With the theme of ‘Future Cities, post 2020’, the upcoming Green Property Summit is providing the local industry with global perspectives and insights into how designs, attitudes and approaches to the built environment are changing.
Among the top international talent presenting at the event, scheduled to take place on 29 March 2017, is Paul Rode, a New Yorker who develops and implements energy saving retrofit projects.
New York City has a plan to reduce buildings-based emissions by 30 per cent by 2025 from a 2005 baseline. The City’s plan calls for a task force and technical study to identify the pathway New York City must take beyond 2025 to reduce further emissions toward the citywide goal of 80 per cent reduction by 2050.
One of Rode’s key projects was the energy efficiency retrofit of the iconic Empire State Building, construction of which was completed in 1931.
Rode, senior vice president of engineering at The Related Company, says in Manhattan, the green building movement has taken hold for good reason.
“In the highly competitive real estate industry green building standards have become the new normal for developers.
That’s because they offer a range of quantifiable benefits. They are more desirable to top companies and their employees, as they have lower vacancy rates and better cashflows.”
There are benefits to occupants, too. “Green buildings have better indoor air quality and may have lower energy expenses, while tenants recognise them as being socially responsible, with enhanced appeal for younger workforces.”
While it might be assumed only new buildings can be built with ‘green’ principles in mind, Rode says this is far from the case.
“Green building standards were originally established to ensure new construction projects provided better work spaces with lower environmental impact. However, 80 per cent of the buildings in any major city will be here 50 years from now. To keep up with population and economic growth, while at the same time improving the environment, existing building stock has to be addressed along with new buildings to meet sustainability targets.”
Societies are about to change fundamentally to meet climate change goals. Therefore t is necessary, to establish a way to make old buildings more efficient.
“From a carbon footprint standpoint, retrofitting existing buildings can be much more carbon efficient than tearing down and rebuilding. There are many new materials and technology that allows us to perform deep energy retrofits to existing buildings bringing their energy consumption down, in many cases by more than 50 per cent.”
Green buildings are also designed to deliver more liveable spaces, says Rode.
Examples include, open spaces, creative layouts and walking paths; stair use is encouraged; private offices and conference rooms are centrally located, with open work areas at the perimeter to provide outside views.
Ample natural light can penetrate deeply, supplemented with variable artificial light, while highly filtered air includes large quantities of outside air. Temperature and humidity are carefully controlled.
“The air you breathe, the light you see with, and the water you drink are the highest quality possible,” he notes.
Those benefits, adds Rode, do come at a premium, but it is a slight one. In his experience, they cost around five per cent more to build. “However, the cost is decreasing rapidly.”
Rode says many retrofits have been completed, with a growing body of knowledge and experience providing impetus for additional projects. He points to challenges in the execution of such projects, which include working around tenants, with the typical tasks of façade improvement, lighting and ventilation likely to impact daily operations.
“Managing this is not unlike changing your car’s tyre while driving the vehicle,” he notes.
Other challenges include the discoveries made along the way, which can lead to scope creep.
At the Green Property Summit, taking place at Auckland’s Grand Millennium Hotel, Rode will present detailed cost information which helps support decisions to retrofit existing buildings with energy efficiency and other techniques for the creation of more sustainable environments.
However, he stresses that projects are generally designed around a set of business assumptions all ending with return on investment.
“Greening includes scope that saves money by lowering energy consumption, reduces vendor maintenance costs, prolongs the life of equipment life and makes money through reduced vacancy and the acquisition of better tenants. While the costs and savings are highly variable, most green retrofit projects have an ROI of greater than 20 per cent.”
For more information or to register, visit our events page.