Construction World February 2016

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CONSTRUCTION WORLD FEBRUARY 2016
WATER POSITIVE
HEAD OFFICE
Both rain water and air-conditioning
condensate is harvested from the roof
and balconies and stored in a tank below
the basement, which is almost the size of an
olympic pool. This amounts to a reduction in
water consumption in the building by approx-
imately 90%.
Chevron Century Boulevard is one of a
handful of buildings in the area that has been
awarded a Five-Star Green Star rating bestowed
by the Green Building Council of South Africa for
excellence in green building design, construction
and management.
Commenting on the sustainability perfor-
mance of their head office, Shashi Rabbipal,
chairman of Chevron South Africa stated,
“Chevron South Africa wanted to provide the
most appropriate and sustainable long term
office accommodation for the well-being of
our employees and environment in which we
operate. The operations of the building over
the past 12 months show that design and
construction techniques are critical to producing
sustainable spaces.”
Chevron South Africa trades under the Caltex
brand in the country.
Occupied since 2014, the newChevron South
Africa headquarters has reduced its electricity
consumption by roughly half. Contributing to
the reduction in electricity is the installation
of a sophisticated lighting control, known as
Digital Addressable Lighting Interface, which is
energy efficient and permits control over each
light individually.
The award winning Louis Karol Architects,
who focused on using mostly locally sourced
materials in the building, believes that design
for detail permanence and creative re-usability
are an important contribution to architectural
sustainability, “Building obsolescence is an envi-
ronmental catastrophe. Aside from the conven-
Chevron Century Boulevard
is a R200-million, 9 000 m2
head office with a difference.
It is a water-positive building,
collecting more water than
it consumes.
>
tional environmental priorities of energy and
materials consumption, given that buildings can
constitute the most polluting entities on earth,
creative re-usability is our greatest contribution
to architectural sustainability.”
Shashi Rabbipal continues, “Chevron world-
wide is at the cutting edge of technology and it
is therefore appropriate that we have a marriage
of human needs and architectural ideals in this
wonderful building.
“We have a fine example of how good archi-
tecture can combine with technology to influ-
ence our moods and consumption behaviour,
which is so important considering South Africa’s
water and energy needs.”
In addition to the recognition for its envi-
ronmentally friendly features, the developers
also fetched an award for safety at the 2013
Master Builders’ Association for achieving a
zero-injury status during the construction period
of 450 days.
“Chevron South Africa has maintained a
longstanding presence in the country dating
back to 1911 and Chevron Century Boulevard is
themodern symbol of our on-going contribution
to the country and the economy of Cape Town.
This year, government has put more emphasis
on improving the struggling economy, creating
jobs, developing service delivery and making
South Africa more energy secure.
“We all have a role to play in this. The
combined workforce of Chevron South Africa
and its business partners supports over 100 000
jobs, which amounts to approximately 0,8% of
total employment in South Africa.”
For each employment opportunity created by
Chevron South Africa and its direct suppliers, 3,1
additional jobs are sustained by Chevron South
Africa throughout the economy.
“Furthermore, Chevron South Africa makes a
considerable contribution to the Western Cape
as well as the national Gross Domestic Product
(GDP). During the course of 2012, Chevron South
Africa generated an estimated R19-billion in tax
income,” Rabbipal concludes.
who adds that “At current exchange rates,
Hinkley C has an LCOE in excess of
R 2,00/kWh.
“Being in the RE industry, of course I’m
biased towards renewable energy gener-
ation, but it’s difficult to ignore audited,
unbiased figures. And this evidence
points to the fact that, compared to other
new-build generation options, RE is scal-
able, cost-effective and quick to deploy,”
he concludes.
Sources
• WWF Technical Report, Renewable
Energy Vision 2030 – South Africa
• University of Cape Town Energy
Research Centre Analysis
• Council for Scientific and Industrial
Research (CSIR) Energy Centre Study
• Projected Costs of Electricity
Generation, International Energy
Agency (IEA) and Nuclear Energy
Agency (NEA)