The green fitouts of the two branches form part of Nedbank’s Project Imagine initiative. The vision of Project Imagine is to reimagine the future of banking for both Nedbank and its customers. It aims to bring a unified experience to the banking environment that is distinctive, effective, efficient, and sustainable.

Project Imagine is about more than a new image for the bank and extends to a branch environment that aligns with green building principles and smart sustainable practices. The Green Star Interiors tool rewards high-performance tenant spaces that are healthy, productive places to work, are less costly to operate and maintain, and have a reduced environmental footprint – the perfect tool to align with Nedbank’s vision.

Elri Syfert, Accredited Professional on the project from Solid Green, says:

We’re extremely proud of these projects which prove that small details, like adding plants to indoor spaces, can make big differences. It’s wonderful to see corporates committing to the wellbeing of occupants with a focus on indoor air quality. This goes a long way to encouraging healthy green spaces where people can thrive.

Energy Strategies

Nedbank’s two new branches have adopted energy-efficient strategies designed to reduce consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. Key initiatives include:

• Sub-Metering: Major energy-consuming systems are equipped with sub-metering capabilities for precise monitoring.
• Energy Modelling: Comparing the energy model of the new design with a conventional building showed improvements in energy efficiency.
• Flexible & Efficient Lighting: Offices use natural light where possible, with energy-efficient LED fittings and occupancy sensors.
• Energy-Efficient Appliances & Equipment: Installed appliances come with recognised energy efficiency ratings.
• Practical Energy Saving Strategies: Employees are encouraged to adopt behaviours like turning off unused lights and dressing appropriately for the outdoor weather to reduce heating and cooling requirements.

Indoor Air Quality and Comfort as a Priority

To enhance the wellbeing of occupants, Nedbank has prioritised the quality of the indoor environment which includes air quality. Measures include:

• Highly Energy-Efficient HVAC System: The VRF system provides fresh air and adjustable temperature controls.
• Thermal Comfort: Internal operative temperatures stay within ASHRAE Standard 55-2004 limits for at least 98% of occupied hours.
• Comfort Lighting: Adequate general illuminance with glare control and high-frequency ballasts to avoid flicker.
• Ozone-Friendly Systems: Selected gaseous and fire suppression systems, as well as thermal insulants, have zero Ozone Depleting Potential (ODP).
• Indoor Air Quality: Minimisation of indoor Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) to reduce indoor pollutants. High-efficiency air filters trap ozone, dust and other particles from being brought in from outside the building.
• Eco Labels: All furniture, assemblies, and floor coverings have third party eco labels and certificates, reducing their environmental impact.

Bringing the Outside In

Carefully chosen indoor plants help to filter the indoor air and maintain good quality air.

• Research conducted by Sydney University of Technology shows that plants help to reduce VOCs between 50-75% in a 24-hour period.
• Plant-filled rooms contain 50-60% fewer airborne moulds and bacteria, and health complaints are reduced by 30%.
• Further research shows that in work environments that have indoor plants, absenteeism is reduced by 15-30% and productivity in increased by 12-20%.
• The wellbeing of staff, just by having plants around them, is increased by a massive 84%.

A Horticultural Maintenance Plan provides guidelines on watering, checking of soil, cleaning, fertilising, and disease prevention. A technician comes to site every two weeks to check on the plants to ensure they are happy and healthy.

Water Efficiency Strategies

Strategies to prioritise water efficiency include:

• Point-of-Use Fittings: Water-efficient fittings on taps limit water usage.
• Reduced Water Heating: No hot water is provided in the ablutions. Hot water to kitchenettes is supplied by undercounter geysers, heated to a maximum temperature of 60°C.
• Waterwise Landscaping: Plants are carefully chosen to reduce the need for irrigation.

Transport Facilities

Consideration of sustainable transport options was an important aspect of the projects.

Both branches are located within a 1-kilometre walking distance of taxi stops and Gautrain bus stops, which have a frequency of 10-15 minutes or less during peak times. The branches  encourage reduction of private car usage by having no parking for staff. High-tech video conferencing solutions minimise the need to travel locally and internationally.

Small Steps, Big Impact

At Solid Green, we are dedicated to helping our clients build a greener, healthier future. If you’re committed to creating healthy green spaces for your employees to thrive in, we’d love to speak to you.

