Prime Time invests on ENV friendly designs
PrimeTime aims to invest on environmentally friendly and conservative building designs which will save cost to tenants. The company has recently been awarded a five Star Design Rating for its upcoming Prime Plaza II building by the Green Star design rating Council of South Africa.
The Green Star SA is a rating tool developed by the Council of South Africa which is based on the assessment of design drawings and other documentation which form part of the tender document. Prime Time assets Manager, Kagiso Sebetso said although Botswana does not have the green design rating tool currently, the company opted to submit its designs for its upcoming Motswere building to Green Building Council of South Africa.
The design rating award also reflects the intention to develop an objectively certified green building and is Internationally recognized by the World Green Building Council. “It is more cumbersome to retrospectively make a building sustainable, hence the design phase is the best starting point for a sustainable building.” Botswana’s Green Building Council was launched in 2016 with an aim to address climate change, which had adversely affected the world. Sebetso highlighted that dealing with the efficiency of a building at design stage allows the team to realistically cost and budget for the features that make the building ‘ Green’. She explained that by adopting green building materials tenants will have more benefits of reduced costs of utilities such as electricity and water.
There are five categories which includes indoor environment quality, minimised greenhouse gas emissions, minimised potable water consumption as water is a big issue in Botswana, and the diversion of operational waste to landfills through recycling. The construction of Motswere will commence this year and will be complete within 18 months. She explained that certifying a building prior to building it, gives the development team the assurance that the completed building will indeed meet green building standards. “Designing a sustainable building does not only dictate its operation but also influences its construction methodology. With a sustainable design, the contractor can price for construction management practices that are less harmful to the environment.”
Meanwhile, Prime Time Asset Administrator, John Kelly highlighted that they have been working with Botswana Power Corporation to connect solar to the national grid. Prime Plaza building is currently using only about 30 percent of electricity from BPC as most of energy is from solar grids installed in the buildings.