Nedbank Phase 2 special report

SPECIAL REPORT> NEDBANK PHASE 2

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DESIGN DYNAMICS BY DYEMENSION DYNAMIX Nedbank – colour sandune carpet tiles.As supplied by Dyemension Dynamix and Installed by Peter Bates Flooring in Nedbank’s Phase 2 Rivonia Project.

We SALUTE , NEDBANK’S EARTHLY “GREEN” SOUTH AFRI-

This “keep it – Green and South African” vision is appre-

CAN VISION for commitment to a healthy work environ-

ciated and seen as a genuine display of Nedbank’s

ment, and their insistence that all Carpet Tiles installed

Corporate Responsibility in creating opportunities and

at their Sandton “Phase 2” premises are manufactured

jobs, by ensuring local products enjoy all the benefits

IN South Africa and are “Greenstar IEQ-13” compliant.

of, and are equivalent to, internationally available “state

This “Green – Keep it South African” vision was directly

of the art” products worldwide.

responsible for Dyemension Dynamix Corporate Carpets (Pty) Ltd urgently researching and acquiring the necessary knowledge, technology, skills and equipment for production

and

the

resultant

“Greenstar

IEQ-13”

accreditation on all of our products including the Nedbank carpet tiles used in “Phase 2”.

For more information please visit us at www.dyemensiondynamix.co.za Email us: dyedynamix@mweb.co.za Tel no: +27 (31) 464 2627 Fax no: +27 (31) 464 9450

In addition to creating a healthier, sustainable environment the opening of export opportunities with compliant

South African products

benefit.

is an important added

GREEN BUILDINGCOUNCIL SA MEMBER ORGANISATION

THE FIRST STEP IN THE SOUTH AFRICAN GREEN BUILDING EVOLUTION

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By Stacey Rowan

The ‘Go green’ movement, a trend that has been around for ages, is continuously evolving.

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We all know the ways to live eco-friendly lives like switching off lights and using water-saving devices in our homes, reducing our usage of motor vehicles, planting trees in our gardens and recycling. Going green is here to stay and the various trends within the green movement are now changing direction, moving beyond maintaining eco-friendly lives, to developing eco-friendly ‘green’ buildings.

Nedbank Phase 2, situated in Sandton, Johannesburg, not only is one of the largest bank office complexes in South Africa, but it is also the first building in South Africa to receive Green Star accreditation.

“This is a huge achievement in South Africa, as this has never been done before. There are no other certified buildings yet in South Africa,” says Marloes Reinink, the sustainable building consultant on the Nedbank project.

What is a green building?

To understand this achievement, it is important to first understand the concept of a green building. According to the Green Building Council of South Africa (GBCSA), a green building is a structure that is energy and resource efficient, whilst maintaining environmental responsibility. The building itself integrates design, materials, construction, technological and operational practices that dramatically

reduce or completely eliminate its negative impact on the environment and its inhabitants. Building green, an opportunity to address climate change, creates improved, healthier and more productive work environments for employees to work in.

Specific green building measures include careful building design to reduce heat loads, the maximisation of natural light and promoting the circulation of fresh air; the use of energy-efficient air-conditioning and lighting; the use of environmentally-friendly materials; the reduction of waste, and the use of recycled materials; water-efficient plumbing fittings and water harvesting; the use of renewable energy sources and sensitivity with regard to the impact of the development on the surrounding environment.

Rating a green building In order to enable an objective assessment as to how ‘green’ a building is, a green building rating tool needs to be put in place to set standards and benchmarks. The rating system sets out a ‘menu’, a carte du jour, of all the measures that can be incorporated into a building to make it ‘green’. Points are awarded to a building according to which measures have been built in and, after suitable weighting, a complete score is calculated. This determines the rating of the given building.

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The GBCSA develops these Green Star SA rating tools to provide the property industry with an objective measurement for green buildings and to recognise and reward environmental leadership in the property industry. Each Green Star SA rating tool reflects a different market sector, for example: office, retail and residential, among others.

