INSIGHT A note from the editor Robbie Stammers

As I write the last Editor’s Note of 2021, we are sitting on approximately 625 days under Covid lockdowns. It has been a very trying time for everyone and beyond anything we have surely experienced in our lifetime.

Yet, South Africans are a resilient bunch, and we always have a knack of bouncing back and getting on with things. Ask any sports commentator what happens when the Springbok rugby team are “wounded”, and they will assure you that we come back harder and faster than ever before.

So with Covid fatigue very much at the forefront of all of our minds and spirits, let us see out this year with as much positivity as we can muster. It has been an even longer and tougher year than 2020, so we all deserve a good pat on the back.

Resilience is all about being able to overcome the unexpected. Sustainability is about survival. The goal of resilience is to thrive.

Jamais Cascio

We are happy to report that all is not doom and gloom. The GBCSA announced that 140 buildings were certified over the past year – a record number, illustrating the growing momentum of green building in South Africa. The announcement was made during the GBCSA’s flagship Green Building Convention that was held at the Cape Town International Convention Centre last month, which was a rip-roaring success.

At the close of the 2021 Convention, aptly named – One – for One Planet. One Chance, in a time we really need to take a good long hard look at ourselves and the way we treat the planet we survive on, the Green Leadership award winners were announced. Readers can read more about the winners of the year in this edition. We congratulate all the winners.

We cannot thank you enough for all of your support this year. From our entire team, we want to wish you a happy festive season and a prosperous 2022!

Editor

Keep Striving Forward

With eight 6-Star Green Star rated buildings in 2021, along with 6-Star ratings on all lifestyle centres and EDGE-accreditations on every apartment developed, Balwin Properties is taking great strides in painting the residential sector green.

WORDS Nicole Cameron

Apartments are centred around a green oasis offering a pool and relaxation area for residents at Fynbos Lifestyle Estate.

LEADING THE WAY IN HOME LIVING

The strategic decision to take the lead in presenting sustainable lifestyle options to the residential market was driven by the clear benefits available to clients, says Matthew Whalley, green innovation manager at Balwin. Sustainability is a core part of the company’s DNA, with green buildings forming a natural element of a vision that extends from environmental concerns through to social sustainability and beyond.

“Rather than just adding renewable energy to an inefficient building, our goal is to optimise building performance and then apply offsets,” Whalley explains. “Energy efficient lighting and appliances, water-efficient fittings, on-site solar power, food gardens as well as water harvesting and waste water treatments are just some of the sustainable features that we are proud to have included in recent developments,” he says. “Not forgetting green bonds, which have saved clients over R100-million.”

While Whalley affirms that a green lifestyle is now highly desirable for clients, some challenges still exist in terms of getting stakeholders on board, mainly pertaining to perceived costs. “This is where we see a great opportunity to educate the market comprehensively on the benefits of a green offering, and next year our goal is to aggressively reduce clients’ monthly expenses through additional water and energysaving features.”

To me, the most important thing is what legacy you leave in life. I want to be known as a property developer who left something on this earth and made it a better place.

Steve Brookes, CEO of Balwin Properties

CUTTING-EDGE LIVING SUSTAINABLE SNAPSHOTS: THREE BALWIN DEVELOPMENTS

Fynbos Lifestyle Centre

Situated within The Fynbos Lifestyle estate in Sandown, Cape Town, this single-storey community centre project offers a plethora of amenities such as a gym, laundromat, offices and a spa as well as a Montessori Crèche. The traditional rustic farmhouse design, rooted in nature, peacefulness and simplicity belies a building that has implemented world-leading internal building service and architectural sustainability initiatives that contribute to the sustainability of the entire estate. Some of these features include: • Sub-metering of major energy consuming systems, as gathering information is key to understanding and managing building systems and to assess opportunities for energy savings. • Minimisation of greenhouse gas emissions associated with operational energy consumption is reduced. An energy model of the building was generated, and in the design stages of the building, compared to a notional building model.

The building design showed an improvement of 100% (net-zero operating emissions base building) over a SANS 10400 notional building. • Provision has been made to ensure all individual or enclosed spaces are individually switched. This offers greater flexibility for light switching, making it easy to light only occupied areas. The building’s peak electrical demand is actively reduced using a photovoltaic system. • A direct visual connection to the external environment is provided for 80% of the community centre occupied area. A high level of thermal comfort is ensured by addressing the internal operative temperatures through modelling and ensuring they are within the ASHRAE

Standard 55-2004 Acceptability Limits for at least 98% of occupied hours.

A bold entrance to Fynbos Lifestyle Estate, with a symbolic biophilia welcoming residents and visitors.

• A project-specific environmental management plan was developed and implemented throughout the duration of construction to establish guidelines that minimise the environmental impact associated with construction activities.

