+IMPACT MAGAZINE ISSUE 15

IMPACT 

Official publication of the Green 

Building Council of South Africa 

15 

RESIDENTIAL 

ISSUE 

The 2021 Award winners

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IMPACT 

The official publication of GBCSA 

Consulting Editor 

Robbie Stammers 

editor@positive-impact.africa 

Managing Editor 

Alexis Knipe 

alexis@greeneconomy.media 

Director 

Danielle Solomons 

dani@positive-impact.africa 

Editorial Contributors 

Melinda Hardisty 

Nicole Cameron 


GBCSA Editorial Advisory 

Georgina Smit 

Jenni Lombard 

Jo Anderson 

Design and Layout 

Carla Lawrence, CDC Design 

Media Sales 

Gerard Jeffcote 

Glenda Kulp 

Vania Reyneke 

Joint Publishers 

Gordon Brown 

gordon@greeneconomy.media 

Danielle Solomons 

danielle@greeneconomy.media 

Head of Content 

Alexis Knipe 

Production Administrator 

Melanie Taylor 

Web Digital and Social Media 

Steven Mokopane 

GE.tv Head of Production 

Byron Mac Donald 

MPeople Resourcing (Pty) Ltd 

t/a GreenEconomy.Media 

Reg no. 2005/003854/07 

Chief Executive Officer 

Lisa Reynolds 

Finance & Operations 

Manager 

Levinia Palmer 

Marketing Manager 

Christy Borman 

Cover image: 

Balwin Properties: 

Greencreek Lifestyle Centre 

All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any way or in any form without the prior written permission of the Publisher. The opinions expressed herein are not 

necessarily those of the GBCSA or the Publisher. All editorial and advertising contributions are accepted on the understanding that the contributor either owns or has obtained all necessary copyrights and 

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CALLING ALL THOUGHT LEADERS 

+Impact Magazine, the official publication of the GBCSA, presents thought leadership from local and international green building commentators and practitioners, and showcases 

the excellent work of GBCSA members. 

Are you a thought leader in your relevant field? GBCSA members are invited to submit stories about projects, design concepts, materials, research, and anything else that promotes 

a healthy sustainable built environment. Submit a 200-word description of your content idea with 1-2 images to: editor@positive-impact.africa 

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POSITIVE IMPACT ISSUE 15 

5

08 

Our Editorial 

Advisory Board 

09 INSIGHT 

A note from the editor, 


10 RESIDENTIAL 

LEADING THE WAY 

Balwin Properties leading 

the way in home living 

CONTENTS 

16 PROJECT 

MAGICAL MOSTWERE 

Botswana’s first 

Green Star milestone 

26 

36 

GBCSA AWARDS 

THE YEAR THAT WAS 2021 

Celebrating certifications, 

the Convention and 

award winners 

GBCSA STUDY 

LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION 

How the position of a housing 

development impacts its 

carbon footprint 

42 GLOBAL 

GREEN WORLD 

In this edition, we feature 

Thanda Island off Tanzania 


7

IMPACT 

INSIGHT 

EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD 

BOB VAN BEBBER 

Bob van Bebber, a senior director at Boogertman + Partners spearheads the conceptualisation 

and delivery of many of the practices’ large complex projects. From Soccer City, the main 

stadium for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, to large mixed-use precincts as well as the largest 

single tenanted corporate head office in the southern hemisphere for Discovery Health. 

He was recently recognised by the South African Professional Awards as the winner of the 

Professional of the Year: Architecture Class Award as well as the Overall Professional of the 

Year for 2019. Van Bebber’s passion extends into urban design, interior design and education. 

www.boogertmanandpartners.com 

JUTTA BERNS 

Jutta Berns is an industry leader and one of South Africa’s first internationally accredited 

green building professionals, establishing her company Ecocentric in 2007. She has degrees 

from the Universities of Bonn (Germany) and Cambridge (UK), and a diverse blue-chip client 

base. Berns specialises in sustainable and net-zero solutions for large property portfolios. 

She has several LEED Platinum and 6-Star Green Star projects in her portfolio, is a GBCSA 

faculty member, a Green Star Assessor and GBCSA TAG member, and winner of the Gauteng 

Entrepreneur of the Year 2019 Award by the Women’s Property Network and 2019 winner of 

the Established Green Star Awards by the GBCSA. 

www.ecocentric.co.za 

GRAHAME CRUICKSHANKS 

Grahame Cruickshanks has worked as a professional architect, sustainability consultant and 

management consultant with 20 years of experience in the design, construction and property 

industry. Focusing much of his career on green buildings and an expert in his field, he has worked 

on a variety of Green Star and BREEAM certified projects and other building projects in South 

Africa, Singapore and the UK. Prior to joining Growthpoint Properties as the head of sustainability 

and utilities, Cruickshank's previous roles included managing executive for market engagement 

at the GBCSA and manager at EY’s Climate Change and Sustainability Services. 

MARLOES REININK 

Marloes Reinink is owner of Solid Green Consulting. With an academic background in 

innovation and architecture, she has been working as a sustainable building consultant for 

more than 15 years in South Africa and Africa. She founded Solid Green in 2010, which is one 

of the leading sustainability consultancies in Africa and achieved its 100th green building 

certification in October 2020. Reinink’s passion is advocating for a greener built environment 

and she recently started GreenED, an online education platform for sustainability in the 

sector. Reinink is an ambassador for the International Living Future Institute; a Living Future 

accredited professional; and a facilitator of the SA Collaborative Network for a Living Future. 

www.solidgreen.co.za 

www.growthpoint.co.za 

MANFRED BRAUNE 

Braune currently holds the position of Director: Environmental Sustainability at the 

University of Cape Town (UCT), where he leads the strategy and implementation of 

environmental sustainability across all spheres of the university since early 2019. He has 

also served as a non-executive director of GBCSA in a voluntary role since August 2020. 

Braune’s background is as a professional engineer, having worked at WSP Group for over 

10 years as a consulting engineer, where he then started and led WSP’s green building 

business for three years and then worked for the GBCSA for 10 years. 

https://www.uct.ac.za/main/explore-uct/sustainability 

As I write the last Editor’s Note of 2021, we are sitting on 

approximately 625 days under Covid lockdowns. It has been 

a very trying time for everyone and beyond anything we have 

surely experienced in our lifetime. 

Yet, South Africans are a resilient bunch, and we always have a knack of 

bouncing back and getting on with things. Ask any sports commentator 

what happens when the Springbok rugby team are “wounded”, and they 

will assure you that we come back harder and faster than ever before. 

So with Covid fatigue very much at the forefront of all of our minds 

and spirits, let us see out this year with as much positivity as we can 

muster. It has been an even longer and tougher year than 2020, so we 

all deserve a good pat on the back. 

Resilience is all about being able to overcome 

the unexpected. Sustainability is about survival. 

The goal of resilience is to thrive. 

Editor 

Jamais Cascio 

We are happy to report that all is not doom and gloom. The GBCSA 

announced that 140 buildings were certified over the past year – a record 

number, illustrating the growing momentum of green building in South 

Africa. The announcement was made during the GBCSA’s flagship Green 

Building Convention that was held at the Cape Town International 

Convention Centre last month, which was a rip-roaring success. 

At the close of the 2021 Convention, aptly named – One – for One 

Planet. One Chance, in a time we really need to take a good long hard 

look at ourselves and the way we treat the planet we survive on, the Green 

Leadership award winners were announced. Readers can read more about 

the winners of the year in this edition. We congratulate all the winners. 