The Green Star objectives create a common language and standard of measurement for green buildings, together with promoting integrated, whole-building design. Raising awareness of green building benefits, recognising environmental leadership and reducing the environmental impact of developments are other criteria of the Green Star system.

Green buildings versus conventional buildings Aside from the reduced carbon footprint, there is a convincing business case in favour of green buildings. With studies showing dramatic increases in productivity among users and employees, due to increased fresh air, more natural light and less toxic materials used, tenants are becoming more aware of these ‘green’ benefits. Alongside this increased awareness, the demand for green buildings is growing at a rapid pace, with tenants even being prepared to pay higher rentals.

Due to the substantial savings in utility services, particularly when viewed on a lifecycle basis, tenants in green buildings are finding that operating costs are lessened considerably. A green building does not necessarily need to cost more than a conventional building. Through intelligent design and the use of fundamental energy efficient materials, much can be achieved.

The green building movement is a more efficient way of developing and operating buildings and it is hoped that, over time, it will lead to the obsolescence of conventional buildings. The movement is now being seen as ‘future proofing’ buildings and is being regarded as a risk management issue.

Operators of green buildings can reduce their consumption of energy to less than half of what a conventional building consumes, with similar reductions in potable water usage, runoff to sewer and solid waste. By promoting green building practices, the GBCSA can have a really significant impact on the reduction of resource consumption and on combating global warming.

The name with the green logo Would it not be considered coincidental that the client of the first Green Star rated building sports a green logo?

Energy Efficient Building Management Solutions

Automated Control Solutions is the exclusive importer & distributor of Alerton Building Management Systems throughout South Africa. Our selected Alerton installers are committed to providing you with the best service and support along with easy to use solutions to make your building as energy efficient a possible. You benefit from flexible local experts, in tune to your business needs, backed by powerful and innovative resources.

Recommended Installers: Optimal Control Systems Tel: 011 462 7760 / Contact: Ray Knight

For more information, please contact sking@acontrols.co.za or visit www.acontrols.co.za

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Nedbank Group is South Africa’s fourth largest banking group measured by assets, with a strong deposit franchise, the second largest retail deposit base, a client-centric wholesale and retail franchise and a substantial and growing assurance and wealth management offering. This group provides an ample range of wholesale and retail banking services through five main business clusters, namely Nedbank Capital, Nedbank Corporate, Nedbank Business Banking, Nedbank Retail and Nedbank Bancassurance & Wealth. Nedbank Group focuses on Southern Africa, with the group positioned as a bank for all – from both a retail and a wholesale banking point of view.

Nedbank Group offers banking services which comprise business, corporate and retail banking, property finance, investment banking, private banking, foreign exchange and securities trading. It also generates income from private equity, credit card issuing and processing services, custodial services, unit trust administration, asset management services and bancassurance.

Making things happen With Nedbank’s proud slogan ‘make things happen’, the question is posed: how did Nedbank make the Phase 2 development green?

A sustainability review of the design took place in 2007 by a group consisting of WSP GREEN by DESIGN, PJC Carew Consulting and The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR). The review panel evaluated the design and suggested initiatives to improve the sustainable performance of the building. The recommendations were categorised and prioritised using the ‘shades of green’ approach, which classified the initiatives into three levels of sustainability, including good practice, best practice and cutting edge. After the sustainability review, WSP GREEN by DESIGN was appointed to assist in implementing environmental initiatives and to guide the professional design team towards a 4 Star level of Green Star SA – Office Design v1 rating which was achieved on 15 October 2009. In addition, the project team is currently pursuing registration for a Green Star SA Offices As Built v1 rating.

A Greenfield site was not used as the building is located on previously developed land. Taking the land use and ecology into consideration, the topsoil on the site was taken away by the sub-contractor, cleaned and reused on other development projects, while the ecological value of the Nedbank Phase 2 site was enhanced beyond its previously existing state. The building is predominantly framed in concrete with 95% recycled content for rebars and a minimum fly-ash content of 30% on average.

