Malaysian Institute of Architects (PAM) president Boon Chee Wee said the property industry players in the State support PAM’s effort to promote, encourage and incentivise the development of green buildings in Sabah.
“As Sabah led the launch of Green Building Index (GBI) at the end of last year, I strongly believe that green and design are the two key differentiators in the new world order, as both green and design are high income and high value industries on their own, and together their combined potential in enhancing our global competitiveness, in almost all other sectors of economy, is even more immense, Boon said.
“PAM would like to seek the state’s support to encourage more opportunities to discover more of our architectural talents from Sabah through architectural design competition, not only for government projects but also for projects of state interest by our government-linked companies and Malaysian multinational companies,” he said.
Design competitions will also provide opportunities for community and industry consultation and for architects in Sabah to share their visions on what’s next in the built environment for the state, he told a media conference after the launch of IPEX 2011 at Sabah Trade Center in Likas yesterday.
Boon said that with the abundant natural resources in the state, there is potential for the GBI certification to be in greater demand, especially with the more local developers requesting for the certification.
In Malaysia, the GBI is developed by PAM and the Association of Consulting Engineers Malaysia (ACEM), and was officially launched on 21 May 2009.
The GBI will provide an assessable differentiation to promote environment-friendly buildings for the future of Malaysia.
It is a benchmarking rating system that incorporates internationally recognized best practices in environmental design and performance.
Buildings will be awarded the GBI rating based on 6 key criteria: energy efficiency; indoor environmental quality; sustainable site planning and management; material and resources; water efficiency and innovation.
Meanwhile, PAM Sabah Chapter president Ho Jia Lit said PAM has lobbied several federal ministries, including Kota Kinabalu City Hall, for adoption of the GBI Index.
He suggested City Hall draw up a guideline and consider how to make it a requirement for all future housing development to be provided with a minimal 50mm thick insulation wool with double sided aluminum insulation sheet to its roof space.
Meanwhile, City Hall director general Datuk Yeo Boon Hai who represented Mayor Datuk Abidin Madingkir, said whatever is good for the people, they will consider it.