We cannot thank you enough for all of your support this year. From 

our entire team, we want to wish you a happy festive season and a 

prosperous 2022! 

Keep Striving Forward 

8 POSITIVE IMPACT ISSUE 15 


9

RESIDENTIAL 

LEADING 

With eight 6-Star Green Star rated buildings in 2021, along with 

6-Star ratings on all lifestyle centres and EDGE-accreditations 

on every apartment developed, Balwin Properties is taking 

great strides in painting the residential sector green. 

WORDS Nicole Cameron 

THE WAY IN 

HOME LIVING 

Apartments are centred around a green oasis offering a pool 

and relaxation area for residents at Fynbos Lifestyle Estate. 

10 


POSITIVE IMPACT ISSUE 15 11

RESIDENTIAL 

The strategic decision to take the lead in 

presenting sustainable lifestyle options 

to the residential market was driven by 

the clear benefits available to clients, says 

Matthew Whalley, green innovation manager at Balwin. 

Sustainability is a core part of the company’s DNA, with 

green buildings forming a natural element of a vision 

that extends from environmental concerns through to 

social sustainability and beyond. 

“Rather than just adding renewable energy to an 

inefficient building, our goal is to optimise building 

performance and then apply offsets,” Whalley explains. 

“Energy efficient lighting and appliances, water-efficient 

fittings, on-site solar power, food gardens as well as 

water harvesting and waste water treatments are just 

some of the sustainable features that we are proud 

to have included in recent developments,” he says. 

“Not forgetting green bonds, which have saved clients 

over R100-million.” 

While Whalley affirms that a green lifestyle is 

now highly desirable for clients, some challenges 

still exist in terms of getting stakeholders on board, 

mainly pertaining to perceived costs. “This is where 

we see a great opportunity to educate the market 

comprehensively on the benefits of a green offering, 

and next year our goal is to aggressively reduce clients’ 

monthly expenses through additional water and energysaving 

features.” 

To me, the most important thing is 

what legacy you leave in life. I want 

to be known as a property developer 

who left something on this earth 

and made it a better place. 

Steve Brookes, CEO of Balwin Properties 

CUTTING-EDGE LIVING 

SUSTAINABLE SNAPSHOTS: 

THREE BALWIN DEVELOPMENTS 

Fynbos Lifestyle Centre 

Situated within The Fynbos Lifestyle estate in Sandown, 

Cape Town, this single-storey community centre 

project offers a plethora of amenities such as a gym, 

laundromat, offices and a spa as well as a Montessori 

Crèche. The traditional rustic farmhouse design, rooted 

in nature, peacefulness and simplicity belies a building 

that has implemented world-leading internal building 

service and architectural sustainability initiatives that 

contribute to the sustainability of the entire estate. 

Some of these features include: 

• Sub-metering of major energy consuming systems, 

as gathering information is key to understanding 

and managing building systems and to assess 

opportunities for energy savings. 

• Minimisation of greenhouse gas emissions 

associated with operational energy consumption 

is reduced. An energy model of the building 

was generated, and in the design stages of the 

building, compared to a notional building model. 

The building design showed an improvement of 

100% (net-zero operating emissions base building) 

over a SANS 10400 notional building. 

• Provision has been made to ensure all individual 

or enclosed spaces are individually switched. This 

offers greater flexibility for light switching, making 

it easy to light only occupied areas. The building’s 

peak electrical demand is actively reduced using 

a photovoltaic system. 

• A direct visual connection to the external 

environment is provided for 80% of the community 

centre occupied area. A high level of 

thermal comfort is ensured by addressing the 

internal operative temperatures through modelling 

and ensuring they are within the ASHRAE 

Standard 55-2004 Acceptability Limits for at least 

98% of occupied hours. 

A bold entrance to 

Fynbos Lifestyle 

Estate, with a symbolic 

biophilia welcoming 

residents and visitors. 


13

RESIDENTIAL 

RESIDENTIAL 

• A project-specific environmental management 

plan was developed and implemented throughout 

the duration of construction to establish 

guidelines that minimise the environmental 

impact associated with construction activities. 

A project-specific waste management plan was 

developed and implemented to minimise the 

contribution of waste going to landfill. 

• The building achieves savings through the use of 

water-efficient fittings, rainwater harvesting and 

a grey-water system installed to reuse water used 

in the laundromat as irrigation. 

• Balwin Properties has over exceeded the target by 

implementing several innovation measures that 

not only allow for a world leadership building 

yet also encourage the improvement of their 

contractor and design professional team; this is 

done through GBCSA online courses and further 

metering education measures. 

• Energy and water usage as well as indoor air quality 

levels and learning resources are displayed publicly 

throughout the estate. 

Greencreek Lifestyle Centre 

Greencreek is a unique development in the Riverwalk 

Estate, situated in the rapidly expanding suburbs east 

of Pretoria and providing a link between Mamelodi 

and Silverlakes. With its prime location, it is situated 

with easy access to the N4 highway, with established 

education facilities and schools in the immediate 

surrounds, as well as top restaurants and grocery 

and retail stores. The lifestyle centre is a leisure 

project that boasts features like an outdoor gym, 

laundromat, food garden and art gallery. A few of 

the sustainability elements which earn it its six 

green stars include: 

Warm woods and 

biophilic features bring 

life to this simple 

barnhouse structure 

at Greencreek 

Lifestyle Centre. 

• The implementation of biophilic design to 

prioritise the human-nature connection and to 

create a mood of rest and wellbeing using colour, 

light and texture. 









• The building achieves savings with water efficient 

fittings and rainwater harvesting installed to provide 

water for flushing and irrigation. Sub-metering of 

major water consuming systems is in place. 

• All selected gaseous and fire suppression systems 

and thermal insulants used for the development 

have an ozone depleting potential (ODP) of zero, to 

eliminate any contributions to long-term damage 

to the earth’s stratospheric ozone layer. 

• A project specific environmental management 


the duration of construction to establish guidelines 

to follow to minimise the environmental impact 

associated with construction activities, along with 

a project-specific waste management plan which 

was developed and implemented to minimise the 

contribution of waste going to landfill. 

• Learning resources are found throughout the whole 

internal and external fabric of the development. 

• The lifestyle centre promotes the use of 

alternative fuel vehicles, motorbikes and bicycles 

by designating parking spaces near building 

entrances for occupants with zero to low carbon 

emitting modes of transport. 

Huntsman Lifestyle Centre 

Situated in Cape Town’s picturesque Somerset West, 

Balwin Properties’ Huntsman Lifestyle Centre is a 

modern, beautifully designed, secure and familyfriendly 

estate, which is ideal for first-time home buyers, 

young couples, small families, or rental investors. While 

every apartment offers eco-friendly living to residents, 

the 6-Star Lifestyle Centre is yet another example of 

leading green building. In the same vein as Balwin’s 

other community centre projects, amenities such as 

a gym, laundromat, offices, a Montessori crèche and 

a spa are housed within a simple rustic farmhouse 

structure. Key sustainable features include: 

• Sub-metering of major energy consuming systems 

is in place. Gathering information is key to 

understanding and managing building systems 

and to assess opportunities for energy savings. 

• Minimisation of greenhouse gas emissions 

associated with operational energy consumption 

is reduced. An energy model of the building 

was generated and in the design stages of the 

building compared to a notional building model. 

The building design showed an improvement of 

100% (net-zero operating emissions base building) 

over a SANS 10400 notional building. 

