dynamic and diffuse light – an important biophilic pattern which helps to reduce stress. The tree-patterned wallpapered wall at the back and the low ceiling help to create a feeling of refuge and focussed attention, and a bench and seating area were proposed to create a space where one can safely relax and retreat.

The flexible meeting rooms (semi-open or closed) and solo work areas on the west were kept, allowing for alternative spaces for those who may have meetings all day long. An additional space of refuge is proposed on the northern facade, an agile furniture design where a workstation pod is protected with a closed back (to the office) and a direct uninterrupted view of the garden on the open side, providing just enough space for solitude or one other person for company. An additional layer of protection for the back could be offered through a low storage unit, with the incorporation of a water feature. This would provide everyone in the office with an additional mechanism to aid in stress reduction, improve cognitive functions and generally enhance mood and positive emotional responses.

Garden renewal

During the December holidays, the garden flourished and became a little overgrown. We embarked on a project to relook at the planting and relocated some of the plants. We have a thriving passion fruit and even some grape vines. We are now growing more passion fruit and grape vines on the trellis on the east façade, and hope to eventually launch a Solid Green Sauvignon Blanc!

The office and garden are now truly a refuge within the busy urban context, a place for focussed work but also for relaxation, reflection and, of course, recreation when the time is right. Our beautiful, bright office now really reflects our ethos and commitment to a regenerative way of working in the built environment.

The post Our Office: Chapter 11 – Embracing regeneration appeared first on Solid Green Consulting.

Alex Varughese, Modelling and Simulations Consultant at Solid Green explains that a 60kWp photovoltaic solar array will supply energy to all the building’s facilities, actively reduce peak electrical demand, and produce 83.28MWh annually. When modelled during the project’s design stages, the building showed a 108% improvement over a Green Star baseline building, with energy usage anticipated to be 18kWh/m²/year. This will significantly contribute to the Net Zero Carbon rating, together with features such as efficient lighting, individual switching for all enclosed spaces, and natural ventilation for over 90% of the spaces.

Nomamfengu Mbele, Sustainable Building Consultant at Solid Green, adds that ample natural light without glare was achieved using large overhangs and clerestory windows. Together with views to the exterior for 60% of the Occupied Area, this offers a strong sense of seasonal and diurnal cycles. A high level of thermal comfort was also ensured by addressing the internal operative temperatures through modelling and ensuring they are within the ASHRAE Standard 55-2004 Acceptability Limits for at least 98% of occupied hours.

To assist with gathering key information vital to managing building systems and to assessing opportunities for resource savings, sub-metering of major energy and water consuming systems is in place. Water efficient fittings and a grey water system installed to reuse water used in the ablutions for irrigation purposes, go a long way to reducing the lifestyle centre’s water consumption.

Balwin Properties has exceeded the Green Star credits required for this certification by implementing several innovation measures. Five members of the design team and four members of Balwin’s contractor team completed the GBCSA’s New Buildings online course. In addition, Indoor Air Quality monitors will be installed which are linked to the Solid Insight platform to measure and communicate the air quality in each space.

Other innovations include implementing biophilic design to prioritise the human-nature connection and to create a mood of rest and wellbeing through the use of colour, light and texture. And over 8% of the contract value was made up of materials with high recycled content such as reused tyres and rubber in the flooring materials (which exceeds the Green Star benchmark of 1%). Circuit level metering was also used to support the Net Zero target – so that each light and power socket on each space is monitored in order for the facilities management team to intervene accurately whenever there is an unusual trend in energy consumption.

A project specific Environmental Management Plan was developed and implemented throughout the duration of construction to minimise the environmental impact associated with building activities, and a project specific Waste Management Plan was developed and implemented to minimise the contribution of waste going to landfill. The lifestyle centre also promotes the use of alternative fuel vehicles, motorbikes and bicycles with designated parking spaces near building entrances for occupants with zero to low carbon emitting modes of transport.

In addition to the Lifestyle Centre certifications, Ballito Hills estate has 1320 residential units that have received preliminary EDGE (Excellence in Design for Greater Efficiencies) certification, by achieving 20% savings in the Energy, Water and Materials categories.

Ballito Hills Lifestyle Centre has implemented sustainable design and building service initiatives which can be recognized as world leadership. By setting ambitious targets with these key certifications, the Estate has demonstrated both vision and commitment towards more sustainable construction practices and operations.

Project Team

The post Ballito Hills Lifestyle Centre certifications appeared first on Solid Green Consulting.

Fine-tuning the details of the CLT structure and the steel supports and brackets turned into a very involved and complicated process as we kept finding new aspects of the old building that we had to work around. However, we have now placed the orders for the timber beams, CLT slab, steel supports, and performance glazing facade. The wet works on site are proceeding well, so everything should be ready for when all the other elements arrive.

