The brief for the projects was to create a design that meets the highest sustainability requirement available – the Living Building Challenge. Anthony had heard of the Living Building Challenge through his studies where he was finishing his Master’s in Architecture and Master of Science in the Built Environment at Arizona State University.

Render credit A-I-R Inc

A-I-R Inc , led by principal Darren Petrucci, designed the buildings . A-I-R is an architecture and urban design firm focussed on translating advanced research methods and sustainable practices into elegant design solutions. They researched the environmental context of the site and designed a unique solution, taking into account the client’s specific requirements as well as the environmental conditions.

In the typically single-family neighbourhood of Oranjezicht, the brief for these two projects call for double-dwellings. The sites are only 500 meters apart and, while the programs and structural systems for both projects are identical, the results on each site are very different. The Rugby Road site is long and narrow, and drops nearly 9 meters from the south to the north, which necessitated a stepped building approach down the slope of the site. The site on Glencoe Road is much more level, with ample room to stretch the building in an east-west direction. The form of each dwelling is designed to capture as much value from their respective sites as possible while optimizing the performance of the building both functionally and aesthetically. Both buildings prioritize views toward Table Mountain to the south and Cape Town’s CBD to the north, while at the same time limiting views between neighbouring houses for privacy.

The program for both projects consisted of a duplex building – one building consisting of two apartments. Each unit in the in the duplex contains the following:

• three bedrooms (one master bedroom and two double bedrooms)
• garage for two cars with pedestrian entrance
• open plan kitchen
• living room
• laundry room
• entertainment room
• refuse room
• mechanical room
• outdoor garden with entertainment area
• swimming pool with deck

At the start, the project the team did an investigation of the site and surrounds – the Oranjezicht neighbourhood in Cape Town. The history of Oranjezicht goes back to 1708 when Nicolaus Laubscher bought the property on the slopes of Table Mountain. He called his land Oranjezicht, because of the view (Dutch: Zicht) of the orange (Dutch: Oranje) bastion of the Castle of Good Hope. Currently, it is a vibrant up-market neighbourhood, with some interesting historical features. It is home to the Molteno Dam, which was constructed in response to severe water restrictions in 1860s, as well as the Oranjezicht City Farm (OZCF), which is within walking distance of the two projects. OZCF, built on an old bowling green, has grown into one of the most successful city farms in South Africa. The non-profit project celebrates local food, culture and community through urban farming in Cape Town. It has become a hugely popular weekly market at the V&A Waterfront.

Render credit A-I-R Inc

The project kicked off in 2017. Some major delays held up the process – specifically zoning approval followed by the COVID pandemic. In August 2021, Gemini 4 was ready to start construction. Completion is planned for early 2023. The project will then go into its performance phase of 12 months, after which we can submit the project for the Living Building Challenge certification (Petal certification).

Keep an eye on this space for more updates on these exciting projects!

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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.

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The Living Building Challenge Standard is possibly the most rigorous green building design framework in the world.

When these principles are applied to a building, the building is required to operate perfectly within the climate where it is located; to harvest sufficient rainwater to provide for the needs of its occupants; and to collect sufficient energy from solar panels and other renewable energy systems to provide the building with all its energy needs. It is also required to provide a healthy indoor environment by using no harmful chemicals in the manufacture of the building materials and furniture, while being beautiful and acting as an inspiration to others.

The Hitchcock Centre for the Environment in Massachusetts is a small 850sqm building functioning as an environmental education centre with a beautiful wooden structure, exposed services and transparent rainwater tanks so children can see the rainwater tank filling up during a storm.

The R.W. Kern Center on the Hampshire College campus in Massachusetts is a 2-storey, 1500sqm building that generates 105% of its energy on site and reduces water consumption by 95%.

The Rocky Mountain Institute Innovation Center in Basalt, Colorado, holds LEED Platinum, International Living Futures Institute Zero Energy, PHIUS+ Source Net Zero, Architecture 2030 Challenge, and International Living Futures Institute Petal Certifications.

Is LBC a reality for South Africa?

As a seasoned green building practitioner, Marloes Reinink of Solid Green Consulting believes that the LBC can, and should, be implemented in local projects. She says, “We are so excited to be working on two residential projects in Cape Town that are registered to be Full Living Buildings under the Challenge.”

This means that the projects are aiming to achieve:

• Net Positive Energy: 105% of all energy used must be generated on site;
• Net Zero Water: water consumption cannot be more than what is harvested from rain, sourced onsite, and recycled from grey/black sources;
• The buildings must be completely pollutant free: all materials will comply with a red list of 23 chemicals that cannot be used;
• Net Zero Waste: almost all waste generated during construction and operations will have to be recycled;
• Beauty & Inspiration: the buildings are being designed to be an inspiration and showcase truly regenerative architecture in South Africa.

Designed by US-based architectural firm, A-I-R Inc, construction on the residential developments is planned to start in 2019, with Living Building certification targeted for 2021.

While the designs are still in their early stages, Darren Petrucci of A-I-R Inc, explains that the brief called for densification of two sites, each accommodating a two-family duplex in place of a single-family house. “Our strategy is to locate the new structure in such a way that both homes can benefit from the solar orientation and view, and have equal access to the landscape. The intention is for the homes to share infrastructure such as the water collection system and an elevator for universal access; and each dwelling has the potential to house at least 100 solar panels.

The architectural form and roof profiles are derived from the maximum benefits that can be obtained through correct solar orientation and light shading, and to optimize the roof areas for rainwater collection. As the buildings are tall and cascade up the mountain, we are manipulating natural air flow to cool the houses – stairwells become vertical vents to passively pull air up to the upper floors via thermal suction. Working with Solid Green allows us to test decisions as we move through the design process to optimise the liveability and performance of the buildings.