• The buildings peak electrical demand is actively 

reduced using the photovoltaic system. 









• All selected gaseous and fire suppression systems 

and thermal insulants used for the development 

The Huntsman Lifestyle 

Centre is located next to 

the Montessori creche, 

offering convenience and 

stress-free living 

to families. 

have an ozone depleting potential (ODP) of zero, to 

eliminate any contributions to long-term damage 

to the earth’s stratospheric ozone layer. 

• A project specific environmental management 


the duration of construction to establish guidelines 

to follow to minimise the environmental impact 

associated with construction activities. A project 

specific waste management plan was developed 

and implemented to minimise the contribution 

of waste going to landfill. 

• The building achieves a savings through the use 

of water efficient fittings, rainwater harvesting 

and a grey water system installed to reuse water 

used in the laundromat as irrigation. 

• Balwin Properties has over exceeded the target by 

implementing several innovation measures that 

not only allow for a world leadership building 

yet also encourages the improvement of their 

contractor and design professional team, this is 

done through GBCSA online courses and further 

metering education measures. 

• A public display of the energy, water usage and 

indoor air quality levels within the development 

educates residents and visitors. 

• The lifestyle centre promotes the use of alternative 

fuel vehicles, motorbikes and bicycles. 

“To me, the most important thing is what legacy you 

leave in life. I want to be known as a property developer 

who left something on this earth and made it a better 

place,” comments Steve Brookes, CEO of Balwin 

Properties. He also expresses his belief in South Africa 

and how we can individually make efforts to improve 

it. This is certainly the case through Balwin’s leading 

developments, which are leaving their sustainable 

footprints across the country’s residential sector. 

14 POSITIVE IMPACT ISSUE 15 POSITIVE IMPACT ISSUE 15 

15

PROJECT 

MAGICAL 

MOTSWERE 

Botswana’s first Green Star rated office signals a 

milestone along the green building development path 

for the country. 

WORDS GBCSA IMAGES TIME Projects 



PROJECT 

Led by an enthusiastic and dedicated team, the 

new Motswere building – the first addition 

to Prime Plaza II in Gaborone’s CBD – was 

recently awarded a 5-Star Green Star Africa 

– Office Design v1.1 rating by the Green Building 

Council South Africa (GBCSA). 

The Prime Plaza development, owned by PrimeTime 

Property Holdings, consists of four existing commercial 

buildings (Prime Plaza I), each named after a species 

of local indigenous tree. Motswere is the first of four 

commercial buildings that will make up Prime Plaza 

II, which will be developed in phases. The building’s 

name derives from the beautiful Leadwood Combretum 

trees that still inhabit this piece of land. 

PrimeTime invests in a diversified portfolio of office, 

retail and industrial properties throughout Botswana 

and Zambia. Motswere is the first of PrimeTime’s 

large property portfolio to achieve third-party green 

certification. “In a competitive market, PrimeTime’s 

ability to offer a Green Star rated building to an 

increasingly environmentally and ethically aware 

tenant base is a great advantage,” notes Joe Simpson 

of PrimeTime. 

The 2 780m² Motswere building, designed by Paul 

Munnik Architects, consists of three levels of A-grade 

office space and supporting facilities, and two basement 

parking levels, set among more open-air parking and 

waterwise landscaped gardens. The 5-Star Green Star 

rating signifies national excellence and requires a 

standard of innovative green design that goes beyond 

the basics of green building practices. 

A green building responds to local environmental 

conditions, while also considering global realities, 

such as increasingly scarce and expensive energy and 

resources. Green buildings also respond to the need 

for comfortable and healthy indoor spaces for building 

occupants. 

Green Star is an integrated rating system, which helps 

to improve a building’s environmental performance 

and recognises environmental leadership. It looks at 

energy, water, materials/waste, indoor environment 

quality, land use and ecology, transport, emissions 

and management. 

Motswere boasts high levels of energy and water 

efficiency, as well as state-of-the-art mechanical 

ventilation and building management systems. 

Kagiso Sebetso, in-house green building consultant 

at Time Projects (PrimeTime’s development and asset 

management arm), adds: “Botswana is a very hot country 

for most of the year. Having a building so well oriented 

with south and north facing glazing that is provided with 

optimum shading, is quite an achievement when one 

considers the related reduction in energy consumption.” 

The project was not without its challenges, one 

being hit with the 2020 lockdown during the design 

phase, which meant that all team meetings went 

online. “This was still a very new concept at the time,” 

says Sebetso. “Being a pioneer comes with multiple 

challenges, particularly with regulatory bodies, 

such as seeking approval for solar PV installation 

for a building that is not yet developed. Educating 

potential suppliers or subcontractors about the green 

practices that they are expected to price for, and 

therefore deliver on, is more challenging than one 

would anticipate, but is so worthwhile.” 

While the project experienced some delays due 

to Covid-19, teamwork and enthusiasm were key to 

the project’s eventual success. “The team values and 

understands the concept of not only designing green 

but also building green and without their buy-in and 

dedication, we would not have been able to achieve 

the certification,” Sebetso adds. 

It is hoped that the Motswere building is just the 

start of a new wave of green-rated developments 

INVEST FOR A FUTURE 

THAT MATTERS – TOGETHER 

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together. It’s these decisions that have the power to impact our world. That’s why we place 

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by investing in what matters most, we can achieve sustainable, long-term returns for you and 

create opportunities for generations to come. 

Invest with Africa’s most responsible investor.* 

Visit oldmutualinvest.com/institutional to invest for a future that matters. 

Motswere’s achievement is an 

inspiring first for Botswana’s 

budding sustainability journey. 

INVESTMENT GROUP 

DO GREAT THINGS EVERY DAY 

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by Capital Finance International (https://cfi.co/). 


19

PROJECT 

WISHES TO THANK AND CONGRATULATE 

Time Projects on a successful project and 5-Star Green Star Rating 

Services Provided and Features on the Prime Plaza II project: 

n Energy Efficient Chiller selection 

n Central Fresh AIr Air Handling Unit Integrated with Chiller to exchange 

pre-heating of fresh air with free cooling to internal zone Fan Coil Units 

n Chilled Water Fan Coil Units 

n Building Management System 

www.acend.co.za 

Contact: Anton Frylinck 083 660 1506/antonf@acend.co.za 

for Botswana and other parts of Africa. Green Star 

accredited professional on the project, Dash Coville, 

from Solid Green Consulting, says that the green 

building movement is gaining momentum in Gaborone, 

with Solid Green being involved with the certification 

of three other projects (including one with PrimeTime). 

“Motswere’s achievement is an inspiring first 

for Botswana’s budding sustainability journey. As 

PrimeTime, Time Projects and the development team, 

we are privileged to be able to pioneer this space, and 

look forward to more industry players coming onboard,” 

says Sebetso. 

Motswere boasts high levels 

of energy and water efficiency, 

as well as state-of-the-art 

mechanical ventilation 

and building management 

systems. 

The team values and understands 

the concept of not only designing 

green but also building green and 

without their buy-in and dedication, 

we would not have been able to 

achieve the certification. 

The 2 780m² Motswere 

building, designed by 

PaulMunnik Architects, 

consists of three levels 

of A-grade office space. 


21

PROJECT 

Paul Munnik Architect (Pty) Ltd 

Paul Munnik Architect (Pty) Ltd provides architectural services essentially 

to the private sector and strives to offer competitive, innovative and economic 

design solutions specific to individual client requirements. 

