OLD SCHOOL COOL

New-age principles in an older package... Retrofitting gives existing buildings a new lease on life

- SILKE COLQUHOUN

In the shadow of stylish new green buildings, proudly basking in the limelight, are masses of older, tired and not-so-smart buildings. These are the unfashionable high-rises, a bit grimy and unloved; the neglected office buildings and those that have managed to retain their good looks and now hide their shortcomings within their brick walls.

'About 99% of buildings in South Africa are most likely very inefficient and not green, says Manfred Braune, chief technical officer at the Green Building Council South Africa (GBCSA). 'There is thus a huge opportunity and need for existing buildings to become more energy efficient and green, whether residential or non-residential. The demand for green buildings has mostly been in the office sector.

Green retrofitting - the refurbishing of the existing building stock with green principles particularly regarding improved energy efficiency is gaining momentum in SA. By 'recycling' an old building instead of demolishing it you save on resources such as construction materials as well as embodied energy and water that would have gone into building new from scratch. This also makes it easier to preserve the heritage of the original structure.

The GBCSA has developed a Green Star Existing Building Performance rating tool, which targets the whole building and reviews 12 months of operational data from an occupied building.

Alison Groves, regional director of building services at WSP Africa, says: 'Our focus at WSP has been primarily on designing new buildings with Green Star certifications, but recently we have started to also take on projects aimed at improving the sustainability of existing buildings.