THE ROUTE 21 Corporate Park business development, in Pretoria, has signed its first green tenants, for a R60 million environmentally friendly building. This signals a trend among landlords and tenants to move towards environmentally friendly buildings. The green building movement is gaining momentum in South Africa, which mirrors a growing trend internationally.

The building has been developed with green features that include variable refrigerant volume (VRV) air conditioner units, that reduce the number of units from 96 air conditioners in a conventional system to just 16 units in the VRV system. Power saving with the VRV system is estimated to be 50% less than conventional systems, which makes a huge impact on its future operating costs.

It also includes the use of rainwater and groundwater harvesting, a process which sees water being stored in a 150 000 litre sump for re-use in the building and gardens. Energy efficient glass has also been used throughout the building, which acts to reduce the heat load on it; which means less heating and cooling is required.

Motion sensors have also been used in the bathrooms and basements to switch off lights when the area is not in use. LED (light-emitting diode) lights and florescent strip lights are also included, which are much more energy efficient than traditional halogen lights. In addition, sunscreens on the western façade of the building are expected to reduce the heat load from the western sun, while the lobby area makes use of passive lighting via curtain glass walls to allow for natural sunlight in the lobby area. Water is saved in the bathrooms via dual flush toilet systems, as well as automatic taps.

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