The “Motswere” building is 

named after the stunning 

Leadwood Combretum trees 

that will still inhabit this 

piece of land. 

Design processes emphasize the importance of energy 

efficient and economic solutions to building technology 

in the Botswana climate. 

Botswana is a very hot country, for most 

of the year. Having a building so well 

oriented with south and north facing 

glazing that is provided with optimum 

shading, is quite an achievement when 

one considers the related reduction 

in energy consumption. 

Kagiso Sebetso 

GBCSA strongly supports the growth of green 

buildings in Africa and have certified projects in 

several other African countries. “Green buildings are 

part of Africa’s solution to cope with future climate 

change and stimulate new economic opportunities,” 

says GBCSA’s head of technical, Georgina Smit. “We 

are immensely proud of PrimeTime and the project 

team for embarking on this pioneering project for 

the local context, and we congratulate them on their 

commitment towards demonstrating sustainability 

leadership.” 

Proudly the lead architects at the Prime Plaza II, Motswere Building 

in Gaborone, which was recently awarded an inaugural 5-Star 

Green Star Africa – Office Design v1.1 rating by the GBCSA. 

P.O Box 50743, Gaborone, Botswana 

+267 391 2387 info@pma.co.bw www.pma.co.bw 

SUSTAINABLE BUILDING FEATURES AT MOTSWERE 

Building tuning of the mechanical, electrical, wet 

services and irrigation services. 

Waste management during the construction phase 

as well as provision of recycling facilities for the 

operations phase. 

Maximising on daylight while providing daylight 

glare control. 

Use of low VOC materials. 

Low electric lighting levels and low lighting power 

density, along with lighting zoning controls. 

Building users being provided with a building users’ 

guide to help hem maximise on the sustainable 

building features. 

Provision of preferential parking for fuel efficient 

transport and has cyclists’ facilities for building users 

as well as visitors. 

Water efficiency achieved using low flush rate 

sanitaryware and use of non-potable water in the 

irrigation system. 

The use of a 132kWp PV system with an estimated 

annual production of 234MWh. 

By 2050, Africa will be home to 1.3-billion more people than it is today (more than half of the world’s projected 

population growth of 2.4-billion people). This means a huge demand for buildings – with 80 percent of those 

that will exist in 2050, yet to be built. 

But this also means that we have the opportunity to build right from today, and create green jobs, skills 

and training, and sustainable growth through widespread green building. Green Building Councils in our 

Africa Regional Network are responding to these challenges and opportunities on the ground. 

They are focusing on four strategies – supporting strong regulatory and voluntary frameworks; recognising 

and scaling local building materials and practices; training the green building workers of today and tomorrow; 

and directing much-needed foreign and domestic investment to green building. 

The World Green Building Council 

PRIME PLAZA II 

LETTING BROCHURE 


Introducing Prime Plaza II, the extension to PrimeTime's Prime Plaza 

development in Gaborone’s CBD. 

INTRODUCTION 

Motswere 

Prime Plaza II 

TO LET 

Coming 

2023 

CONTACT US 

5-Star 

Prime Office Space PrimeTime of Property Holdings Limited (PrimeTime) is 

launching the extension to its Prime Plaza development in 

2,780m² 

Green Star 

Gaborone’s CBD, Prime Plaza II (PPII). PPII comprises four 

Design Rating 

TI E 

commercial buildings to be developed in phases. 

Ample basement and 

A development for PrimeTime surface level parking 

Joining the Acacia, Marula, Baobab and Mopani (Absa 

Time Projects 

PrimeTime Property Holdings 

House) buildings in the existing Prime Plaza development; 

Location: 

Limited (PrimeTime) is 

Acacia, Prime Plaza, Plot 74358, CBD, Gaborone, the “Motswere” Botswana 

call or visit us at: 

launching building the shall extension be named to its after the stunning 

CBD 

Tel: +267 395 6080 

Telephone: +267 395 6080 

Leadwood Combretum Prime Plaza trees development that will still in inhabit this piece 

Gaborone, 

Gaborone’s CBD, Prime Plaza 

of land. 

time.co.bw 

II (PPII). PPII comprises four Acacia, Prime Plaza, 

Botswana 

commercial buildings to be Plot 74358, CBD, 

time@time.co.bw 

The Motswere building developed comprises in phases. 2,780 square Gaborone, metres with Botswana 

extensive fit-out allowances, generous parking allocations and 

PRIME

CASE STUDY 

CASE STUDY 

THE ONLY TOMORROW IS A 

SUSTAINABLE TODAY 

Everywhere we look throughout our 123-hectare property, we are reminded of 

how blessed we are to be nestled in Mother Nature’s finest showing. But this 

precious environment is fragile and at risk. 

Energy efficient initiatives are in place across 

our districts. The Ridge, a commercial building in 

the Portswood District, has been awarded a 6-star 

Green Star Office Design by the GBCSA, exceeding 

standards and being commended for demonstrating 

“world leadership”. 

We’ve also invested in multiple energy-saving 

projects, inclusive of solar-power projects – achieving 

a remarkable 40% saving on electricity consumption, 

despite the increase in property growth 

On average, we have reduced our carbon footprint 

by 47% across the property using 2010 as a baseline. 

Sustainability is an ongoing everyday mission. 

Everyone who shares the space – tenants, residents, 

employees, suppliers, management and our millions of 

guests – are encouraged to make the active choice to 

recycle their waste, be water-wise and energy efficient 

and integrate “green” thinking into their daily lives. 

That’s how we create sustainable futures – together. 

In 2008, water-saving initiatives were introduced 

that include water-efficient toilets and urinals, sensoroperated 

taps in all bathrooms, drip irrigation for all 

ground covers and pre-set irrigation times in alignment 

with the current by-laws. Stringent measures have been 

implemented to save water, and since 2010 water use 

by the V&A Waterfront has been cut by 61%. 

The V&A Waterfront is an iconic mixed-use 

destination, located in the oldest working 

harbour in the southern hemisphere. 

With Table Mountain as its backdrop, the 

123-hectare neighbourhood sits within the beautiful 

city of Cape Town, welcoming millions of people from 

all over the continent and the rest of the world. The 

V&A is a symbol of heritage and diversity, where people 

from all walks of life can play, live, shop, dine and work 

while immersed in the vibrant spirit and authentic 

local culture that thrives in this bustling ecosystem. 

It sees its role on the continent to be a platform that 

facilitates and champions art and design, to support 

entrepreneurship and innovation, lead the charge on 

sustainability, and drive positive social and economic 

change. By prioritising people and the planet, the 

V&A is an example of how working with communities, 

respecting the environment, and operating with passion 

and integrity is a better, more productive, and kinder 

way of doing business. 

The organisation sees for itself the opportunity to 

promote sustained, inclusive, and sustainable economic 

growth, full and productive employment, and decent 

work for all, in alignment with the United Nation’s 

Sustainable Development Goals. 

We eat, sleep and drink our culture of sustainability, 

understanding that without being environmentally 

responsible, we may be held responsible for the loss 

of the beautiful place we call home. 

But it’s no good just talking the talk. We are also 

dedicated to walking the walk. To this end, we have 

created Solve, our thought leadership hub aimed at 

solving for X – where X represents the many challenges 

faced by today’s urban environments. We are facing 

and solving those challenges in collaboration with key 

stakeholders in each of those spheres. 

For example, our far-reaching sustainability efforts 

such as waste management, recycling and water 

conservation practices have earned the Victoria Wharf 

Shopping Centre a prestigious 5-star Green Star rating 

from the Green Building Council of SA (GBCSA) – the 

highest rating for any shopping centre in the country. 

