The Cassini Tower, comprising ground to fifteenth floor level with penthouse levels on floors fourteen and fifteen, recently achieved its 4-Star Green Star SA MUR (Multi Unit Residential) v1 design certification. The building has a total of 182 dwellings covering a total dwelling rentable area of 12,187m².

Jean Paul van Huffel, Project Manager at Tricolt, comments:

As property developers, we recognise that the construction sector has a harsh impact on the environment, and we believe that it is our responsibility to build more sustainably. We are extremely proud of this Green Star certification, which is in keeping with the ethos of the development as a whole.

Strategically located close to the Mall of Africa, Cassini enjoys excellent connectivity to local utilities and existing public transit infrastructure. Nearby amenities include a pharmacy, laundromat, restaurant, retail establishments, cinema, hospital, office spaces, and a school. This contributes significantly to mitigating emissions stemming from private vehicular transportation. Moreover, open active play zones, outdoor exercise stations, an outdoor swimming pool and contemplative seating serve as a catalyst for encouraging a healthy lifestyle among residents.

Annelidé Sherratt, Head of Department: Green Building Certifications at Solid Green, says:

The development contributes to the health of building users by providing active communal facilities such as open play areas, outdoor exercise stations, an outdoor swimming pool and contemplative seating. Walking and cycling is encouraged through proximity to various local amenities, and public transport infrastructure and pedestrian foot paths and crossings are provided throughout the urban context. Interior finishes were selected to minimise the contribution to levels of Volatile Organic Compounds within dwellings and common areas, thus contributing further towards occupant health and wellbeing.

Energy strategies were implemented to reduce the overall energy consumption of the building. These measures directly reduce the cost associated with energy consumption and include occupancy sensors for all individual or enclosed spaces; the provision of hot water by heat pumps that are supported by a hot water storage tank; and the use of energy efficient appliances that are provided to each unit. These will all result in a minimum 75% improvement in energy consumption (kwh/year) over a notional building without green initiatives. Additionally, external lighting was designed to minimise light pollution at night.

Because gathering information is key to understanding and managing building systems as well as to assessing opportunities for resource savings, all major energy and water consuming systems are sub-metered. Additionally, each dwelling unit has been provided with submeters and a web-based dashboard to monitor electricity, gas and domestic hot water energy.

The Cassini project embedded legal and contractual environmental management initiatives within the formal management structures of the development, relating to the regular inspection and maintenance of common property services, environmental performance reports, a waste and recycling management plan, and retrofit and maintenance policy.

In line with this, new construction and refurbishments should aim to achieve a 30% reduction of the quantity of Portland cement used in any concrete, and a 90% recycled content of all the steel by mass on the project. Where new paints, adhesives and sealants and carpets are installed they should meet the Low TVOC (Total Volatile Organic Compound) limits. Additionally, only LED light fittings should be used, reducing materiality through the long lifespan of the technology while ensuring energy efficiency.

Ellipse Cassini epitomises sustainable urban living, aligning with green building principles, energy efficiency and responsible environmental stewardship, setting a noteworthy example for the precinct’s future construction endeavours.

Project Team

Owner Attacq & Tricolt
Accredited Professional Solid Green Consulting
Architect DHK Architects
Electrical Engineer Aftek Consulting Engineers
Fire Engineer Sutherland Engineers / Crossfire
Lift Specialist Kone
Mechanical Engineer Spoormaker & Partners
Quantity Surveyors Tricolt
Structural Engineers Arup
Sustainable Design Review Solid Green Consulting
Sustainable Building Consultant Solid Green Consulting
Wet Services Sutherland Engineers
Main Contractor Barrow
Project Manager Echo Project Managers
Environmental Consultant Seaton Environmental
Landscape Architects Green Inc

The post Ellipse Cassini aligns with Sustainable Urban Living appeared first on Solid Green Consulting.

Photo Credit: Intaprop

“It’s impossible to put a value on a building that brings integrity to its urban landscape,” says Carollyn Mitchell, Director at Intaprop.

The City of Johannesburg has signed the C40 agreement, which is about doing the right thing for the city and its future generations. At Intaprop, we fully support this drive to make the right environmental choices. Oxford Parks is designed to take Green Star into the public realm, and we actively encourage our partners and tenants to lead the way in this respect.

