Green buildings can cost less if design plans start early

Today Online 6 May 09;

Big or small, if you “design right from day one” there will be cost energy savings.

It’s just that with bigger properties, the energy savings are “more obvious” said the Building and Construction Authority’s (BCA) deputy director of technology development division Tan Tian Chong.

He was responding to a query on why the $100-million green mark incentive scheme to encourage developers and building owners to retrofit their buildings with energy-efficient design and practices, only applies to existing developments with a gross floor area of 2,000 square metres and above.

Mr Tan, who was speaking at an industry get together of planners, architects and developers yesterday, said that since most of Singapore’s residential properties are condominiums, the incentives would be most felt there. But there is nothing to stop smaller landed property owners from designing green and it is a misconception that green buildings cost more.

“It depends on how you design your building. If you design right from day one, the premium can be as low as 2 to 3 per cent instead of 6 to 7 per cent,” he said.

Mr Tan also announced that BCA will launch the inaugural International Green Building Conference in October during BEX Asia, Southeast Asia’s green building exhibition.

Esther Ng

Green technologies to win you over
BCA event to help realise 80% target for eco-friendly buildings
Jessica Cheam, Straits Times 6 May 09;

SINGAPORE'S nascent green building industry is set to get a boost from a new event in October which will showcase the best of the Republic's technologies.

The Building and Construction Authority (BCA) yesterday announced that it will hold the inaugural International Green Building Conference on Oct 28.

The three-day event aims to attract 1,000 participants from around the region.

BCA director of technology development Tan Tian Chong told reporters yesterday the event will help realise Singapore's goal of greening 80 per cent of all its 15,500 buildings by 2030 from the current 1 per cent.

This was one of the targets outlined in a blueprint on sustainable development unveiled by the Government last week.

'Such events will continue to raise the awareness and adoption of environmentally friendlier, more sustainable designs, materials and construction methods among builders and developers in the region,' he said.

The conference will be held in partnership with BEX Asia, a green building exhibition organised by events firm Reed Exhibitions, which expects to attract 5,000 participants from more than 16 countries.

Mr Ashvinkumar Kantilal, president of the Singapore Institute of Architects, another event partner, said yesterday that architects have seen a big rise in the number of developers requiring green features in their buildings.

'The buy-in from the industry has been very rapid, as building owners recognise the potential savings from building green,' said Mr Kantilal, adding that this has been aided by cash incentives given out by the BCA to building owners.

The success of Singapore's Green Mark scheme, used to rate a building's environmental performance, has even led Malaysia's building industry to work with local players here to develop its own green building scheme, he added.

The BCA will also be opening Singapore's first zero-energy building at the conference. The complex will have a net zero energy consumption over a year, made possible by solar panels covering an area of 1,300 sq m which will be integrated on the roof of one of the buildings.

Green building events may add buzz to industry
Downturn may have some impact on the conference and exhibition: BCA
Business Times 6 May 09;

THE Building & Construction Authority (BCA) expects 800 to 1,000 local and foreign participants to turn up for its inaugural International Green Building Conference in October.

The conference, which will focus on green building technologies and designs, will take place alongside South-east Asia's green building exhibition BEX Asia, which could draw another 5,000 visitors.

The economic downturn may have some impact on the events, said BCA director of technology development Tan Tian Chong.

But with new incentives to get at least 80 per cent of buildings in Singapore Green Mark-certified by 2030, they may 'add more buzz to the industry and create an interest to improve the value and energy efficiency of existing buildings'.

Last week, the government introduced several schemes to promote sustainable development in Singapore.

For instance, BCA launched a $100 million Green Mark incentive scheme for existing buildings to entice owners of some private non-residential developments to carry out energy efficiency retrofitting.

According to Mr Tan, BCA's co-funding can help shorten the investment's payback period by as much as a third.

The agency found in a study that a building with the Green Mark platinum rating can carry a cost premium of 2 to 8 per cent, with a payback period of two to eight years.

President of the Singapore Institute of Architects Ashvinkumar Kantilal, who is also projects director at Architects 61, said his firm has got 'quite a handful of enquiries' in the past two days from clients who wish to know if they can benefit from the green incentives.

He believes other architectural firms are seeing a similar trend.

BCA said that 245 buildings have received Green Mark certification.

They have a gross floor area (GFA) of around 10.47 million sq m, out of a total building stock of about 210 million sq m.

Of the 245 buildings, however, only 60 are complete and in use, representing a GFA of around 1.7 million sq m.