We’ve also won an additional 13 GBCSA awards and 

have earned Diamond Status for three consecutive years 

in a row through our Heritage Environmental Rating 

Programme, making our neighbourhood one of South 

Africa’s greenest precincts in Africa 

We believe that everyone has an important part to 

play. Our tenants are incentivised to recycle, with our 

waste recovery and recycling centre sorting waste 

(including wet waste) from an average of 550 bins, 

gathered from 384 collection points, twice a day. This 

means that, over the past year, we have diverted more 

than 1 400 tons of waste from landfill. 

WHAT COMES NEXT? 

The V&A has long integrated social issues into its 

business model, with a focus on incubating start-ups 

and providing inclusive public spaces. Its management 

is now implementing a shared value strategy, as a 

natural evolution of the V&A’s important social role. 

Shared value creation is about using an organisation’s 

competitive advantage, skills, and business model to 

address the most important issues facing society. It 

commits the entire organisation to solving these issues, 

acknowledging the interdependence between company 

competitiveness and community health. 

This philosophy is particularly suited to the 

V&A ecosystem, which has consistently supported 

innovation and job creation, notably by incubating 

small businesses. This transition was already in 

progress prior to the Covid-19 pandemic but this 

social crisis has accelerated it, amplifying the need for 

organisational agility, collaboration, and sustainability 

with a particular focus on the following areas within 

the Waterfront: • food ecosystem • ocean economy 

ecosystem • green sustainable practice. 

61% 38M 8YRS+ 1595T 

REDUCTION 

IN WATER 

CONSUMPTION 

INVESTED 

INTO ENERGY 

EFFICIENCY 

IN REDUCTION 

IN CARBON 

EMISSIONS 

OF WASTE DIVERTED 

FROM LANDFILL 

ANNUALLY 



25

GBCSA 

A total of 140 buildings were certified by the GBCSA in 2021. This record number of 

certifications, issued during a challenging Covid year, speaks to a growing green building 

movement in South Africa. This – and so much more – was proclaimed at the recent 

GBCSA flagship Green Building Convention. 

WORDS GBCSA and Robbie Stammers 

THE YEAR 

THAT WAS 2021 

Celebrating certifications, the 

Convention and award winners 

The building’s cross-laminated timber 

façade plays a major role in the indoor 

comfort of all building occupants. 

V&A Waterfront 

green buildings held their own, 

as far as vacancy and return rates go, 

over the past year. Property owners, 

“Certified 

tenants and investors are now insisting 

on better, certified green buildings, as the environmental 

and financial benefits of these become indisputable. The 

GBCSA has certified 740 buildings since 2009,” said 

GBCSA CEO, Lisa Reynolds, at the Convention. 

Reynolds commended the built environment community 

for driving the movement, saying, “We do the certifications, 

but you make the commitment.” It was also announced 

that Giles Pendleton, chief development officer at Attacq 

Limited, will remain as chairperson of the GBCSA for 

another year. 

The Green Building Convention hosted several 

international and local keynote speakers, including 

Nigerian architect, Kunlé Adeyemi, whose “African 

Water Cities” have garnered him worldwide acclaim; 

Dutch bio-designer, Teresa van Dongen, who shared 

the ground-breaking work she is doing in combining 

nature and science into her design; and Mashudu 

Ramano, entrepreneur in the transition to a regenerative 

and sustainable future, bringing home our undeniable 

connection to, and reliance on, the environment. 

“Our programme was curated around this year’s theme 

– One – One Planet. One Chance. It comprehensively 

looks at the critical role of the green building community 

and the need for us to come together as one powerful 

movement to effect positive change that counts. 



GBCSA 

Proudly involved with 

the award-winning 

Ridge building 

ARUP 

“The theme reinforces the need for decisive and 

immediate action to mitigate the effects of climate 

change and to save our one planet for future generations. 

This is not something we can do alone – we need 

everyone to commit to a future where people and the 

planet thrive,” Reynolds added. 

GBCSA thanked its sponsors for making the 

Convention possible. 

“To our lead sponsors – Nedbank, Rand Water and 

Vodacom Business and all our other sponsors and 

supporters, thank you for partnering with us and 

WINNING WAYS 

We need everyone to commit 

to a future where people 

and the planet thrive. 

investing in the green building movement. Partnerships 

are key to achieving the SDGs and we are in great 

company as we drive sustainable changes in the built 

environment,” said Reynolds. 

Arup were appointed for integrated multidisciplinary engineering 

on The Ridge. Providing innovative, market leading design 

thinking, entirely focused on sustainable outcomes. 

021 409 3500 | capetown@arup.com | www.arup.com 

Keller Geotechnics SA (Pty) Ltd. 

Keller is proud to have carried out the Lateral Support and Bulk 

Earthworks contract for The Ridge in the V&A Waterfront. 

011 062 7600 | info.za@keller.com 

FACILITIES TECHNICAL SERVICES 

GBCSA announced the winners of its annual Leadership Awards in the closing plenary of the 

Convention. The awards are based on submission data gathered during the Green Star certification 

process, and individuals are nominated by the industry. “Congratulations to all the projects and 

individuals who received awards this year. It is an honour to recognise the movers and shakers in our 

industry,” expressed Reynolds. 

HIGHEST-RATED 

BUILDING 

WINNER: THE RIDGE 

6-Star Green Star Office Design v1.1 

AP: Mike Munnik, Agama Energy 

Company: Arup 

Property owner: V&A Waterfront 

Architect: StudioMAS 

6 Marina Road, Portswood District, 

V&A Waterfront, Cape Town 

The overarching focus of the building was to design 

the ventilation system as a mixed mode by maximising 

natural ventilation, thus reducing energy costs and 

providing a high level of internal comfort for the 

occupants. This was achieved through shaping the 

building directly to its site and climate in two key ways. 

First, the central atrium between the two narrow 

floor plates maximises daylight penetration and allows 

for efficient cross ventilation. Referred to as the "central 

street", the atrium helps to pull air through the building, 

in through the windows and out through the roof lights. 

Second, the “corrected” façade orientates glazing due 

Automation of facades windows, doors and skylights. 

To maximise natural ventilation and thermal comfort. 

Creating a healthier safer environment. 

082 496 0863 | 087 153 2341 | dyllan@FTSsmoke.com 

The number of innovations that 

were realised on the project 

demonstrate the commitment to 

sustainable principles and out-of-box 

thinking throughout the design 

and construction process. 


north or south to reduce solar gains, admit daylight, 

and allow unobstructed views. 

Natural ventilation of the building is only used when 

the thermal comfort and outdoor air flow rates are 

within the required range. This results in the building 

operating as naturally ventilated for 80% of the annual 

operating hours. 



29

GBCSA 

Mark Noble, development director at the 

V&A Waterfront and the project leader 

says: “We believe that this is one of the 

most unique green buildings in Africa, 

if not the world”. 

OUR WASTE MANAGEMENT SOLUTION OFFERS CLIENTS A 

COMPLETE SYSTEM TO SEAMLESSLY MANAGE 

ALL WASTE TRANSACTIONS. 

