TABLE OF CONTENTS - The Professional Green Building Council

Theme B: Creating a livable, healthy and environmentally viable cities4. ENGAGING STAKEHOLDERS: IN PURSUIT OFENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY4.1 Planning and Design for Environmental SustainabilityPlanners and designers play a crucial role in the “embryonic stage” of our estatesduring the upstream planning and design work, which will ultimately affect thedownstream construction and occupation phases throughout the life of thebuildings. It therefore follows that we must positively engage this group of creativestakeholders and aligns their thoughts with our corporate vision and values.4.1.1 Adopting Micro-climate StudiesSince 2004, all our designs for new estates micro-climate studies have beenrequired to assess the performance of the estates by applying computational fluiddynamics techniques. Our designers are able to refine the scheme design tomaximize the advantages of the form, orientation and disposition of buildings andthereby optimize performance of local wind patterns, the natural ventilation tobuildings and dispersion of pollutants, day-lighting standards, thermal comfort, andprovide a basis for improved energy efficiency in occupation.Photo 2: Micro-climate Studies for Upper Ngau Tau KokThe studies will help us to provide a healthier, more natural and more user-friendly living environmentfor our tenants and the community. We have already applied these micro-climate modelling techniques on 26projects. The first project of its kind, Upper Ngau Tau Kok Phases 2 and 3 which is due for completion in2008, has been assessed under the Hong Kong Building Environmental Assessment Method (HK-BEAM) andhas achieved the provisional top-level Platinum Rating.294