ALI's One Evotech gets LEED silver

MANILA, Philippines - By owning the first office building in the Philippines to be given a high international green rating, Ayala Land is demonstrating to the growing office market that sustainable buildings make great economic as well as environmental sense for all.

The US Green Building Council, one of the most prestigious global institutions leading the initiative towards sustainable development, recently granted property giant Ayala Land, Inc. (ALI) its first Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Silver Certification for One Evotech in NUVALI, the company’s new self-contained community in Laguna. The LEED green building certification system is a globally-accepted, third-party rating program for the design, construction and operation of high-performance sustainable buildings.

Given the heightened public awareness of the benefits of green buildings in recent years, a number of office projects in Metro Manila by various developers have sought LEED certification. The first to be granted such a certificate in the Philippines is One Evotech, an Ayala Land BPO facility in NUVALI TechnoHub in Laguna.

“Based on a points system that measures a project’s sustainability in terms of sustainable sites, water efficiency, energy and atmosphere, materials and resources, indoor environmental quality and innovation in design, among other factors, One Evotech was granted the distinction of a silver rating which is a level higher than the standard LEED score,” according to Cora Dizon, vice president and head of business development, Commercial Business Group.

The four-level building in the campus-like setting of the NUVALI TechnoHub serves as a model not only for those concerned about carbon footprints but also for its tenants and property managers who will benefit from a healthier work environment and will enjoy considerable savings from this highly-efficient building. In 2010, for instance, its energy consumption measured a mere 74kwh/sqm or way below the ASEAN standard of 200 kwh/sqm. Its water efficiency registered at 0.54 cum/sqm or 0.10 below the adopted standard.

Ayala Land Inc.president and CEO Antonino Aquino (fourth from right) led the team of managers at the recent unveiling of the LEED Silver plaque at One Evotech. Other ALI officials also at the ceremonies were from left: Cora Dizon, Rowena Tomeldan, Vincent Tan, ALI executive vice president and head of Planning Group, Joel Luna, Meean Dy and Vic Ahorro.

By orienting the building away from the sun’s hottest rays and incorporating sun screens at areas exposed to the direct sunlight, the project sought energy savings for those who work there, observed Joel Luna, Ayala Land’s chief architect and head of Innovation and Design Group. Greater savings was achieved by installing an innovative district cooling air-conditioning system with a central plant that provides chilled water through an underground loop for a number of buildings. All told, One Evotech provides 14 percent energy cost savings for its tenants like Convergys Corporation. Recycled water is used for toilet flushing and landscape irrigation, saving as much as 45 percent of potable water than your average building.

“In practice, many of our cost reduction programs are actually closely tied up to our sustainability efforts,” said Ayala Land president and CEO Antonino T. Aquino. ”We have made sustainability one of our key competitive and differentiating advantages and as we continue to embed our sustainability objectives into our business models, these will be reflected in our masterplans and developments ,” Aquino added.

One Evotech’s location in former sugarcane fields now master planned as a new growth center with strong environmentally-friendly features won it high points in the LEED system. For one, the office building gives its occupants great views of the manmade lake beside it. In addition, its campus settings in the NUVALI community defined by wide open spaces provides a stark contrast to the dense, urban environment of most other office developments, pointed out Rowena Tomeldan, vice president and head of operations, Commerical Business Group. In keeping with the feel of a campus, the building also provides bike ramps and paths that give its occupants quick access to the retail and other areas within the NUVALI area.

A less obvious sustainable feature of One Evotech is the use of pervious pavements which allow rain water to seep quickly into the water aquifer while reducing stormwater runoff. Just as remarkable is the fact that during the construction of One Evotech, Ayala Land exerted effort to reuse and recycle its construction debris. As a result, the project has diverted 87 percent of on-site generated construction waste from landfill.

Luna recalled that when One Evotech was built in 2008, it was not designed and planned to formally conform to the LEED rating system. “We wanted a green building in keeping with the sustainability thrust of the NUVALI area and designing to obtain LEED points were not even part of our consideration.” The LEED certification was merely a confirmation that the company was making its mark where it objectively mattered. Sustainability, after all, is a continuous learning process. What is important is that one never stops learning.