Sustainability Development More Central to a Successful Project

Sustainability accreditation from an independent, third-party sustainability organization such as the U.K.-based BREEAM, the U.S.-based LEED or, increasingly, WELL, have become the norm for development in Hungary. Indeed, in the office and logistics sectors, they had become almost a prerequisite for a successful development prior to the COVID-19 emergency.

By BBJ Staff

Sustainability consultants and practitioners are bringing to the fore issues regarding the life-cycle of a building, the perceived wellbeing of staff and the relationship of a building to the wider urban environment. These issues are integrated into the concept and design of a project in reaction to environmental concerns, governmental and municipal regulations and market pressures such as letting, securing preleases and exit strategy with the sale of an asset to an investor.

Leading developers such as Skanska, Horizon Development and Futureal are committed to developing their projects

in line with WELL accreditation in addition to the more established LEED and BREEAM systems.

“Skanska Hungary will soon complete the Nordic Light Trio office building, our first project to be WELL-certified and sold to a South Korean investor in 2019 and in which 100% of space has been already pre-leased,” reflects Alexandra Tomášková, executive vice president of operations for Hungary and the Czech Republic at Skanska commercial development CEE, on the necessity for sustainability throughout the development and investment cycle of a building.

With regard to the influence that LEED, BREEAM, WELL and other sustainability organizations have on the new health, work and social environment, Zsombor Barta, president of the Hungarian Green Building Council (HuGBC), argues: “The new challenges show that systematic thinking and therefore sustainability is the direction which should be focused on. The systematic approach was always included into the international green building certification schemes; however, often the sustainable approach was not fully followed during the design, construction and PM activities in the CE region.”

DIFFERENT METHODOLOGY

He believes things could be moving on that front, however. “This could now change, as the new challenges require a different working methodology and approach. The green building certification schemes provide the systematic methodology, which can significantly support commercial real estate design, development and operation,” Barta says.

Budapest has around 1.5 million sqm of sustainability accredited office space, according to Colliers International; that represents 40% of total space. Further, of the 570,00 sqm of space under construction almost all is accredited. According to HuGBC, around 10 projects are in the process of assessment for WELL precertification or certification.

A further element of sustainability in development and building operation is the concept of “circularity”, which brings in issues of the need for a low carbon footprint, low energy use and the use of none toxic materials in construction. This is increasingly being incorporated into, for example,

Zsombor Barta

the BREEAM accreditation system. The argument is that a sustainable building has to be constructed and managed on a basis that reduces its carbon footprint. This forms part of the wider concept of a circular economy that strives to eliminate waste and enables the continuous use of resources, a closed-loop system that minimizes the use of resource inputs and designs out the creation of waste and carbon-emissions.

The stakeholders in the creation of a circular economy are seen as investors, building-users and authorities by the construction engineer Remko Zuidema, founder of the Dutch BRIQS

Foundation, which promotes the concept of a circular economy and sustainable societal systems. “A sustainable building has a circular rather than a linear life-span, this involves reduced energy-use and carbon footprint,” he says.

GOOD EXAMPLES

The concept could be seen as the market and sustainability factors impacting building developers at the same time. “There is a need for good examples of circular buildings to persuade developers to construct in this way. With the development of higher quality building, owners are able to receive higher rents. Therefore, more developers are looking at the concept with the use of as many generic rather than specific elements as possible with the creation of a building passport,” Zuidema explains.

Barta, of the HuGBC, sees flexibility in the use of buildings as one of the key elements of a circular economy.

“We have heard a lot about new economic models like a sharing economy and if you can integrate these new economic models into the facility operation and maintenance and functions of the building, then you can use refer to it as a circular building,” he says.

“One of the economic models is that a building does not have a particular function but the function is also changeable and capable of being modified. For example, you do not have predefined offices for a specific tenant; these spaces can also be utilized for meeting rooms or for completely different types of functions, depending on the needs. In my view, a fully circular building or real estate is not only due to the materials used and a low environmental impact, but also in terms of usage. The concept still has to be developed with regard to the use of space,” he comments.

Tenants have also become more conscious of sustainability issues with regard to workspaces, both in terms of design solutions and the building’s sustainability and wellbeing factors, in the view of Attila Kovács, managing partner at Horizon Development.

“Horizon Development works in close cooperation with DVM group, a general contractor with the most comprehensive range of building services in Hungary. This unique, single-contract collaboration enables us to closely monitor the entire planning and construction process, to flexibly integrate our tenants’ requirements into the building design (including aesthetic, technical and sustainable solutions), and to deliver the exact product the client envisioned,” he says.

Attila Kovács

According to DVM, external and internal parts of the base building are designed as part of an integrated process. Integration of fit-out design depends on the nature of the building (built to suit or core and shell), and the schedule of the different tenants. Some standard elements of the fitouts have to be defined during base building design.

REGIONAL CONSISTENCY

Regional developers are constructing sustainable project across their European portfolios. Agora in Budapest by HB Reavis has been awarded BREEAM “Communities Interim” certification, the first commercial project in Hungary to achieve this, according to HB Reavis. Additionally, the first two buildings in the first phase have received BREEAM “Outstanding” and “Excellent” accreditation.

“It provides a framework to support planners, local authorities and developers through the master planning process, before embarking on procurement, detailed building level design and construction,” the company says.

“In addition to the more than 7,000 sqm of green areas, solar collectors will be placed on the roof. The energy produced by them will be supplied to the central systems of the buildings. The use of rainwater for irrigation will ensure the sustainable operation and decrease of water consumption. There will also be electronic charging points in the underground garage, for at least 3% of the total parking capacity,” HB Reavis adds.

Having become the norm for class “A” office developers, regional industrial developers are now constructing and managing industrial parks in accordance with third-party sustainability accreditation.

“While it was less typical in the past, the number of green industrial properties has increased significantly, with 10 new and 11 existing buildings already certified, representing more than 300,000 sqm of industrial and logistics space,” said Norbert Szircsák, head of green building advisory services at Colliers International Hungary.

CTP is in the process of introducing the concept and practice of a circular economy, for example in energy and water conservation. The company is applying for BREEAM in-use accreditation for its entire CEE industrial portfolio.

Edina Hornok

The WELL system was developed to focus primarily on people by supporting human health and well-being issues. With regard to the current health emergency, Edina Hornok, head of sustainability consultancy at DVM, argues that although the sustainability standards – especially WELL – already had a strong focus on healthy indoor environment, now this topic is expected to get more emphasis within the certification systems.

“These organizations have created new guidance that puts hygiene and the safety of workers at the heart of planning: besides creating flexible layouts and wider spaces for less people, they promote the application of durable materials for heavy cleaning, increased maintenance and cleaning of mechanical systems, creating health screening spots, and applying smart technologies to make contactless offices and to collect space utilization data,” Hornok says.

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