Zuellig Building goes the extra distance

MANILA, Philippines - What does it take to be a “green” building?

Some property developers market their projects as being green, citing as basis their huge open spaces, presence of trees and gardens, and so on and so forth.

“Green” can mean different things to different people. This is probably the reason why a number of countries, including the United States, have come up with a rating system to determine the sustainability and green credentials of commercial, residential, institutional, and high-rise buildings using a more scientific approach.

The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) is the United States Green Building Council’s primary vehicle for promoting sustainable design and construction. Other rating systems include BREEAM of the United Kingdom, Green Mark of Singapore, Hongkong’s BEAM, Green Star of Australia, and CASBEE of Japan. In all these green building rating systems, what is common is that they are all voluntary consensus-based international standards which adopt a measurement system designed for rating new and existing buildings using accepted energy and environmental principles.

Basically, the USGBC established the LEED Green Building Rating System to provide third-party validation of a building’s design, to classify the levels of sustainability, and to promote the design, construction, and operation of high-performance green buildings.

Documents prepared by consultancy firm Davis Langdon & Seah (DLSPI) show that LEED, which is the most widely accepted, rates buildings based on a six-point system that include sustainable sites (23.64 %), water efficiency (9.09%), energy and atmosphere (31.82%), indoor environmental quality (13.64%), materials and resources (12.73%), innovation and design (5.45%), and regional priority credits (3.64%).

For purposes of classification, buildings can either be new construction, core and shell, commercial interiors, or existing building. They are classified into either platinum, gold, silver, and certified. And the higher one goes up the ladder, the more difficult and stringent are the requirements imposed on the project developer. Getting a LEED certification is never a stroll in the park, not to mention the additional costs.

To date, there are 19 LEED registered projects in the Philippines. The Zuellig Building is the first in the country to get a gold level LEED core and shell pre-certification. The Texas Instruments buildings in Clark and Baguio have a silver accreditation in the new construction category.

Worldwide, more than 208,000 projects have already been LEED registered. Some of the more prominent LEED projects include the World Trade Center (gold), Bank of America (gold), Asia Square (platinum), JohnsonDiversey Global HQ (gold), and Burj Al Khalifa which is the world’s tallest building and is targeting platinum level.

The Zuellig project

In the Philippines, the Zuellig Building, a 33-level prime office tower development in Makati and the first premium office building constructed in the city since the construction boom of 2000, has obtained LEED core and shell pre-certification at gold level on January 2009.  It is the first building in the Philippines that has been awarded with the pre-certification at gold level under the LEED core and shell program.

In an interview with The STAR, DLS environmental sustainability head Mark Evans and team leader Carla Cruz revealed that Zuellig is on its way to securing gold certification, but because it has extra credits, the developers now are aiming for platinum certification, something never dreamt of in the country.

This was confirmed by Elizabeth “Chickie” Locsin, Birdgebury Realty marketing and communications director.

Zuellig’s LEED gold was achieved with a five percent cost premium against the standard cost plan, and this is expected to move up to seven percent for a platinum certification.

DLSPI revealed that project achievements for Zuellig include the following: a 16% energy savings against the base mode, 40% water usage savings, 50% reduced water use for landscaping, 0% use of CFC refrigerant, 50% waste diverted from landfill, and 20% use of regional material. In addition, 75% of Zuellig’s space had good daylighting characteristics while 90% of the space had good views to external.

So what specifically will make the Zuellig Building green? Here are some of the ways: the double-paned, low emissivity (low-E) glass system minimizes solar heat gain and energy loss while penetration of natural light is maximized; the all-glass façade and use of large floor-to-ceiling panels allows for 90% of interior spaces to have daylight; CO2 censors that modulate outside airflow according to the estimated number of occupants will bring superior indoor air quality at all times; variable speed drives for chilled water pumps will reduce energy consumption during off-peak hours; water is conserved by capturing rain and condensate water; the building will be installed with premium drainage and irrigation systems; a daylight dimming system reduces the output of electric lighting based on the intensity of daylight; and a centralized paper recycling facility

The developer of the Zuellig Building, Bridgebury Realty Corporation, is a member of the USGBC. According to Bridgebury president Kasigod Jamias, “to be LEED pre-certified is to be globally acknowledged as one of the best in the world.”

“It is a confirmation of high quality excellence, as LEED was launched to develop a consensus-based, market-driven rating system to accelerate the development and implementation of green building practices,” Jamias added.

The building is also designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (New York), one of the largest architectural firms  in collaboration with WV Coscolluela & Associates. SOM designed some of the icons of modern architecture, including the Sears Tower, the tallest in the world for over 20 years, and Burj Khalifa, currently the tallest.

In the Philippines, company officials said the Zuellig Building serves as the premier LEED architectural figure that will change the Filipino management mindset on the way they do business. “It is set to be the prestigious and preferred choice of large multinational and traditional companies that are expanding, planning to put up a Philippine office, pushing for green initiatives, and offsetting their carbon emissions,” they noted.

The building’s specifications pave the way for their individual tenants to obtain additional LEED certification for their individual fit-outs.

Officials explained that a green building gives a lot of benefits to its tenants. For office buildings, they said a green building promotes and ensure a healthy and comfortable work environment for its occupants, thereby improving productivity.

They added that other benefits of a green building such as reduced energy and water consumption means reduced direct cost and better profits.