The Western Cape Department of Transport and Public Works has been recognised by the Green Building Council of South Africa (GBCSA) for its work on a R128-million regional office building currently under construction for the Department of Health in Bellville, Western Cape.

The building, located at Karl Bremer Hospital and under construction on a 14 000 m² site, became the first recipient of the GBCSA Socio-Economic Category Pilot Award.

Due for completion in January, the project was also awarded the GBCSA 5-Star Green Star Certified SA rating for the design of a public or education building.

The facility would provide accommodation for over 320 public servants and was expected to be a catalyst for the regeneration of surrounding areas once complete.

Since construction started in January last year, R70-million had been spent on procuring services from local contractors.
 
In a statement released on Tuesday, the Western Cape government noted that the project’s economic opportunity targets had three main elements.

The first requirement was a minimum contract participation goal of 5% of the total project value being spent on joint venture contracts with developing contractors who also received enterprise development support from the main contractor.

The second target was to spend 25% of the contract value on the procurement of project-specific goods and services from black-owned and women-owned small and medium-sized enterprises.

The third target was to spend 70% of the contract value on locally produced materials, products and services.

The office would use less water, generate less waste, and provide healthier working conditions for employees.

A passive solar design lessened the need for heating, while cooling and activity spaces were open and aimed at encouraging communication between offices and promoting a sense of community.