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17

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 m

2

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)