DON’T WASTE contracted to the V&A Waterfront on their journey to zero 

waste, by implementing our Tenant Management System which provided the 

ability to not only manage 317 waste collection points effectively, but to also 

actively achieve the following performances: 


INCREASED 

SOURCE 

SEPARATION 

CO 2 

SAVED 

8,067,073 m 3 

INCREASED 

RECYCLING 

INCREASED 

ORGANIC 

WASTE 

SEPARATION 

ENERGY SAVED 

43,942,670 kWh 

DECREASED 

WASTE 

DISPOSAL 

TO LANDFILL 

WATER SAVED 

87,071,396 L 

DECREASED 

WASTE 

CONTAMINATION 

TREES SAVED 

56,637 

DECREASED 

BILLING 

ADMINISTRATION 

By partnering with DON’T WASTE, our waste minimisation and recycling program 

at the V&A Waterfront has achieved the following environmental savings to date: 

SUSTAINABLE FEATURES 

The Building Management System (BMS) plays an 

important performance role by monitoring the thermal 

comfort and fresh air rates, to signal to building 

occupants to open/close windows accordingly. When 

natural ventilation and the thermally active building 

system (TABS) do not achieve the thermal comfort 

criteria or the outdoor air flow rate, the windows are 

signalled to be closed, and mechanical ventilation is 

used to meet thermal comfort and air flow rates. 

First, second and third floors are mechanically 

ventilated by an underfloor displacement ventilation 

system. Rainwater and grey water harvesting are used 

for toilet/urinal flushing and irrigation. 

In a South African first, cross-laminated timber 

and thermally treated timber cladding is used as part 

of a unitised façade system. This locally sourced, FSC 

certified timber assembly allows for a high level of 

daylight and thermal control, maximises comfort and 

low energy building performance, and embodies 354 

tons less carbon than conventional alternatives. 

The building is designed well for energy efficiency 

with the use of photovoltaic panels for peak demand 

reduction and 12 500 eco-bricks* used as void formers 

in the toilet blocks. 

*Eco-bricks are 2L cold drink bottles stuffed with 

non-recyclable plastics, such as packaging for snacks. 

WINNERS COMMENTS 

“One of the outcomes from COP26 is the necessity to 

reduce carbon emissions to net zero by 2030. The C40 

South African Building Programme is assisting the 

Trusted by leading global landlords, asset, property & facility managers, 

Don’t Waste’s agile, pioneering and disruptive PropTech solution provides 

intelligence, savings and creative insights on waste management for our 

clients across Retail and Commercial Property Sectors. 

recycle. save. comply. educate 

WEBSITE 

www.dontwastegroup.com 

EMAIL 

info@dontwastegroup.com 

DON’T WASTE AFRICA & MAURITIUS 

08610 WASTE / 92783 


31

Bringing together Environmental Planning with 

Landscape Architecture Sustainably 

GBCSA 

LEAP has assembled an experienced and innovative team of professionals with skills 

in environmental assessment and audits, landscape planning and design, as well as 

construction documentation and management. 

We can manage a project from inception through design, construction administration 

and aftercare to long term management. Our design approach is strongly influenced 

by ecology and sustainable design principles with a focus on producing the best 

commercial and social outcome possible for our clients. 

Johannesburg, eThekwini, Tshwane and Cape Town 

metros to place policies and bylaws that ensure all new 

buildings are net zero by 2030. 

“This will require a step change in how buildings 

are designed, rather than an incremental change. It is 

likely that natural ventilation will resurface as a key 

design strategy to reduce the HVAC energy levels and 

still maintain indoor air quality and comfort levels. 

“The Ridge project team, with the encouragement 

of the client, worked extremely hard to achieve the 

sustainability goals of the project, resulting is this 

wonderful award,” says Mike Munnik, sustainability 

consultant for the project. 

Tessa Burnette, engineering team leader, Arup 

adds, “I am incredibly proud that The Ridge has 

been recognised with such a prestigious award from 

the GBCSA. The building represents a fundamental 

and necessary shift in the commercial office sector 

from fully air-conditioned to predominantly naturally 

ventilated, and the significant carbon savings that this 

brings. It is critical that this shift is made swiftly in 

order for us to meet the global targets necessary to 

reduce carbon emissions. This building is a critical 

step on that journey for the sector in South Africa 

and Africa. 

The building represents a 

fundamental and necessary shift 

in the commercial office sector 

from fully air-conditioned to 

predominantly naturally ventilated, 

and the significant carbon savings 

that this brings. 

“Alongside that, the number of innovations that were 

realised on the project demonstrate the commitment 

to sustainable principles and out-of-box thinking 

throughout the design and construction process. 

“Importantly, without the teamwork and crossdisciplinary 

collaboration from the very beginning, 

this would not have been possible. Well-done to Mike 

as well as the rest of the combined design, construction 

and client team,” says Burnette. 

CONTACT: Dr. Gwen Theron 

Tel 012 344 3582 Cell 083 302 2116 

gwen.theron@leapenviro.co.za 

www.leapenviro.co.za 

RUNNER-UP: BALWIN HEAD 

OFFICE 

6-Star Green Star Office Design v1.1 

AP: Zendré Compion, Solid Green 

Property owner: Balwin Properties 

105 Corlett Drive, Birnam, Johannesburg 

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The Balwin Head Office is a major refurbishment 

of the iconic Creative Council building along the 

M1 highway. Located in an urbanised context 

adjacent to the Melrose Arch development, the 

building is made up of four basement levels and 

five office floors. The project achieved a 6-Star 

Gold Star Office Rating for Design and will target 

an As Built as well as Net Zero Carbon ratings. 

The redevelopment saw the removal of three 

cones and the creation of two new floors under 

the elevated concrete box. An additional roof 

space will be created to accommodate a gym, 

meeting areas and a canteen. The lettable area of 

the building will increase from 2 200m 2 to more 

than 6 000m2. 

The behaviour of building occupants 

and users is critical to reduce 

building energy consumption. 


To make it possible to target net-zero energy, the project prioritised energy efficiency by using effective submetering 

and monitoring, through the provision of motion sensors in designated zones, and improved lighting 

power density using efficient lighting design. Energy and water sub-meters are provided for all substantive 

energy and water uses in the building. 

The behaviour of building occupants and users is critical to reduce building energy consumption. Building 

users will be issued with educational material that reports on energy and water data as well as sustainability 

initiatives implemented in the building. 

As a refurbishment, one of the building material strategies is focused on reuse. The entire building structure 

was reused (100%), while materials that are typically replaced during a refurb like mechanical ducts, fire water 

piping, balustrades and sanitary fittings and fixtures have been reused in the new building. 

BOUMATE hoist was proudly involved 

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33

GBCSA 

GBCSA 

BEST QUALITY SUBMISSION 

EDGE LEADER 

WINNER: YVONNE PELSER, INSIDEOUT CONSULTING 

“Being recognised as an EDGE leader by the GBCSA reinforces my mission of making an impact by promoting 

sustainable building practices and providing solutions. Further, it is important to me to make a difference in 

shaping built community environments that have a positive impact on the planet.” 

WINNER: GLENEAGLES 

5-Star Green Star Existing Building Performance v1 

AP: Sally Misplon, Misplon Green Building Consulting 

Property owner: Redefine Properties 

Fairway Office Park, 52 Grosvenor Road, Bryanston, 

Johannesburg 


Gleneagles has indoor environmental quality testing 

to recognise the monitoring and control of indoor 

pollutants to help sustain the comfort and wellbeing of 

building occupants. The project has used management 

plans for the development and implementation; 

preventative maintenance; landscaping; hardscaping 

and pest management of the building. 

