HarbourFront Centre, formerly known as Singapore’s World Trade Centre, has become one of the oldest buildings to win the Green Mark Platinum Award from the Building and Construction Authority (BCA).
The Platinum standard is the highest rating under the BCA’s Green Mark scheme, introduced in 2005 to improve the environmental performance of the construction industry. HarbourFront Centre qualifies under the ‘existing building’ category for retrofitted buildings.
The Platinum standard is much sought after in the industry. “We are very pleased that HarbourFront Centre, despite its age, has stood out with its exemplary green achievement. Our support for environmental sustainability not only reaps cost savings but will also benefit our tenants,” said Amy Ng, Mapletree’s chief executive officer (Singapore Investments), in a press release.
The 33 year old mixed-use building, owned and managed by Mapletree Investments, was refurbished in 2004 and 2008, in addition to having an energy-efficient chiller plant installed in 2009.
The retrofit of the building has produced significant results, including a nearly 50 per cent increase in air conditioning efficiency and a 30 per cent reduction in electricity costs. Energy efficient lighting was among the measures introduced to achieve the energy savings.
In addition to the energy savings, Mapletree achieved a reduction in water consumption of 11,000 cubic metres, primarily through more water efficient cooling towers.
The provision of recycling bins throughout the building encourages increased recycling rates from occupants and visitors of the 120 office and 160 retail units.
Mapletree, an Asia-focused real estate capital management company with a portfolio of S$12.9 billion invested in office, logistics, industrial, residential and retail/lifestyle properties, has a number of other green building accomplishments. Its new retail centre at the PSA Building, called the Alexandra Retail Centre (ARC) has attained a Gold standard rating.
Mapletree now owns a total of six Green Mark buildings in Singapore.