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“Nedbank had wanted the Phase 2 building to be a green building long before the rule book came out,� says Xavier Huyberechts, senior executive partner, GLH & Associates Architects.

To go green, Nedbank required that all emissions from materials and processes possess refrigerant and gaseous fire suppressants and that thermal insulants have an Ozone Depleting Potential of zero. Volatile Organic Compounds of the office interior paint and carpets have been reduced to a bare minimum.

The indoor environment quality also turned green, via fresh air intake in the building being 100% greater then required by SANS 10400-O. The inclusion of carbon dioxide sensors, integrated at the return points on each floor, ensures continuous monitoring and adjustment of the amount of fresh air entering the building. The Mean Value levels were predicted to be between -0.5 and +0.5, calculated in accordance with ISO 7730 using standard clothing and metabolic rate values during occupied hours during the year.

Although 60% of the offices have direct line of sight to the outdoors, noise from the outside has been minimised, while the noise levels within the offices have been reduced in accordance with in SANS 10103: 2004. As with most buildings that comply with the

smoking rules, the Nedbank Phase 2 Building is nonsmoking and has no designated smoking areas internally.

A conservative approach With regards to water, once municipality reticence has been overcome, a Blackwater treatment system, a project innovation, will be installed to provide recycled water for all non-potable water uses including irrigation, toilets and cooling towers. Another project innovation is the implementation of a rain water harvesting plant that will collect and treat rain water for use along with the recycled water.

To ensure significant savings in water consumption, water meters for all major water uses have been connected to a Building Management System, which supports proper facility management of water consumption. Pump testing requires no consumption of water, efficient water fixtures and fittings have been installed and isolation valves on each floor limit the amount of water used for maintenance. The fire system has been designed to direct sprinkler water from maintenance drain-downs to the Blackwater treatment plant for on-site reuse and all landscaping has been designed to include low water consumption plants.

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Another green initiative is in the field of waste management. This involves a dedicated storage area provided for the separation and collection of paper, glass, plastics, metals, used compact fluorescent light bulbs and other materials.

All outflows to the sewerage system, due to occupant use, has been reduced by implementing highly efficient fixtures and fittings. The Blackwater treatment system, once it is installed will further reduce the outflow.

Energy saving entailed the implementation of efficient open circuit evaporative cooling towers for heat rejection of the chillers. The partial economy cycle has been designed to provide 100% fresh air to 60% of the floor plates when outside conditions allow it. Lighting power densities were put in place for 95% of the offices with an energy use of 2.25 W/ m2 per 100 Lux. In addition, a programmable digital lighting system has been provided for the offices.

The lighting design achieves an average maintained illumination level of no more than 400 Lux for the offices and high frequency ballasts have been installed in all the fluorescent luminaries.

Quality management Commissioning had to be done in accordance with CIBSE, The Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers’ commissioning codes, at practical completion. The design team and contractor had to transfer project knowledge to the building owner through documented design intent, as-built drawings, operations and maintenance manuals, commissioning reports and the actual training of building management staff. To tune the building systems, monthly monitoring will need to be conducted for one year after practical completion. A Building User’s Guide was compiled for staff in close cooperation with design professionals. The main contractor on the project, Group Five, developed and implemented an on-site Environmental Management Plan that will require continuous monitoring. During construction, the main contractor also tracked all waste streams and completed quarterly reports on waste generation, recycling and reuse.

As transport and motor vehicles are not regarded as ‘green’, it was decided that the number of parking spaces would only be allocated according to the

Consistant Durable Quality

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Low VOC

Paint f or a Greene r Future

FACT:

• Reduced VOC content Less than 16g/L • Contributes towards points in the IEQ category of Green Star SA

Environmental benefits no longer have to be chosen at the expense of performance when specifying paints. The Ecosure range from Dulux Trade provides high quality, long lasting finishes with excellent application characteristics and colour choice. Dulux Trade Ecosure can be tinted using the Dulux Trade Colour System to allow flexibility in colourful decorating while taking the environment into account. Available in both Silk and Matt finishes in 5L and 20L. Dulux Trade is a Silver founding member of the Green Building Council of South Africa and our specifiers have been trained on the Green Star rating tool.