A solid waste and materials management policy 

is being developed to encourage sustainable waste 

management and recycling at the building. A green 

cleaning policy, in line with the Green Star SA 

requirements, along with a green procurement plan 

has also been compiled and implemented to encourage 

and guide the property and facilities management 

teams to select the most sustainable products available 

on the market. 

The publication of green operational guidelines for 

tenants and glare control devices are mandatory in 

occupied spaces to reduce the discomfort from glare 

and direct sunlight. 

Additionally, green lease criteria have been added 

to all new leases and renewals. 

The building’s energy and water consumptions are 

benchmarked against other buildings with the same 

building type to encourage the reduction of greenhouse 

gas emissions and the burden on potable water supply 

and wastewater systems, associated with the use of 

energy in the building operations. 

All of the refrigerant mass that serves the building 

[100%] is made up of zero ozone depletion potential 

(ODP) refrigerants. 

WINNERS COMMENTS 

“It is always special to be recognised [for an award]. 

This category of award has always been important 

to me as it represents the quality of work as well as 

what is done for a client. Redefine’s ongoing support 

and their trust that our work is of the best standard, 

coupled with the green building industry standards, 

helped improve my work over time. 

“I have now managed to win this award a few times 

over the past years, which makes me feel like I am on 

the right path. I am extremely fortunate to work with a 

company like Redefine, and without their support, we 

never would have achieved these accolades together,” 

says Sally Misplon, Green Star accredited professional, 

on winning this award, as well as taking home the 

runner-up position for Wickham House. 

ESTABLISHED GREEN STAR 

WINNER: MIKE MUNNIK, 

AGAMA ENERGY 

“It’s a great honour to receive this award, however the 

success of our projects is entirely due to the attitude 

and determination of the whole project team to make 

a difference in the built environment.” 

RUNNER-UP: DASH COVILLE, 

SOLID GREEN 

RISING GREEN STAR 

WINNER: HLOLOGELO MANTHOSE, 

WSP GROUP AFRICA 

Manthose is a sustainability and green building 

specialist at WSP in Africa. She combines her love and 

passion for employee wellness, health and productivity 

with green buildings to ensure that there is a balanced 

and positive co-existence between people and the 

spaces they occupy. 

She holds an honours degree in Industrial/ 

Organisational (I/O) Psychology from the University 

of the Witwatersrand. Her academic background has 

been instrumental in fuelling her passion for pursuing 

a career that focuses on the interplay between people 

and their environments. 

RUNNER-UP: ALEX VARUGHESE, SOLID GREEN 

Winner of Established 

Green Star and 

Highest Rated 

Building, Mike Munnik. 

Rising Green Star, 

Hlologelo Manthose 

from WSP Group Africa. 

YIPA SUSTAINABLE YOUNG CHANGEMAKER 

RUNNER-UP: WICKHAM HOUSE 

5-Star Green Star Existing Building Performance v1 

AP: Sally Misplon, Misplon Green Building Consulting 

Property owner: Redefine Properties 

Wickham House (Questek), Fairway Office Park, 

52 Grosvenor Road, Bryanston, Johannesburg 

GBCSA partnered with the Youth in Property Association (YIPA) to 

introduce the inaugural YIPA Sustainable Young Changemaker Award, 

which recognises the exceptional contribution of young people to 

sustainability in the built environment sector. 

WINNER: THAMSANQA HOZA 

Hoza is a young leader who is passionate about the intersection of 

infrastructure development, technology, people, and in particular,using 

these entities to improve the livelihoods of Africans. 

“It is important to me to make a difference in shaping built 

community environments that have a positive impact on the planet.” 

Hoza is the founder of Hot Nozzle, a company that manufactures 

novel water heating technologies. He is an Allan Gray fellow, AIF top 

ten young innovator and has qualifications from UCT and Cambridge 

University. Hoza has received an award from the Queen of England. 

YIPA Sustainable 

Young Changemaker - 

Thamsanqa Hoza. 



35

GBCSA STUDY 

LOCATION, 

LOCATION, 

LOCATION 

How the position of a 

housing development 

impacts its footprint 

Embodied carbon and operational carbon are two concepts 

that are now commonly considered in terms of a building 

project’s impact on the planet. But could the actual position 

of the site have a significant effect as well? 

WORDS Melinda Hardisty 

Johannesburg is on track to achieving 

Megacity status by 2030. 

Clodagh da Paixao (Unsplash) 



GBCSA STUDY 

GBCSA STUDY 

The annual convention of the Green Building 

Council of South Africa (GBCSA) is home to 

inspiring speakers and dynamic discussions. 

But sometimes it’s even just the networking 

over a drink that leads to ground-breaking ideas. 

One such discussion happened a few years ago, when 

GBCSA’s head of technical, Georgina Smit, had a 

conversation with Carel Kleynhans, CEO of Divercity 

Urban Property Fund. 

The discussion revolved around understanding 

the magnitude associated with a development’s 

location on its carbon footprint. Essentially, what 

is the comparative contribution of transport related 

emissions in a building’s whole lifecycle carbon 

trajectory? The question was then asked whether we 

could even assess this; do any quantitative resources 

around this exist? Eventually, the conversation led to 

a two-year investigation, resulting in a report being 

released in September 2021. 

CARBON COSTS AND CONTEXT 

The GBCSA and Divercity Urban Property Fund 

joined forces to research the impact of the location 

of housing developments in relation to the overall 

emissions across a development’s lifespan. Arup 

were appointed as the technical consultants to 

conduct the study and the results of the research were 

published under the title of Does location matter? in 

September 2021. 

While it is generally understood that densification 

in cities supports healthy community networks where 

more people can benefit from services, community 

facilities, public transport networks, and recreation 

areas, there has not previously been any local 

quantifiable studies that attempt to understand the 

order of magnitude. 

It is clear that decisions in 

development locations made now 

will have a significant impact on the 

emissions (and climate change) of 

the future, for better or worse. 

This research, therefore, set out to investigate the 

carbon costs associated with the lifestyle impact of 

housing in an urban centre versus housing on the 

periphery of a city, assuming a high concentration of 

amenities in the urban centre and a low concentration 

on the urban periphery. 

AREA OF STUDY: JOHANNESBURG 

In keeping with South Africa’s Paris Agreement 

commitment to reduce climate change, Johannesburg’s 

Climate Action Plan aims to have the city’s emissions 

peak by 2030, and to reach net zero by 2050. The city 

is set to achieve megacity status (home to 10-million 

people) by 2030, meaning that housing is becoming 

the most in-demand building typology in the city. 

In 2016, stationary energy and transportation made 

up the largest chunk of Johannesburg’s emission 

contributions, highlighting the requirement to reduce 

and decarbonise these sectors. 

Johannesburg is also Diversity’s base of operations, 

and can be considered to be representative of other 

South African cities, both in terms of population growth 

and the tendency to sprawl. So this was the city selected 

for the study. 

http://atlasofurbanexpansion.org/ 

URBAN ASSUMPTIONS 

The study set out to add the building lifecycle carbon 

emissions (embodied and operational carbon emissions) 

to the occupant transport emissions (travel distance, 

travel mode, and travel behaviours) to establish 

a figure that represents the total whole carbon 

lifecycle based emissions. This value was to be 

established for household typologies for low and 

middle income households in both the “urban core” 

and the “urban periphery”. 

Using both the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan 

Spatial Development Framework (MSDF) and the City of 

Johannesburg Nodal Review Policy (NRP), Johannesburg 

was subdivided into zones defined as urban core and 

urban periphery. Core zones are those defined as higher 

density and in closer proximity to infrastructure, 

networks, activity nodes, and services. Conversely, 

peripheral zones are lower density, relatively isolated, 

and have less connection to nodes and activity. 