Photo Credit: Intaprop

Martin Lardner Burke, Senior Associate at DHK, elaborates on the building’s architecture:

The design was a direct response to the clear definitive brand standards, site orientation and overall location within the precinct. These three components established the overall form, orientation, and look and feel of the building.

Double volume glazing was constrained to the long south façade and short east and west facades to limit heat loading on the glazing, and performance glass was specified as needed. We specified robust local materials where possible to reduce the overall carbon load of the building and minimise future maintenance requirements.

Annelide Sherratt, Head of Department: Green Building Certifications at Solid Green, adds, “Innovation was an important part of the process. The Innovation credit that the project targeted was based on the WELL Exterior Active Design credit. This required the project to leverage site design and amenities within the immediate vicinity to encourage the building users to engage in physical activity throughout the day.”

Photo Credit: Intaprop

The WELL credit promotes investment in urban infrastructure to support a vibrant community by stipulating walkable surrounds to the building, to prioritise pedestrian movement above motorised transport. The ground floor level is public and freely accessible, with walking paths throughout the site that are not impeded by fences or gates. The design also incorporates outdoor spaces that can be used year-round and that contain seating and biophilic elements. Various artistic installations have been placed strategically at the key access points to the site, at entrances to the building, and internally on public levels.

The hotel also supports occupant and visitor activity by facilitating the use of bicycles with 8 staff bike racks with lockers, 18 visitor bike racks and a staff shower.

Photo Credit: Intaprop

A number of energy, water and environmental initiatives contributed to the certification. An energy model of the building was generated in the design stages of the project, which helped to inform decisions to achieve an energy consumption efficiency of over 60% improvement when compared to a SANS 10400 notional building. Further modelling enabled a high level of thermal comfort by ensuring that the internal operative temperatures are within the ASHRAE Standard 55-2004 Acceptability Limits for at least 98% of occupied hours.

Both the building’s chillers have a heat recovery function that allows the excess rejected heat that occurs during the cooling process to heat up water in a separate system. This pre-heated water is then fed into the hotel’s main domestic hot water system tank, helping to reduce the energy required by the main domestic hot water system. Further energy savings are enabled by occupancy sensors and individual light switches that are provided for all individual spaces or enclosed spaces.

Photo Credit: Intaprop

A smart irrigation system uses soil moisture sensors that provide highly accurate readings of soil moisture under all conditions of temperature and soil chemistry. This, together with water efficient fittings that limit occupant water usage, allow water savings of approximately 43% against a notional building reference case.

To better understand and manage consumption and assess opportunities for energy savings, all major energy and water consuming systems are sub-metered.

Photo Credit: Intaprop

A project-specific Environmental Management Plan established guidelines for the construction process to minimise the environmental impact associated with construction activities; and a project-specific Waste Management Plan helped to minimise the contribution of waste going to landfill. The project also aims to recycle or reuse 60% of the total waste from the hotel, and a waste recycling storage area with 30 bins has been provided to encourage building users to minimise waste going landfill sites.

In proactively engaging with the public realm and implementing forward-thinking sustainability initiatives, the Oxford Parks Red Radisson has made a significant contribution to the precinct’s overall vision of attaining a high quality, vibrant environment for its users.

*The Solid Green team is deeply saddened by the loss of project architect Thapelo Letsoalo from DHK Architects, during the process of completing the project. The building is testament to his great design talents and diligent work. We extend our sincere condolences to his family, friends and colleagues.

Photo Credit: Intaprop

Project Team

Developer: Intaprop
Accredited Professional: Solid Green Consulting
Architect: DHK Architects
Electrical Engineer: RWP Taemane Consulting
Fire Engineer: WSP
Lift Sub-contractor: Schindler
Mechanical Engineer: Adaptive Resource Engineers
Quantity Surveyors: Gro2 Consulting
Structural/ Civil Engineers: Pure Consulting
Sustainable Design Review: Solid Green Consulting
Sustainable Building Consultant: Solid Green Consulting
Wet Services: Izazi Consulting Engineers
Main Contractor: Concor
Project Manager: Morta Project Management
Landscape Consultant: Insite Group

The post Oxford Parks Red Radisson excels with a 5-Star Custom Hotel Certification appeared first on Solid Green Consulting.