- Paint for a Greener Future For further information visit www.duluxtrade.co.za Dulux Trade, Ecosure and Paint for a Greener Future are trademarks of AkzoNobel © 2009

16 > minimum local requirements. Five levels of underground parking with 1 598 parking bays are available. Dedicated parking bays have been set aside to provide for hybrid vehicles, motorbikes and bicycles, in order to promote fuel-efficient transport.

Complete bicycle facilities were constructed with change rooms, showers and space for bicycle storage, in the form of racks, to encourage the use of bicycles as a means of transportation. As the Nedbank Phase 2 building is located within the centre of Sandton, the use of public transportation is encouraged. In the future, this will include the Bus Rapid Transit system that will have a bus stop on Rivonia Road and the Gautrain Sandton Station. Residential dwellings in close proximity will further reduce the need for long distance commuting for those who opt to stay close to work.

The relative scores of the Nedbank Phase 2 building for each Green Star category include: 75% for management; 52% for indoor environment quality; 30%

for energy; 71% for transport; 86% for water; 36% for materials; 43% for land use and ecology and lastly, 50% for emissions.

Painting a ‘green’ picture Along with the environmental initiatives that were implemented in the Phase 2 development, the ‘greening’ of the wall covering was put in place through the use of Dulux Trade Ecosure paint. This product forms part of the first ‘green’ range introduced by Dulux. Used on most of the interior walls, this low VOC paint creates a picture of eco-friendliness, contributing to Nedbank’s green-star rating.

When the Nedbank Phase 2 project commenced, there was no ‘green’ paint available on the South African market. Dulux was very accommodating in that they started to manufacture this ‘green’ paint in order to meet the requirement that paint should be produced locally for the Nedbank project.

ASTER INTERNATIONAL

(South Africa) (Pty) Ltd

A Subsidiary of the Gilaf Group of Companies, Italy Air-Conditioning Engineers and Contractors Johannesburg

Erf 89 Impala Road, Kelvin View Eastgate Extension 8, Sandton 2090 PO Box 1599, Kelvin 2054 Tel: +27(0)11 581 9400 Fax: +27(0)11 581 9458 or (0)86 636 1190 E-mail: aster-sa@aster.co.za

Aster International is a leading contractor for medium to large projects in the Heating, Steam, Ventilation and Air-Conditioning industry.

Aster specializes in the installation of plants for the climatisation and ventilation of buildings for corporate offices, hotels, hospitals, shopping malls, pharmaceutical, clean rooms/sterile air and industrial plants.

Aster provides Engineering, Project Management, all aspects of Air-Conditioning contracting, Operating and Maintenance Services and has more than 30 years of proven local experience.

Proudly associated with the Nedbank for the Nedbank Head Office Phase II Project

17 > Dulux Trade SA, a professional provider of paint products and services, prides itself in being one of the leading authorities on products, colour and service, undertaking research into local and international trends to produce the most comprehensive range of products suited to the national South African market.

Now as a subsidiary of the AkzoNobel group, the leader in performance coating and the world’s largest decorative paints company and leading specialty chemicals business, the company aspires towards being an innovative, socially and environmentally responsible organisation with brands that provide value for money, good technical performance and minimal impact on the environment and people’s health. Also belonging to SAPMA (South African Paint Manufacturers Association), Dulux’s product stewardship policies are an integral part of its strategies in Africa. AkzoNobel and Dulux are passionate about introducing

new ideas and developing sustainable answers for their customers, such as Nedbank.

The Pluvia Syphonic roof drainage system Geberit, the creator of the Pluvia Syphonic roof drainage system, is well known for its water-saving plumbing and sanitary technology. Being named one of the Top 10 of the World’s 100 Sustainable Companies, Generit has been recognised for its commitment to sustainability.

“The biggest role Geberit played in the Nedbank Phase 2 project was the placement of the Pluvia Syphonic roof drainage system,” says Mark Schurr, operations director, Geberit. Geberit used the more eco-friendly HDPE pipes, rather than the conventional PVC Pipes.