Comparison of 

Johannesburg in 

1990 versus 2013 

which demonstrates 

urban sprawl. 

PERSONA-BASED APPROACH 

For purposes of comparison, the study defines four 

family typologies with imagined names and personas. 

Using various sources, definitions and characteristics 

that help to define certain household types were 

developed. Typical low and middle income households 

in South Africa were outlined and given family 

demographics and biographies to personalise them. 

Average household sizes were considered, as well as 

the type of jobs each individual might have. In the end, 

four families were introduced, each with two adults 

and one child. 

A low income and a high income family were located 

in an urban core setting with a second low income 

and middle income family in an urban periphery 

context. Their movements and behaviours were 

mapped out spatially to be able to analyse the effects of 

their movements, distances travelled to access various 

places and services, as well as their transport choices. 

In urban core zones, there is 

generally a higher level of access 

to services nearby, reducing 

dependency on public transport. 

GBCSA 

GBCSA 

This graph demonstrates the cumulative emissions results between all core or all periphery development over 60 years. 



39

GBCSA STUDY 

GBCSA STUDY 

COMPOUNDING IMPACT 

The study then extrapolated the findings for 

development only in the urban core versus only on the 

periphery for the period up to 2050, in order to calculate 

a value for the difference in emissions between the 

two scenarios over the time period. The cumulative 

emissions gap for the period was calculated to equal 

224MtCO2e. That is almost 10 times the total emissions 

for Johannesburg in 2016! Kleynhans highlights that “It 

is clear that decisions in development locations made 

now will have a significant impact on the emissions 

(and climate change) of the future, for better or worse.” 

Johannesburg was chosen as the 

city in which to base the research. 

DOES LOCATION MATTER? 

For the study, only new builds were assessed in terms 

of their embodied and operational emissions. And 

this was considered over a 60-year lifecycle. When 

the embodied carbon was assessed, urban buildings 

tended to have a lower value than their peripheral 

counterparts, largely due to the usually smaller size. 

Operational emissions were significantly higher than 

embodied carbon in all unit types, accounting for 

approximately 72% of emissions in each case when 

considered across the 60-year lifespan. This highlights 

Typical 

spatial 

map for 

urban 

typologies. 

Typical 

spatial 

map for 

periphery 

typologies. 

Considering the longevity of spatial 

planning and the built environment, 

it is evident that occupants can get 

“locked in” to an emissions cycle 

for decades to come. 

the potential impact of introducing more renewable 

energy resources in order to decarbonise the grid. 

When occupant travel statistics were assessed, 

results showed that middle income households on 

the periphery accounted for three times the emissions 

of the lower income households on the periphery, 

despite the fact that they tended to have similar travel 

distances. This is due to middle income occupants 

tending to utilise private cars while lower income 

individuals were dependent on the taxi network. 

A similar variance between households existed 

within the urban core setting, however the figures 

were much lower than on the periphery. This is due 

to reduced dependence on private transport, and 

easier access to services within a 1km walking radius. 

Statistics showed that, while the middle income units 

in both cases had higher all round emissions than 

the low income units, there was, in fact, a significant 

difference between the core and periphery locations. 

The urban core settings had a much smaller 

proportion of the total being attributed to occupant 

transport impact, meaning the operational carbon 

of the building had the largest impact. However, 

the occupant transport impact in the periphery 

settings was a significant proportion of the whole. 

Considering the longevity of spatial planning and 

the built environment, it is evident that occupants 

can get “locked in” to an emissions cycle for decades 

to come, unless the right decisions are made now for 

the future. 

Tebogo Losaba (Unsplash) 

WHAT CAN BE DONE? 

The report sets out a helpful set of recommendations 

for built environment professionals and other 

stakeholders. The overarching requirement to make 

a meaningful reduction in emissions in the city is to 

reduce both operational and transport emissions. The 

former can be done by working to decarbonise the 

grid and optimise the energy efficiency of a building. 

The latter needs to be addressed by rethinking the 

spatial framework and urban planning of our cities 

so at to locate developments close to amenities and 

economic opportunities. 

Policy makers can play a role in setting out how and 

where development can take place, making it easier or 

mandatory to develop higher density residential areas 

as opposed to extending the urban sprawl. Property 

By 2050, the cumulative emissions gap between these two scenarios 

(development in the urban periphery vs the urban core) is 224MICO2e, 

almost 10 times the annual total omissions of Johannesburg in 2016 

(21 MtCO2e). 

owners and developers should be incentivised to 

upgrade and develop urban core areas rather than 

expand the city limits into green field sites. This 

requires the right stakeholder collaboration to address 

market conditions and demands. 

Ideally, government and private funding could be 

more effectively utilised to introduce or upgrade 

services, community facilities, transport infrastructure, 

and security in localised, higher density nodes rather 

than spreading resources thin on the outskirts of the 

city. “Built environment professionals in South Africa 

are already using their technical skills to support the 

reduction of embodied, operational and transport 

related emissions at different points in the decisionmaking 

process of a project’s feasibility and design,” 

says Smit. “We, however, need to scale up our efforts 

in order to reach our net zero targets for the future.” 

The evidence is clear that considering the location 

of residential developments more carefully will 

significantly impact our future on the planet. Our 

urban design and spatial planning now will lock in 

residents’ behaviours for decades to come. We need 

to ensure we lock in sustainable and healthy patterns 

now that will serve us all in future. 



41

GREEN GLOBE 

ISLAND 

IN THE SUN 

Thanda means “love” in Zulu, and +Impact found out 

exactly how apt that title is for this heavenly private 

resort off the coast of Tanzania. 

WORDS Robbie Stammers 

This 19-acre private island off the coast of 

Tanzania is surrounded by coral reefs and 

located on a popular marine migratory route, 

making it an outstanding vantage point from 

which to view wildlife, ranging from turtles, dugongs 

to dolphins and whale sharks. The solar-powered 

island offers a five-bedroom villa that, if booked, 

secures exclusive use of the entire island. 

Thanda is the holiday home of Swedish entrepreneurs 

and philanthropists, Dan and Christin Olofsson. The 

Olofssons actually opened their first property, the 

Thanda Private Game Reserve in South Africa in 2004 

and two years later they began a search for their second 

– a private island retreat. It took many years to find the 

right place, which proves how difficult it is to find one 

of these gems, despite the dozens of atolls that string 

the Tanzanian coast like bright beads. 

The final choice, Shungu Mbili, was only spotted 

by chance from the air while on reconnaissance along 

the Tanzanian coast. It’s a teardrop of a land formation 

with an emerald interior and a salt white hem of beach. 

Thanda Island is completely self-sufficient, off the 

grid and solar-powered. Its water supply is gathered 

both from harvested rain and desalinated seawater. 

Thanda Island’s solar farm is the second largest in all 

of Tanzania. 

I was struck by the pride and the affection with 

which they offer up all the minutiae of their adopted 

home. The house sprawls across 1 200 square metres, 

encompassing five en-suite bedrooms, generous 

decks and huge French windows. The house oozes a 

generosity of space, light, air, colour and comfort. 

www.thandaisland.com 

Thanda Island’s solar farm is the 

second largest in all of Tanzania. 



43

Green Building Council South Africa is 

leading the way in respect to sustainability 

in the property and construction industry. 

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and projects through GBCSA’s +Impact 

Magazine! 

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