Design concepts have been underway with regards to the layout, look and feel of the new office interior. We have taken the information from our biophilia workshop and how we want to use the new offices spaces, to inform how we use the furniture we already have from the old office, and to decide what we want to add. The ideal would be to reuse as much as possible from the old office with some clever design solutions that will make the space functional, adaptable and ergonomically efficient. Natural lighting, glare, acoustics and multiple workspace options – including sit desks, standing desks and couches – have been identified as the main interior design challenges that we want to address.

In terms of waste management, we have been working with our contractor to ensure that we don’t have materials going to a landfill. All the old fittings – doors, windows, roof tiles, HVAC etc – that had some value have been collected by salvagers so they can be used on other sites. A special effort was also made to capture the gasses from the old HVAC units and not just let them be released into the atmosphere as they are powerful greenhouse gasses. They were removed by the HVAC contractor to be reused elsewhere.

Most of the original brickwork is being saved and cleaned so we can reuse it onsite. The old Oregon pine roof timbers will also be cleaned up, inspected and reused. The rubble from the section of the old building that needed to be removed was a little trickier. Most of the smaller waste haulers do not really offer a recycling service and the larger contractors were not interested in our little project. We eventually found a company that would take the rubble and crush it to be used as aggregate in new bricks as long as we delivered the material to them. We also found a few other construction sites near us that needed fill material and where happy to take the rubble off our hands. One waste skip was mistakenly taken to be used as a fill stabilisation at a landfill in the beginning of the process, as the contractor thought that it was an acceptable use. Ironically, the site supervisor, was quite taken with the idea of reusing or recycling materials and has taken to the process wholeheartedly!

We are looking forward to moving into our new home soon. Watch this space for more updates!

The post Our New Office: Chapter 3 appeared first on Solid Green Consulting.

According to ‘The Practice of Biophilic Design’ (Stephen R. Kellert, Elizabeth F. Calabrese):

Biophilic design is about creating good habitat for people as biological organisms in the built environment. Like all species, humans evolved in adaptive response to natural rather than artificial forces, and these adaptations became embedded in our species biology over evolutionary time. Biophilic design seeks to satisfy these inherent adaptations to nature in the modern built environment and, in doing so, enhance people’s physical and mental health and fitness.

This can be achieved through three kinds of experience of nature – the direct experience of nature (e,g natural light and air, plants, fountains); the indirect experience of nature (images, natural materials and geometries); and the experience of space and place (mobility, wayfinding, prospect and refuge).

“People naturally respond better to spaces that integrate biophilia features in their design,” explains Marloes Reinink.

These design qualities are experienced through sight, sound, touch, smell, taste, and movement. We believe that these multisensory encounters with nature, which we have also incorporated as much as possible into our existing office, not only contribute towards health and wellbeing, but also significantly improve productivity and cognitive performance.

And so, as part of our intention to pursue an ILFI CORE Certification, we held a Biophilia workshop with all people involved in the design process of the new office, and all our staff. We explained the intention of the workshop and we did a series of exercises to get the creative juices flowing. This included brainstorming the qualities that we would like our new home to embody, and the experience that we would like to enjoy in our new space.

The elements that we focussed on are fundamental to human health and wellbeing, as well as comfort and productivity. They also stimulate our senses and creativity and, very importantly, nourish our souls. They include:

• Natural light and air;
• Plants and animals;
• Ecosystems;
• Fire;
• Images of nature;
• Natural materials, geometries and colours;
• Naturalistic shapes and forms; Information richness;
• Biomimicry;
• the ideas of Prospect and Refuge;
• the consideration of Transitional Spaces;
• clear Mobility and Wayfinding;
• and Cultural and Ecological attachment to place.

In October we also received SDP approval, and we are planning to start work in the New Year. As part of our ‘reduce, reuse, recycle’ ethos, we have also managed to source reclaimed parquet flooring that we will use in the new office to avoid using virgin material. We are also exploring a new timber technology for the structure of our office, called CLT or Cross Laminated Timber. This will have a significant lower embodied energy than a standard concrete slab and as such would be more sustainable. It will also contribute to our Biophilia Goals.

Watch this space for more updates on our new space!

The post Our New Office: Chapter 2 appeared first on Solid Green Consulting.

Click this picture of the Biophilic map to visit the interactive version.

Solid Green’s office in Rosebank (see images above), Johannesburg, was awarded a prestigious LEED Platinum certification for Commercial interiors and the first 6-Star Green Star SA Interiors v1 certification in 2016; and won the Highest Rated Building category at the Green Star SA Leadership Awards in July of the same year.

The office refurbishment was primarily aimed at improving the indoor environmental quality for employees, which was achieved by implementing both Green Star SA and LEED interior principles. According to Solid Green’s founder and director, Marloes Reinink:

We wanted to create a space which is energy and water efficient, but more importantly, a space where our staff can thrive and enjoy what they are doing. Our offices are filled with natural daylight and natural ventilation, and incorporate elements of biophilic design, all critical elements to a healthy indoor environment.

The post Solid Green’s Offices on the Biophilic Map appeared first on Solid Green Consulting.