GuocoLand condo bags top prize for eco-friendly buildings
Goodwood Residence boasts unique water management, waste recycling systems
By Jessica Cheam
A LUXURY condominium designed by local developer Guoco-Land Group won Singapore’s highest accolade for green buildings yesterday.
The 210-unit Goodwood Residence on Bukit Timah Road clinched the Building and Construction Authority (BCA) Green Mark Platinum Award for its high environmental standards.
Two innovations at the project, which is still under construction, caught the eye of the judging panel.
One is a pioneering water irrigation system that allows mass volumes of rain and underground water to be recycled. The other is a method of recycling construction waste and turning them into internal partition walls.
Instead of disposing of construction waste, including rubble from the demolished low-rise development Casa Rosita that used to be on the site, GuocoLand is recycling some materials to make new walls.
The developer said it had commercialised this ‘zero building waste’ approach - initially developed by Professor Wee Tiong Huan of the National University of Singapore’s civil engineering department.
Other striking eco-friendly features included the use of integrated sunshades that let residents block out the sun’s heat while still allowing ventilation, and a vertical green wall as the building’s facade to keep homes cool.
The two 12-storey block condo, located next to the lush greenery of Goodwood Hill, has about 500 trees that serve as its own green lung.
More than $600,000 in utility bills will also be saved every year as a result of the energy-efficient measures that will be put in place, such as more efficient lighting, air-conditioning systems and gas water heaters.
Half of these savings will be passed on to the condo’s residents in the form of lower utility bills, GuocoLand managing director Trina Loh told The Straits Times.
The other half of the savings will go towards covering the operational costs of the condo.
‘Although we had to spend 1.5 per cent more in construction costs, the long-term benefits will make it worthwhile,’ she added.
Besides demonstrating the company’s commitment to being a responsible developer, being green is also becoming increasingly ‘marketable’ to homebuyers, Ms Loh said.
The BCA Green Mark scheme was launched in 2005 and rates buildings on their environmental impact and performance.
Goodwood Residence is the second residential project to receive the platinum award.
The Oceanfront@Sentosa Cove, developed by City Developments, was honoured in April.
Source : Straits Times - 05 Oct 2007
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