The post Reimagining Banking: two Nedbank branches receive Interiors ratings appeared first on Solid Green Consulting.

Initially, Nedbank Namibia’s new head office achieved a 5-star Green Star Office Design certification. As the building was only three points shy of a 6-star rating, the sustainability consultant advised on the additional measures required to realise a 6-star rating. The client gave the go-ahead, and these measures were implemented to achieve the 6-Star Green Star As-built certification.

Marloes Reinink, director at Solid Green Consulting, says that the entire certification process required vision and dedication from both the client and professional team. All professionals and contractors had contractual obligations and targets to implement, track and report on throughout the Green Star processes. Elri Syfert from WCE was the Accredited Professional on the project and assistance was provided by Annelide Sherratt from Solid Green’s side. WCE also assisted Nedbank in procuring an independent commissioning agent to ensure that future maintenance was properly considered during the design process, and that all systems were correctly commissioned before handover.

The Nedbank Head Office Campus in Windhoek, a visually striking sixteen-storey building located at Freedom Plaza on Independence Avenue, is characterised by strong contemporary geometries.

Furthering industry knowledge and capacity

 The 6-star certification is reserved for highly efficient buildings that also address social issues and contribute to the community. Martha Murorua, Managing Director of Nedbank Namibia, mentions that the achievement showcases the quality of Namibian workmanship.

“Our new head office is a symbol of our commitment to supporting the local economy and creating job opportunities for the people of Namibia,” Murorua says.

With 97% of the contract value allocated to Namibian companies, this building showcases the collective positive impact we can have on empowering and supporting local capacity development.

Furthermore, as part of the innovation points achieved on the project, all major contractors, sub-contractors and consultants completed the GBCSA online course for New Buildings. This elevated the understanding, knowledge and capabilities around sustainability within the Namibian market, and set a benchmark for future developments in this respect.

External louvres act as dynamic façade elements and passive shading devices to limit glazing and heat loads.

Landmark sustainability

The visually striking sixteen-storey building, located at Freedom Plaza on Independence Avenue, and covering a total gross floor area of 10,716m², is characterised by strong contemporary geometries. The ground floor accommodates Nedbank’s public entrance and client interface, client service and a coffee shop.

Energy modelling was carried out by Solid Green very early on during the concept design stage. The intention was to identify design measures that would reduce energy consumption. The most significant design changes resulting from this process were:

• changing the East and West façades from solid panels to etched glass, reducing heat load gains by 50%.
• external louvres acting as dynamic façade elements and passive shading devices to limit glazing and heat loads.
• double glazing to the East, West and North façades, which also assists with noise reduction.
• a split between perimeter and internal office heat load zoning.
• blinds on the North façade to allow for better glare control.

The modelling also identified that, by increasing the size of the photovoltaic system on the roof, the reduction in greenhouse gas emissions would be significant enough to permit the building to target a 6-star As-built certification.

For Rowan McNamara, Director at Kerry McNamara Architects and his design team, the process of achieving a 6-star rating has been very rewarding.

The experience has been unsurpassed in expanding our knowledge and commitment to sustainability and green building. A unique and interesting process was the 3D simulation and finetuning of the façade louvres and performance glazing with the team at Solid Green Consulting. This allowed us to achieve excellent external views for the occupants whilst maintaining thermal comfort and energy efficiency. We are very proud to be a part of this sustainable landmark in the Namibian built environment landscape and congratulate all involved in this achievement.

Energy modelling carried out by Solid Green allowed the design team to achieve excellent external views for the building occupants whilst maintaining thermal comfort and energy efficiency.

Innovations and resource savings

Of the 1,600 tons of reinforced steel used for the building structure, 92% consisted of recycled metal to minimise the embodied energy and resource depletion associated with the use of virgin steel. In addition, the use of Portland cement was reduced by an impressive 47%, by substituting fly ash that came from power stations. And 93% of waste generated during construction was recycled.

