Written by: Adrienne Brookbanks
Water, food, and shelter top the lists of human needs, and all affect our health – something that we usually only pay attention to when this effect is negative.
At the recent Green Building Convention in Cape Town, Green Building Council of South Africa (GBCSA) CEO Nicola Douglas said that studies have shown that most adults spend about 90% of their lives indoors. She emphasised that if this is the way it is, we should at least spend this time in buildings that support and uplift life, rather than destroying it.
Unfortunately in South Africa many of us do not have that luxury. To date, the designers and engineers responsible for our buildings, particularly office buildings, did not have energy efficiency or water efficiency at the top of their minds when imagining new office buildings. Many office workers spend their days in buildings with no windows that open, fluorescent lighting, and materials that give off noxious gases.
Sick building syndrome sufferers are said to experience symptoms ranging from itchy eyes, skin rashes, and nasal allergy symptoms, to more vague symptoms like fatigue, aches and pains, and sensitivity to certain smells.
The symptoms are said to be triggered largely from poor indoor air quality, and mass produced construction materials which release gases over time, as well as paints which are lead-based and can release volatile organic compounds (VOCs).
Green buildings are better for the planet because they use more sustainable building materials and consume fewer resources over the life-cycle of the building, but they are also better for the people who occupy the buildings.
The skill of green building incorporates sensible and sensitive design, construction and operational practices that reduce, or in the best case, eliminate, a building’s negative impact on the environment and it’s occupants.
Indoor environment quality is one of the nine major categories that is assessed under the GBCSAs Green Star rating tool for South Africa, realising that the effect that a building has on its occupants, is just as important as the effect that the building has on the surrounding environment.
The GBCSA explains that other green building measures include careful building design to reduce heat loads, maximise natural light and promote the circulation of fresh air; the use of energy-efficient air-conditioning and lighting; the use of environmentally friendly, non-toxic 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 environment.
Companies are slowly coming around to the fact that constructing green buildings makes economic sense, and savings on utility bills justify forking out the extra cash at the outset of a project.
The exciting news for the occupants of these buildings, is that studies have shown that productivity among workers in green buildings increases – workers in the building are healthier and suffer less absenteeism.
This is good news for those of us who spend eight hours a day in an office that could quite literally be making us sick.
As the demand for green building materials increases, suppliers are starting to produce greener products, and particularly in the paint industry, more lead-free paint is available, as well as low-VOC paint. These do come with a weightier price tag, however, if the developers of buildings insist that products are more sustainable, these could become mainstream.
In South Africa, there are two office buildings that have been certified by the Green Building Council of South Africa’s (GBCSAs) Green Star office rating tool, and there are another 18 developments registered to be certified.
The first of these buildings is the Nedbank phase-two head office in Sandton, which achieved a four-star Green Star South Africa ‘as built´ rating under the office version-one rating tool. This came after the building received its Green Star design rating in November 2009.
The second project is the Ridgeside project in Umhlanga, KwaZulu-Natal, which has received a four-star design rating.
Although not all newly built offices will seek green building accreditation, there is still a trend for building developers to implement energy efficiency and water efficiency mechanisms into a building, simply because it makes business sense. Property managers prefer buildings that can show that efficiencies can save a company costs on utility bills. It is, after all, their responsibility to ensure that buildings operate at their optimum.
These trends are encouraging, but critical mass for new buildings is needed, as well as retrofit of inefficient buildings that are a drain on resources, and negatively affect the health of office workers.
In fact, sustainability needs to be thought of beyond just buildings, and the green practices need to be extended to all infrastructure, thus creating greener cities in a more holistic sense.
