Bank building’s five-star green design

The building was awarded a five green star design rating by the Green Building Council of South Africa.

The 65000m2 building will house more than 5000 employees; the massive scale of which could raise questions surrounding the hot topics of sustainability, energy and water.

The bank’s head of sustainability, Karen Ireton, said the building was not a once-off, but rather part of a strategy to address sustainability issues.

She said that various issues, like energy, water and recycling came together in the building’s construction and operation.

Rory Roriston, the bank’s head of real estate asset management, said that water-efficient fittings inside the building would conserve water, and that the potable water demand would be reduced by a projected 56 percent by rainwater harvesting.

“The most important factor in the building, one that consumed most of the design time, was energy. With rising costs and the introduction of carbon taxes, it made sense financially to look at energy and how we could get certainty around energy supply,” he said.

The building will make use of a gas-powered tri-generation plant, which has a production capacity of one megawatt. The heat emitted by the plant will provide energy for heating and cooling.

The glass facade – that covers more than 65 percent of the building’s vertical external surfaces – will allow 50 percent daylight illuminance for 95 percent of the office area.

The building also features a Digital Addressable Lighting Interface, which will allow individual light fittings to be programmed according to need. Lights will automatically be dimmed or switched on or off based on occupancy and daylight availability in the space.

Ireton added no desk would have a wastepaper basket and that the office area had a recycling station.

In addition to granite, marble, stone and natural timber used in the interior design, the main atrium features a spectacular installation by artist Marco Cianfanelli.

What appeared at first glance to be wooden panels hanging from the ceiling in a random pattern became a map of Africa.

“We had soil sent from every African country where we have a branch or office. Cianfanelli used it to create pigments for the work, so here we have a map literally coloured with the soil of Africa,” said Roriston.

“Green building doesn’t cost as much as people think, and it makes sense going forward. I think it helps the generation coming into this building to buy into it, and we have all these benefits with little or no extra cost,” he said.