Namibia boasts its first 5-star green building

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Namibia boasts its first 5-star green building

7:41 CAT | 28 Sep 2017

Earlier this year it was announced that FNB Namibia Holdings’ @Parkside building in Windhoek achieved the first 4-Star Green Star design rating in Namibia and was aiming towards an “As Built” rating.

With further innovations, this has been achieved and the building was awarded a 5-Star Green Star Africa As Built rating by the Green Building Council – making it the first 5-Star rated building in Namibia and Africa, outside of South Africa.

Greg Rice, sustainability consultant at WSP Building Services Africa, says as the first “As Built” rating outside of South Africa, this is a remarkable achievement in itself for the sustainable construction industry in Africa.

“The ‘As Built’ rating verifies that the building has been constructed and has been optimised to perform in the most efficient way possible, ensuring that the efforts put into design are in fact carried through to completion,” he says.

Comprehensive energy modelling – performed by WSP in the design phases – used the building specifications and efficiencies built into the design to evaluate the expected energy consumption of the building.

Innovation aspects included:

Community accessible bicycle racks, for use by building visitors and community members for nearby amenities;
Significant energy savings as each light fitting in the office area is fitted with an occupancy sensor to reduce energy consumption or wastage through active lights in areas where there are no occupants;
As part of the project development, community trader stalls and amenities have been installed on the active street network along Independence Avenue. This has helped to revitalise the central business district, bringing tourists close to the commercial zone of Windhoek;
FNB has implemented a waste and recycling management plan that addresses operational waste production, suitable storage and how operational waste is diverted from landfill for the life of the building;
Inclusion of an access flooring system that contains recycled content, which is also fully recyclable after use.