Nedbank was awarded the four-star rating for green office design for its new regional head office currently underway at Menlyn Maine in Pretoria.

Nedbank was awarded the four-star rating for green office design for its new regional head office currently underway at Menlyn Maine in Pretoria. A waste report from the Nedbank building’s main contractor, WHBO, revealed that a total of 21 968kg of crushed concrete, 17 000kg of steel and 2 740kg of wood has been recycled on-site since inception of the Nedbank building to the end of July 2011. The recycled material will be put back into the building or used in the next phase of Menlyn Maine’s bulk earthworks.

Nedbank will receive its four-star in Design Green Star SA certification at this year’s fourth annual Green Building Council of South Africa (GBCSA) Convention and Exhibition at the end of October.

Scheduled for completion in early 2012, Nedbank is the first of all of Menlyn Maine’s future buildings that will form part of the broader precinct.

It will comprise of 140 000 square metres of commercial office space, 35 000 square metres of retail and dining space and 85 000 square metres of up-market residential space to be officially accredited with Green Star SA.

“We are pleased that our new regional head office currently under construction at Menlyn Maine will be the third Nedbank building to achieve a four-star rating in green design with the GBCSA in the past three years,” says Charl de Kock, head of group property services at Nedbank.

He says this building joins Nedbank Head Office in Sandton, Johannesburg and the Nedbank Ridgeside Office Development in Umhlanga, Durban.

“We take immense pride in being a part of Menlyn Maine, a development that is pioneering carbon negative city living in Africa and undergoing the principles of building green and sustainability.”

Dubbed Africa's first green city, Menlyn Maine works with the GBCSA to ensure all buildings in the precinct carry a four-star rating and also use the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design for Neighbourhood Development (LEED ND) tool to ensure that the surrounding spaces are also sustainable.

Menlyn Maine is one of 17 green cities worldwide in partnership with the Clinton Foundation’s Climate Initiative.

GBCSA defines a green building as one which is energy efficient, resource efficient and environmentally responsible.

It incorporates design, construction and operational practices that significantly reduce or eliminate the negative impact of development on both the environment and occupants.

Justin Bowen, development director at Menlyn Maine Developments explains that they place emphasis on the up-front management protocol to ensure that green principles and practices are at the heart of everything they do operationally.

“This approach will ensure that Menlyn Maine offers a world-class ‘green precinct’ that will create a responsible environment that not only focuses on energy efficiency but rather the reconciliation of the natural, social and economic environments according to sustainability principles,” he says.

The technology implemented for both energy and water management at Menlyn Maine minimises negative environmental impact but also significantly reduces the use of municipal water and energy consumption off the national electricity grid, therefore also resulting in cost-savings.

As an example, he says storm water tanks have been built into the structure of the building with a carrying capacity of 90 000 litres and a further 20 000 litre capacity is stored on the roof.

This water is treated and circulated for re-use inside and outside the building (for toilet flushing and irrigation purposes). These water tanks will provide the building with a non-drinking water supply for almost a full year.

The development also focuses on recycling as an essential sustainability approach. A waste report from the Nedbank building’s main contractor, WHBO, revealed that a total of 21 968kg of crushed concrete, 17 000kg of steel and 2 740kg of wood has been recycled on-site since inception of the Nedbank building to the end of July 2011.

The recycled material will be put back into the building or used in the next phase of Menlyn Maine’s bulk earthworks, he adds. – Denise Mhlanga

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