WC Department of Health office wins green building accolades

14th June 2016 By: Anine Kilian - Contributing Editor Online

WC Department of Health office wins green building accolades

Department of Health office building, Bellville

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.