A series of gardens is being designed to allow waste water from the buildings to be purified using the landscape as a closed-loop filtration system that concludes in an aquifer from which potable water is sourced. Additional potable water is sourced from a borehole. Rainwater collected from the roofs will be used for toilet flushing and the minimal irrigation required. Composting toilets and a composting system are being incorporated to minimize the sewage and deal with the remaining black water treatment.

Private client, Francesco Svelto, comments:

I have been in the building industry my entire life as a civil engineer and builder. Ecological architecture is a new challenge for me, and this process has been an extremely valuable experience. Our intention is for the buildings to operate as independently as possible, and the measures taken to meet Living Building Challenge criteria all support that vision.

Anthony Svelto, the client’s son and architect with A-I-R Inc, adds

We have taken a futureproofing approach in response to the projects’ context and the water crisis in Cape Town. It makes absolute sense to design resilient buildings both in terms of water and energy consumption. The decisions and investments that we make now will benefit both the liveability and performance of the buildings in decades to come.

Sharing the Message

In 2016, Reinink signed up to become South Africa’s first ambassador for the Living Building Challenge. She says:

The role of an ambassador is to the spread the word about the Challenge in your country. This work keeps me motivated and realistic that there is still a long way to go in terms of greening the built environment.

In the last two years, I have presented at a number of architectural firms, at the Designer, Architect, Specifier (DAS) Conference, and through GreenED, an online learning platform for built environment professionals. It is really motivating to experience the positive feedback from attendees. We all want to make a difference and this standard pushes the boundaries towards being truly restorative.

Biophilic design, an emerging design discipline that connects people and nature, is an important part of the Living Building Challenge.

To assist with spreading the message and sharing knowledge around the restorative principles of the Living Building Challenge, Reinink has started a Collaborative in South Africa. The intention is also to identify regulatory barriers to implementing a Living Building Challenge project, and to lobby Government to bring about policy change. As green design becomes the new business-as-usual, this move effectively takes sustainability in the built environment to the next level.

Solid Green’s office, which holds both a 6-Star Green Star SA Interiors v1 As-built rating and a LEED Platinum v3 Interiors rating, takes waste management seriously with separating and recycling bins for paper, cardboard, metal, glass, plastic, e-waste and general waste.

For more information, please visit www.living-future.org, or email lbc.collaborative.rsa@gmail.com or marloes@solidgreen.co.za.

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This session evaluated whether it is more environmentally friendly to build new, highly efficient buildings or to re-use and convert older buildings. Case studies where presented comparing the life cycle assessment (LCA) of a new college administration building to Living Building Challenge standards and a factory complex converted to a museum for modern art. The discussion revealed that it depends greatly on the type of building and its future uses. For instance, it is always more worthwhile to convert old industrial buildings for other uses as demolishing them takes too much energy. Office and residences vary greatly depending on their location and construction.

Resources: The Greenest Building Study – by Quantis

Case Study: Rocky Mountain Institute – Lessons Learned

The Rocky Mountain Institute Innovation Center in Basalt, Colorado, holds LEED Platinum, International Living Futures Institute Zero Energy, PHIUS+ Source Net Zero, Architecture 2030 Challenge, and International Living Futures Institute Petal Certifications.

Rocky Mountain Institute Innovation Center

The building has been complete for a year and a check was carried out to determine how the building actually performed compared to the modelled predicted performance. It was found that the building out-performed the model in some cases and did not in others. The main issue was that the model did not take the low infiltration rates into account in winter conditions and overestimated the usage of the heating system. This discovery led to an update of the design software so that the model now more closely replicates the actual performance of the building; and the more accurate software can now be used on future buildings.

Another challenge was getting the staff used to the new more open office layout. Fortunately, this had been considered in the design and many quite refuge spaces are located around the building, which also allow for flexibility in the working environment from a thermal, acoustic and physical comfort point of view.

The Innovation Center is the highest-performing building in the coldest climate zone in the U.S., producing more clean energy than it uses on an annual basis plus enough to power six electric vehicles. It is one of only 200 net-zero commercial buildings in the U.S. as of 2016, and provides a leading example of buildings that can solve the climate crisis. The building achieved this through a heavily integrated design process with the whole professional team, contractor and client; clever passive design; and on-site PV generation.

Building Tour Green Day Out – Living Building Challenge

Of particular interest to the Solid Green team was a visit to three buildings designed to meet the Living Building Challenge. The Kern Centre, a 2-storey 1500sqm College building, generates 105% of its energy on site and reduces water consumption by 95%. The building is a beautiful space and displays all green initiatives on a touch screen at the central entrance, including live metering of the water and energy consumption. The building has composting toilets and uses a composting system for its sewer. Rainwater is harvested, cleaned and reused.

The Kern Centre

Another Highlight was the Hitchcock Centre for the Environment. This small 850sqm building functions as an environmental education centre. It is registered under the Living Building Challenge but has not been in operation for 12 months yet. Features include a beautiful wooden structure, exposed services and transparent rainwater tanks so children can see the rainwater tank filling up during a storm. The building also has a composting toilet and a composting system in the basement.

Hitchcock Centre for the Environment

As Solid Green is embarking on two Living Building Challenge projects in Cape Town, this was a particularly inspiring day – from chatting to the consultants working on these projects to knowing that it is possible to create a regenerative building! If you would like to know more about the Living Building Challenge, please contact Marloes Reinink at marloes@solidgreen.co.za. As an ambassador for the Living Building Challenge in South Africa, Marloes can present an “Introduction to the Living Building Challenge” at your offices.

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