Greenest African healthcare
Growthpoint Properties and Cintocare’s specialised surgical hospital development in Pretoria’s green precinct of Menlyn Maine has become the first healthcare property on the African continent to be awarded a Green Star rating. In this milestone achievement, the Cintocare hospital has received a 5 Green Star Custom Healthcare design certification from the Green Building Council of South Africa (GBCSA). “Earning SA’s first Custom Healthcare Green Star rating for Cintocare Hospital continues Growthpoint’s track record of exceptional green building leadership and displays Cintocare’s innovation,” says Lisa Reynolds, CEO, GBCSA. “Together, they’re creating a sustainable healthcare facility designed around the well-being of patients and hospital staff that supports the environment and communities, which is changing the future of healthcare properties in SA,” she says.
Specialised facility
Working closely together, Growthpoint and Cintocare are developing a tailor-made specialist surgical hospital that will focus on the head and neck, spinal, neuro-, and vascular surgeries offering state-of-the-art technology to support its highly specialised medical professionals. The construction of the R470m specialist hospital began in July 2018 and the project is on track for completion in the final quarter of this year despite the Covid-19 lockdown.
Design
Cintocare Hospital’s green building rating was achieved through an architectural design that incorporates many sustainable design principles. The 100-bed hospital includes several floors: the hospital plant room, three clinical and consulting levels and three parking levels. The building’s exterior reflects its fundamental purpose. Its glass facade which also serves to shade the building will be complemented by design features evocative of spinal vertebrae found in the neck. “Green healthcare buildings are designed to have positive impacts on their users, their surrounding communities and the environment, and they are the future of healthcare properties globally,” Dr Linda Sigaba, fund manager, Growthpoint Healthcare Property Holdings, says. “Growthpoint is an established leader in green developments, which allows our healthcare fund to grow its portfolio of properties with partners like Cintocare. We’ll continue supporting the growth of the healthcare sector by providing the capital to build new healthcare facilities and the green buildings of the future.”
New tool
The collaboration between Growthpoint, Cintocare, GBCSA and the professional team (including Aurecon) has resulted in a new green building certification tool for the healthcare and property sectors, to which Solid Green also contributed its expertise. This green certification tool is a road map driving the development of more green healthcare buildings in South Africa in future – and it’s available to everyone.