Peak electrical demand was reduced by 30% due to the installation of the PV system, with an annual production of 262.8MWh. Energy modelling further established that the energy efficient design and the addition of the PV system achieved a 40% energy saving compared to similar buildings. In total, carbon emissions associated with operational energy consumption have been reduced to 27.1 kg CO2/m²/year from 272.6 kg CO2/m²/year – a 90% improvement compared to a conventional building of this type.

Energy efficient initiatives include the installation of 100% LED lighting as well as a lighting control system that allows daylight harvesting – when the light outside is bright, the lights inside will dim, saving electricity and reducing glare in the office space. To further improve occupant wellbeing and productivity, fresh air is supplied at 33% above the minimum required by the SANS building regulations for conventional buildings.

 Submetering of all substative energy and water loads is in place, and a building management system records energy and water consumption for monitoring, reporting and tuning. In addition, energy and water data is displayed as a learning resource in the building reception area to inform users and visitors about resource consumption.

Rain water and airconditioning condensate is collected, treated and stored, together with treated water collected from sinks and showers. Topped up with ground water collected from a sump, this water is then pumped to the roof and used for toilets, irrigation and façade cleaning. In this way, the building uses 20% less water from the municipal supply and 50% less water ends up in the municipal sewer system.

Another exciting feature, and one where Innovation credits were awarded, is the Sun Cycles Innovation. A small shop has been set up in the basement where employees as well as tourists can rent a Sun Cycle e-bike to be used in the Windhoek CBD for short business trips and city tours. Cycling facilities with showers and lockers have also been included to promote sustainable transport. In addition, a green cleaning policy has been implemented to address environmental best practices for cleaning the interior of the building. The building’s waste is also being monitored and reported each year, so that waste reduction targets can be established.

In conclusion

Murorua believes that Nedbank’s commitment to sustainability and positive social impact puts the bank among world-class leaders in building practices, setting an inspiring example of what can be achieved through collaboration. She concludes, “The 6-star rating is testament to our collective dedication and perseverance. Let’s keep pushing forward towards even bigger achievements.”

Project Team

Owner: NedProperties (Pty) Ltd
Sustainability Consultant & Accredited GBCSA Professional: WCE Consulting Engineers / Solid Green Consulting
Project Manager: Emcon Consulting Group
Architect: Kerry McNamara Architects Inc.
Civil & Structural Engineer: WCE Consulting Engineers
Electrical & Mechanical Engineer: Emcon Consulting Group
Quantity Surveyor: Herselman Van Greunen Quantity Surveyors
Independent Commissioning Agent: Ecolution
Main contractor: Namibia Construction (Pty) Ltd

The post Nedbank Head Office Campus leads the way to building excellence in Namibia appeared first on Solid Green Consulting.

As existing buildings represent the bulk of our building infrastructure, their improvement provides by far the biggest greening opportunity on a building level. While greening initiatives can be implemented in a major refurbishment, a bigger impact can be made in greening operations.

Taking a closer look at energy, water and waste processes contributes to more efficient buildings, cost savings and narrowing the environmental footprint. The GBCSA’s Green Star SA Existing Building Performance (EBP) tool covers the same environmental categories dealt with in the Green Star SA New Building Tool but, due to the focus on operations, EBP projects have to recertify every three years in order to keep their rating.

With several new Green Star rated buildings, Nedbank is no novice in the sustainable building arena. It has now added three existing buildings to its prize cabinet. The EPB tool enabled Nedbank to achieve 4-Star ratings for their Clocktower (46 points), Plattekloof (48 points), and Park Square Campus (52 points) branches.

Zendré Compion, Senior Sustainable Building Consultant at Solid Green, explained the critical role the Facility Management team plays in the process.

EBP ratings for the Nedbank Campus sites relied heavily on the FM team to understand and evaluate current processes in place and identify opportunities for integrating sustainability initiatives or improving current practice to meet best practice standards.

Clocktower Campus at the V&A Waterfront

The Clocktower team managed to take a large building from a 3-Star to a 4-Star Green Star rating for their latest certification. It is evident that the Cape Town water crisis has motivated many building owners to employ initiatives in water management that they would not have previously considered. Corporates that have branches across the country also realised that these initiatives made sense and could easily be implemented in other provinces to make a positive impact.