A project-specific waste management plan was developed and implemented to minimise the contribution of waste going to landfill. • The building achieves savings through the use of water-efficient fittings, rainwater harvesting and a grey-water system installed to reuse water used in the laundromat as irrigation. • Balwin Properties has over exceeded the target by implementing several innovation measures that not only allow for a world leadership building yet also encourage the improvement of their contractor and design professional team; this is done through GBCSA online courses and further metering education measures. • Energy and water usage as well as indoor air quality levels and learning resources are displayed publicly throughout the estate.

Greencreek Lifestyle Centre

Greencreek is a unique development in the Riverwalk Estate, situated in the rapidly expanding suburbs east of Pretoria and providing a link between Mamelodi and Silverlakes. With its prime location, it is situated with easy access to the N4 highway, with established education facilities and schools in the immediate surrounds, as well as top restaurants and grocery and retail stores. The lifestyle centre is a leisure project that boasts features like an outdoor gym, laundromat, food garden and art gallery. A few of the sustainability elements which earn it its six green stars include: • The implementation of biophilic design to prioritise the human-nature connection and to create a mood of rest and wellbeing using colour, light and texture. • A direct visual connection to the external environment is provided for 80% of the community centre occupied area. A high level of thermal comfort is ensured by addressing the internal operative temperatures through modelling and ensuring they are within the ASHRAE

Standard 55-2004 Acceptability Limits for at least 98% of occupied hours. • The building achieves savings with water efficient fittings and rainwater harvesting installed to provide water for flushing and irrigation. Sub-metering of major water consuming systems is in place. • All selected gaseous and fire suppression systems and thermal insulants used for the development have an ozone depleting potential (ODP) of zero, to eliminate any contributions to long-term damage to the earth’s stratospheric ozone layer. • A project specific environmental management plan was developed and implemented throughout the duration of construction to establish guidelines to follow to minimise the environmental impact associated with construction activities, along with a project-specific waste management plan which was developed and implemented to minimise the contribution of waste going to landfill. • Learning resources are found throughout the whole internal and external fabric of the development. • The lifestyle centre promotes the use of alternative fuel vehicles, motorbikes and bicycles by designating parking spaces near building entrances for occupants with zero to low carbon emitting modes of transport.

Warm woods and biophilic features bring life to this simple barnhouse structure at Greencreek Lifestyle Centre.

The Huntsman Lifestyle Centre is located next to the Montessori creche, offering convenience and stress-free living to families.

Huntsman Lifestyle Centre

Situated in Cape Town’s picturesque Somerset West, Balwin Properties’ Huntsman Lifestyle Centre is a modern, beautifully designed, secure and familyfriendly estate, which is ideal for first-time home buyers, young couples, small families, or rental investors. While every apartment offers eco-friendly living to residents, the 6-Star Lifestyle Centre is yet another example of leading green building. In the same vein as Balwin’s other community centre projects, amenities such as a gym, laundromat, offices, a Montessori crèche and a spa are housed within a simple rustic farmhouse structure. Key sustainable features include: • Sub-metering of major energy consuming systems is in place. Gathering information is key to understanding and managing building systems and to assess opportunities for energy savings. • Minimisation of greenhouse gas emissions associated with operational energy consumption is reduced. An energy model of the building was generated and in the design stages of the building compared to a notional building model.

The building design showed an improvement of 100% (net-zero operating emissions base building) over a SANS 10400 notional building. • The buildings peak electrical demand is actively reduced using the photovoltaic system. • A direct visual connection to the external environment is provided for 80% of the community centre occupied area. A high level of thermal comfort is ensured by addressing the internal operative temperatures through modelling and ensuring they are within the ASHRAE

Standard 55-2004 Acceptability Limits for at least 98% of occupied hours. • All selected gaseous and fire suppression systems and thermal insulants used for the development

have an ozone depleting potential (ODP) of zero, to eliminate any contributions to long-term damage to the earth’s stratospheric ozone layer. • A project specific environmental management plan was developed and implemented throughout the duration of construction to establish guidelines to follow to minimise the environmental impact associated with construction activities. A project specific waste management plan was developed and implemented to minimise the contribution of waste going to landfill. • The building achieves a savings through the use of water efficient fittings, rainwater harvesting and a grey water system installed to reuse water used in the laundromat as irrigation. • Balwin Properties has over exceeded the target by implementing several innovation measures that not only allow for a world leadership building yet also encourages the improvement of their contractor and design professional team, this is done through GBCSA online courses and further metering education measures. • A public display of the energy, water usage and indoor air quality levels within the development educates residents and visitors. • The lifestyle centre promotes the use of alternative fuel vehicles, motorbikes and bicycles.

“To me, the most important thing is what legacy you leave in life. I want to be known as a property developer who left something on this earth and made it a better place,” comments Steve Brookes, CEO of Balwin Properties. He also expresses his belief in South Africa and how we can individually make efforts to improve it. This is certainly the case through Balwin’s leading developments, which are leaving their sustainable footprints across the country’s residential sector.