GREEN BUILDINGS

An interior view showing the giant Central Street atrium. The Ridge’s facade, showing the glass side.

GREENING THE RIDGE

A fi rst-of-a-kind green commercial offi ce building has opened in the Portswood district of Cape Town’s V&A Waterfront. GARETH GRIFFITHS speaks to the developers about this living, breathing building

The completion of several signifi cant infrastructure projects in its precinct has increased the V&A Waterfront’s commercial offi ce portfolio. The latest offering, The Ridge, was commissioned as the Cape Town offi ce for the V&A’s tenant, multinational professional services fi rm Deloitte.

“The growth of a blue-chip commercial portfolio allows the V&A to diversify its fi nancial exposure to the excellent retail offering of the Victoria Wharf and complements the retail and residential offerings across the V&A. This blue-chip portfolio includes companies such as Allan Gray, Nedbank, PwC, Werksmans, E&Y, Red Bull, and now Deloitte, all choosing to locate their offi ces in the precinct,” says Vusumuzi Nondo, executive manager for development for the V&A Waterfront.

TREADING LIGHTLY

In 2020, The Ridge was awarded 6-Star Green Star Design certifi cation from the Green Building Council of South Africa. The V&A’s green innovations aim to promote a healthy work environment and low carbon modes of transport while also helping combat sick building.

“It has been said that working from an offi ce post-COVID-19 will never be the same again, worldwide. That’s true, but long before the pandemic, the V&A Waterfront development team identifi ed the paramount importance for

Vusumuzi Nondo and Franette Ventura, V&A Team

any business of a healthy offi ce space that looks after the wellness of employees,” Nondo adds.

Mark Noble, development director at the V&A, says that The Ridge includes several standout environmental features. The eye-catching engineered timber facade is the best example. “The facade on the top two fl oors of the building contains locally sourced cross-laminated mass timber unitised together with the more standard glass and aluminium panels.

“The use of timber as both the structural facade element and for internal and external fi nishes is, we believe, a genuine fi rst for South Africa. This has contributed signifi cantly to the architecture. It has also reduced the overall carbon footprint of the building by the equivalent of 60 mega-tonnes of CO2”.

THE RIDGE’S STANDOUT SUSTAINABLE FEATURES

• Mixed-mode method of ventilation, using fresh outdoor air coming off the

Atlantic, keeps occupants comfortable and healthy and saves electricity. • A thermally activated building system (TABS) helps to cool the workspaces on warm days. The system circulates chilled water through the fl oor slabs. • The timber facade with openable windows, TABS and natural ventilation system means that fresh air ventilation, not air conditioning, is used for 60 to 80 per cent of the year. • A striking 16-metre high atrium, called the “Central Street”, enables the movement of fresh air throughout the building and allows natural lighting from the roof to permeate the building. • Eco-bricks inside the fl oors have saved 38 000 megajoules of embodied (carbon-based) energy inside the building. Some 14 000 recycled plastic bottles fi lled and compacted with single-use plastic waste have been used, thus avoiding landfi ll.

GBCSA’S CREDIBLE AND OBJECTIVE MEASUREMENT FOR GREEN BUILDINGS IN SOUTH AFRICA & AFRICA

THE V&A’s GREEN INNOVATIONS AIM TO PROMOTE A HEALTHY WORK ENVIRONMENT AND LOW CARBON MODES OF TRANSPORT WHILE ALSO HELPING COMBAT SICK BUILDING.

EFFECTIVE UTILITY COST MANAGEMENT

Simplify utility management, cut costs, improve tenant relationships and reduce administrative burden with a prepaid submeter

The current market is easily defi ned as uncertain, tight and mercurial. Companies are under pressure to tighten belts and sharpen bottom line spend to ensure consistent and sustainable growth into the next quarter of the year. It’s a complex time, and companies in the property sector are facing an interesting battle for tenant retention among load shedding, economic challenges, fraud and cost-cutting measures.

“Companies are tightening their belts more than ever,” says Michael Franze, managing director at Citiq Prepaid. “They can’t afford to spend more than they planned on anything, whether it’s the latest technology innovation or their commercial property rental or their utility bills. Every cent must be accounted for to ensure that the business stays alive and afl oat over the next six to twelve months. This makes it incredibly important for commercial property owners to focus on solutions that will drive tenant engagement and stickiness.”

This stickiness, the glue that holds the tenant in place, can be built into property design and solutions that simplify tenant life and minimise admin. One such solution is prepaid submeters. Simple, effective, trustworthy and manageable – prepaid submeters can smooth the path for tenants by reducing the risk of unexpected costs or bill shock.

“One of the challenges facing most commercial property owners and managers is that utility spend and billing is erratic and complicated,” explains Franze. “The billing cycle can vary from area to area, and the costs incurred by tenants can be disputed if one bill is shared across multiple companies or individuals. If one company barely uses any energy, but another is devouring the power, the shared expense will only serve to get people’s backs up. With prepaid submeters, however, this challenge is completely bypassed.”

Prepaid submeters can be installed into individual offi ce blocks or units, accessed only by the tenants or the property managers, and payments can be completely controlled by the tenants. Using accessible tokens that can be purchased from physical stores or online, tenants can pay for their utility usage upfront, ensuring comprehensive management of their spend and easy insight into their usage. They can more effectively control their budgets with no unexpected bills arriving at the end of the month – what they use is paid for. What they paid for is used.

“While prepaid submeters won’t remove the problems caused by load shedding, the pandemic or service interruptions, they will remove a signifi cant percentage of the hassle often associated with utility payments and management,” says Franze. “Tenants, property owners, commercial property managers and estate management have granular control over their utilities. And, if they work with a company like Citiq Prepaid they also have access to a bouquet of online services and reporting tools.”

PROVIDING VISIBILITY

Citiq Prepaid has an online prepaid submetering management platform that provides property owners with visibility into their meter usage, meter status and more. The online platform is designed to be as user-friendly as possible with an intuitive dashboard that shows Buildings, Payments, Meters and Reports. Simple to manage, it provides immediate access to relevant information around prepaid submeters and payments, massively reducing the admin burden.

“The platform allows owners to see the new meters that have been added to the building, create reports that unpack the specifi cs of the different sites and gain an overall snapshot of status and payments,” explains Franze. “The reports include accounting, building statements, building summary and client issue, among others, and you can customise the dates so you can unpack any problems that may arise with ease.”

This intelligent platform, along with market-leading, high-quality prepaid submeters, sets Citiq Prepaid above the rest when it comes to service delivery, support, and capability. These tools do more than just simplify your utility management, they improve tenant relationships and transform admin.

➔ Scan this QR code to go directly to the Citiq Prepaid website.

For more information:

087 551 1111 Citiq Prepaid, Mahai Close, Howick Gardens, Waterfall Park, Midrand www.citiqprepaid.co.za