Furthermore, the Clocktower building has amazing waste management initiatives in place. The canteen recycles used cooking oil through a company that uses it to make biofuel. The food waste produced in the canteen is also recycled through a company that produces and resells compost. These initiatives were paused while the canteen was closed during the national lock down. Yet, during the waste audit conducted as part of the EBP process, the team realised that not diverting wet-waste was increasing their overall waste volume as wet waste contaminates other sources of waste – so they made a good case to get wet-waste recycling going again even before the canteen officially reopened.

Plattekloof Campus

The Plattekloof team undertook their first EBP process but was able to draw on the experience and expertise of the Clocktower team and a shared facilities manager. The team demonstrated that they were doing well in the performance aspects of the rating, scoring highly for reduced energy and water consumption, and showing high waste diversion rates.

Park Square Campus

The Park Square building is a new build that recently achieved a 4-Star Green Star Design rating as well as a 5-Star As-Built rating. The Covid-19 lock down impacted most building operations and therefore some credits could not be targeted. For most of the buildings, due to staff still working from home, buildings could not target the audits and measurements for Indoor Environmental Quality and aspects such as thermal or acoustic comfort. “We are looking forward to seeing how Park Square improves its EBP rating when it re-certifies and can include performance measurements for IEQ and thermal comfort,” Compion commented. “The Park Square team was really invested in the EBP process, which can be seen in the building achieving a 52-point score.”

She applauded Nedbank’s drive in the green space.

The Nedbank teams have a great interest in how building sustainability can be enhanced through Facilities Management. It has been our experience that building management teams, together with their service providers, have incorporated a lot of sustainability thinking into the way they manage. However, often this information is not documented in a way that is easily shared – be it internally for the sake of continuity and improvement, or externally for reporting and sharing the good news stories. In many ways, the rating is a reflection of the work these teams have been doing for a very long time, which is now culminating in the award of sustainable building ratings.

The post Nedbank’s star performance in Existing Buildings appeared first on Solid Green Consulting.

Image credit Abland.

“The HVAC system implemented therefore provides a high proportion of good quality outside air,” she explains.

Smoking inside the building is prohibited; and only interior finishes with low Volatile Organic Compounds have been specified for the fitout. In addition, all gaseous and fire suppression systems and thermal insulants used have an Ozone Depleting Potential (ODP) of zero.

An energy model was generated in the design stages of the building to ensure that thermal comfort levels are within the ASHRAE Standard 55-2004 Acceptability Limits for at least 98% of occupied hours. Various energy initiatives were implemented to reduce the overall energy consumption of the building. All individual spaces or enclosed spaces are individually switched with occupancy sensors to offer greater flexibility for light switching; and care was taken to ensure that the office lighting is not over designed, and that artificial lighting with minimal energy consumption was specified.

Image credit Abland.

This reduction in operational energy consumption will ensure that Greenhouse Gas Emissions are minimised during the building’s lifecycle. As data gathering is essential to assessing opportunities for energy savings, sub-metering of major energy consuming systems was implemented.

Sub-metering of major water consuming systems is also in place. The building was designed to reduce the consumption of potable water for the building’s fire protection and essential water storage systems; and occupant water usage was limited to 0.4L/day/m2 thanks to the specification of water efficient fittings.

Image credit Abland.

Project specific Environmental and Waste Management Plans were developed and implemented during the construction phase to establish guidelines that minimise the environmental impact associated with construction activities, and to minimise the contribution of waste going to landfill.

As transparency in terms of perceived Green Building premiums is extremely important to help drive sustainability in the sector, Lakeview Phase II completed the financial transparency criteria to assist the GBCSA with market research and to help create a broader public awareness around the actual cost of Green Buildings.

“Nedbank has once again confirmed its dedication to driving green building in the property sector by committing to both 4-Star Green Star Office V1.1 Design and 5-Star As-Built certifications. This includes operational benefits expected from 45% energy savings compared to an average office building,” Sherratt concludes.

Collaborating with a client and professional team who share a common vision has made the certification process that much easier and has allowed each professional to push for sustainable solutions within their area of expertise, resulting in the significant achievement of the 5-star rating in As-Built.