These were a requirement for the Nedbank project.

Knight Shopfitters are Proud to be Associated with the Nedbank Phase II Development

Physical Address: Unit 7, Citrus Street Industrial Park, Citrus Street, Laser Park, Honeydew, Gauteng Postal Address: PO Box 1477, Honeydew, 2040 Contact numbers: Tel: +27 11 794-6551 Fax: +27 11 794-5055 Email: knightshop@telkomsa.net Web: www.knightshopfitters.co.za

18 > Geberit Pluvia is a roof drainage system based on an intelligent negative pressure suction system. This system offers solutions for the architecture of today, providing architects with considerably greater flexibility in the planning of buildings, in the utilisation of space and in the co-ordination of different building requirements.

Some of the many advantages of using this system include less planning effort, fewer discharge stacks and roof outlets and the simplification of building planning, permitting optimum space utilisation. A diminished need for discharge stacks reduces the outlay for underground drain connections and surface lines as well as the costs for the property developer.

The high-performance Geberit Pluvia roof outlets are linked together directly under the roof with a non-sloping collector pipe. Large roof areas can thus be drained through a single discharge stack.

This simplifies planning and reduces construction time. Cost-intensive discharge stacks and drains are dispensed with, multiplying both the planning options available to the architect and the potential uses for the building. The technical principle and the high drainage rate of Geberit Pluvia ensure that the system can be used in a wide range of applications.

At the forefront of the move Group Five Building, as the main contractor on the Nedbank Phase 2 project, was at the forefront of the move towards a cleaner environment. The Group Five construction team put in a massive effort to achieve the standards set by the Green Star SA– Office v1 rating tool.

As one of the largest construction and materials manufacturing companies in southern Africa, Group

Derrington Floors – suppliers and installers of superior wooden flooring including the following: Solid wood flooring, Super-Engineered wood flooring, Engineered wood flooring, Bamboo flooring, Laminate flooring Suntups Super-Engineered wood flooring was chosen for Nedbank's Phase II building – the flooring chosen offering all the benefits of an engineered floor along with the useful life of a solid wood floor whilst using the optimum quantity of valuable timber.

Tel: 082 900 3343 Fax: 086 666 1686 Email: info@derrington.co.za

www.derrington.co.za

19 > Five is a broad-based infrastructure company with a balanced portfolio of businesses across selected geographies in Africa, Europe and the Middle East.

Offering multi-disciplinary construction and engineering skills and expertise, the company achieves delivery of all aspects of projects, including concept development and design.

With years of construction experience, Group Five has played a major role in the development of southern Africa’s infrastructure, achieving a reputation both nationally and internationally for innovation and professionalism.

“We monitored the programme very closely and any deviations or activities slacking behind were immediately addressed. Every person knew exactly what was going on and what was expected of him. Each morning, the previous day would be discussed in terms of work being done, together with how we

were going to go forward. Group Five was chosen for this project because of our previous track record, the dedicated team we have and the spirit presented by our team,” says Johan Matthee, Senior Project Manager, Group Five.

Not just a desk With eight levels of office space, Phase 2 of the Nedbank Head Office will provide new accommodation for 3,000 employees. With a team comprising GLH Architects, Terra Ether Architects, Claassen Auret, Aurecon, Coffey Projects, Group 5 Building and WSP Structures, among others, the Nedbank Phase 2 building has become more than just an office with a desk.

We all know the term ‘sick-building syndrome.’ Although this definition may refer to a human health

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condition where infections are caused by exposure to contaminants within a building as a result of poor ventilation, this term also applies to the design and architecture of a specific building. When it comes to the layout of a building, the colour palette used, the interior design, the internal and external lighting, among others, the imperative is to create the perfect work environment through correct structural and design implementation.

“The aim of architecture is to create environments for people to work and live in that they are proud of and that they are happy to associate themselves with. Paying attention to a work environment does a lot in terms of increasing the employees’ performance and in keeping staff. The quality of the work environment is very important to us,” says Huyberechts.