Project Team

OWNER & CLIENT: Nedbank
DEVELOPER: Abland
ACCREDITED PROFESSIONAL & SUSTAINABLE BUILDING CONSULTANT: Solid Green Consulting
ARCHITECT & WET SERVICES: MWLF Architects
ELECTRICAL ENGINEER: Claassen Auret
FIRE ENGINEER: IFE SA International Fire Engineering
LIFT SPECIALIST: Quality in Motion
MECHANICAL ENGINEER: Spoormaker & Partners
QUANTITY SURVEYORS: Quanticost
STRUCTURAL ENGINEERS: WSP
MAIN CONTRACTOR: Tiber
PROJECT MANAGER: Morta Project Management
LANDSCAPE DESIGNERS: Connie Pretorius Landscaping
IRRIGATION CONSULTANT: Controlled Irrigation

The post As-Built certification for Lakeview Phase II appeared first on Solid Green Consulting.

Green building initiatives implemented since the design certification include ice storage, rainwater harvesting, and innovation credits. Says Annelide Sherratt, sustainability consultant at Solid Green and the accredited professional (AP) on the project:

Working with a like-minded professional project team, developers and client such as those on Lakeview Phase II, who share common views on sustainability, made the project a pleasure to work on and allowed each professional to push for sustainable solutions within their area of expertise.

The 12,542m2 office building consists of 4 office levels and 3 basement levels. The project implemented several environmental initiatives to improve wellbeing of the occupants in the building that in return contributes to enhanced work performance. Sherratt explains that:

As humans spend over 90% of their lives indoors, exposure to air pollutants can be far greater indoors than outdoors. The HVAC system implemented here therefore provides a high proportion of good quality outside air to counteract the build-up of indoor pollutants. The building prohibits smoking inside the building to further ensure optimum air quality; and only interior finishes with low Volatile Organic Compounds have been specified within the fitout.

To achieve a high level of thermal comfort for the building occupants, the building was modelled in a simulation program. Various energy initiatives were also implemented to reduce the overall energy consumption of the building. As the behaviour of the building occupants is crucial to the building’s energy performance, energy submetering was installed for all substantive energy uses within the building, to facilitate ongoing monitoring and management of energy consumption; and a Building Management System (BMS) was incorporated to actively control and optimise the effectiveness of building services.

Occupancy sensors are installed throughout the building to provide flexibility related to light switching and to prevent wasting energy in unoccupied spaces. The project also incorporates artificial lighting with minimal energy consumption, that provides optimum illuminance levels without being over designed. Hot water is provided by small high performance electric under-counter geysers installed in the kitchenette areas.

Overall, the project design and building services achieved a 45% improvement in Carbon Emissions over a SANS 204 notional building through energy modelling. Chilufya Lombe, director at Solid Green Consulting, explains:

The building has reduced its peak electrical demand by providing an ice storage system for the chiller plant. Instead of having a large chiller, a combination of a chiller and an ice storage facility has been designed. This system allows the building to have a chiller that is 50% smaller than a conventional building. The ice works as a thermal storage device: at night, the chiller runs to create ice and, during the day, this ice is used for the cooling system to supplement the chiller.

Additional sustainability initiatives were implemented that focus on the reduction of potable water consumption, with the aims of easing demand on municipal water sources as well as contributing to more cost-efficient operations of the building. Water efficient sanitary fittings have been specified that help occupants to use water sparingly. Sub-metering for major water consuming systems is in place, to detect any leaks so that little to no water is wasted. Rainwater harvesting has been incorporated as an alternative water source for landscaping; and smart irrigation systems and indigenous landscaping have been incorporated to use water as efficiently as possible.

Innovative sustainable initiative, over and above what is required by Green Star, have also been implemented for the project. The developer committed to certifying the project with multiple ratings – both Green Star Office V1.1 Design and As-Built certifications. As transparency in terms of a Green Building Premium is extremely important to help drive sustainability in the building industry, Lakeview Phase II completed the financial transparency criteria that will assist the GBCSA with market research and inform the public regarding the cost of Green Buildings.

Making a difference in the Sustainability sector is to consistently lead by example and motivate for change,” Sherratt concludes. “Through the commitment and close collaboration of the developer, the client and the professional team, Lakeview Phase II successfully demonstrates how an office building can drive excellence in the South African construction industry.

For more information about this project, see the project page for Lakeside Phase II.

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