“The client wanted to create a large office, which would bring departments together. By bringing people together, it would in turn make communication stronger between departments. We pride ourselves in having created a work environment that people like to work in and creating a building that works and does what it is intended do. Our primary aim was to create an office, but for us, it was going beyond functionality. By achieving that, we have reached where we want to be. If you speak to people in Nedbank, they are positive and happy people,” adds Huyberechts.

The simple offices, canteens, amenities, little shops and green openness of the parks, allow for the mixing of people, creating a relaxed way of working. “It is a building that people want to go to work in. Nedbank’s employees love going there. For them, work is more than just a desk,” explains Huyberechts.

Greenery within cement In order to improve on the previous working environments of Nedbank’s employees, it was essential for the architects to go back to the original design of the past offices. Before the Nedbank Head Office was built in Sandton, the staff were housed in various office blocks across the Johanneburg CBD. Johannesburg’s inner city, often referred to as the ‘cement jungle’, is crowded with developments, busy roads, traffic-jams and over-bearing office blocks.

Essentially, the offices were housed in dense office buildings which were seen as alienating to the employees.

As nature, with its green elements, affects the working environment, Nedbank Phase 2 was designed to surround two beautiful spaces of greenery in the form of two parks. The greenery has given the employees of Nedbank an exceptional type of work environment. With flora and fauna, large lawns of grass, wild geese, birds, winding walking paths and seating benches, this is truly an escape from the city hustle-and-bustle where employees can spend their

22 > lunch breaks relaxing and decompressing. “When you are in the park, you cannot hear the buzzing of the city. This, in itself, is an achievement,” says Huyberechts.

A timeless piece Imperative to the design is the creation of a timeless building, one that shows the bank’s long-lasting duration and stability within South Africa, whilst differentiating its design and appearance from other banking developments. For the architects, it was important to design a building that ‘ages well’.

“We used a slightly classical look for the building, avoiding falling into a neo-classical appearance.

People are not scared of this type of architecture. It has already been assimilated through the Nedbank Phase 1 building. As the architectural ‘handwriting’ had already been done in the first phase, we made a strong reference to the past architectural styles and forms that are recognised by the general public.” A solid identity, from an architectural point of view, was developed. “Each of our clients has an architectural ‘handwriting’ which inevitably becomes their identity,” says Huyberechts.

The architecture, with its modernity and palette of light colours, is very striking, creating a distinct presence within the Sandton area. It was about being strikingly different, yet easy recognisable.

The architecture, although not alien to global architecture, does not fall into the pitfall of trends. “Following popular trends in architecture can be dangerous, as one day a building is trendy, but then the next day it is dead. We did not want to fall into international trends, where you take an international architectural extract and place it in South Africa,” adds Huyberechts.

It was important to the client that Phase 2 be kept in line with Phase 1 in terms of development, construction and design. “This proves that we did not go wrong in the development of phase 1,” concludes Huyberechts.

A landmark in Sandton Nedbank Phase 2 is located on a prime site in the heart of Sandton and although the building itself is not tall enough to feature as part of the skyline, it however can be said that “anyone who knows Sandton, knows the Nedbank Phase 2 building,” says Huyberechts.

The building seeks to benefit the whole of Sandton by bettering and integrating city living. This is accomplished by opening the building up to the street via an active face. “There are no other buildings like this that are ‘open’ and active. This is an innovation,” says Huyberechts. After convincing the client not to have a hard edge, the active edge along Maude Street was established through retail shops, a high end restaurant and a Nedbank branch which are open to the public.

“It is a landmark in Sandton because of its size and its presence within the precinct,” adds Huyberechts.

Walking through Nedbank Phase 2, the immense effort that has gone into making this development an eco-friendly work environment becomes apparent.

With people spending a substantial amount of their lives working in offices, it’s imperative that office environments encourage good health and provide a place in which people can reach their full career potential. Nedbank Phase 2 is already creating the dream work environment for the lucky staff that will work within this development. For them, this is truly a reality. <

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