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TO a harried office worker rushing to his next appointment, the new office tower coming up on Anson Road may look like just another building jostling for space in Singapore's busy Central Business District (CBD). Mapletree Anson, however, is no ordinary office building.
This 19-storey block, which will receive its temporary occupation permit in July, is a testament to eco-friendly design, boasting energy-efficient cooling plants and a system that recycles condensate in order to save water, among its other environmentally friendly features. This helped Mapletree Anson take home the Building and Construction Authority's Green Mark for Buildings Platinum award.
This building joins Mapletree Business City as the two projects by Mapletree Investments to clinch Platinum awards.
The company's two other entries, Merrill Lynch HarbourFront and VivoCity, took home the Gold and Silver awards respectively.
Like its Anson Road counterpart, integrated business hub Mapletree Business City along Alexandra Road will offer tenants environmentally friendly solutions once it is completed in 2010.
For example, energy-saving methods will take centre stage with the inclusion of an efficient precinct cooling plant guaranteed to achieve 30 per cent in energy savings. That's equivalent to taking 7,250 cars off the road annually.
In addition, waste heat will be recycled to provide heating for the swimming pool and shower facilities in the complex.
Such state of the art eco-friendly systems and features would naturally require hefty investments from Mapletree. However, Tan Boon Leong, chief operating officer and chief executive officer (Singapore Investments), expressed confidence in the viability of such investments, saying that they will lead to cost savings in the long run.
'To us, these awards serve as recognition of our commitment to embracing eco-friendly initiatives,' said Mr Tan. 'But more importantly, we believe that the creation of green buildings makes good business sense for us as they are investments that will translate to user benefits and cost savings, not just for us as a landlord, but also for tenants.'
The recycling of resources such as waste heat, and the harvesting of rainwater at Mapletree Business City were examples of cost cutting measures cited by Mr Tan.
These measures, he said, would help cut energy and water consumption, thus lowering overall expenditure.
Aside from these tangible cost savings, the Mapletree management also hopes to provide a more pleasant working environments which would improve staff productivity.
For instance, the inclusion of a green lung at Mapletree Business City connecting HortPark and Labrador Park will offer a welcome respite from the concrete jungle that usually envelops tenants.
However, while cost savings remain at the forefront of the company's mind, Mapletree's eco- friendly approach also stems from a sense of responsibility.
'As a real estate company, we recognise that our development activities have an immediate impact on the surrounding environment and the physical locale,' said Mr Tan. 'It is therefore important to us that we conduct our business in a responsible and sustainable manner and this is translated to the approach that we take in our development activities, as well as in our on-going management of buildings.'
Aside from the BCA awards, Mapletree projects have also received acknowledgement from other organisations.
Some of their projects have been shortlisted as finalists for the upcoming International Property Awards by the CNBC Arabiya Asia Pacific Property Awards for design, construction and environmental excellence.
Last year, VivoCity won the NParks-BCA Skyrise Greenery Award.
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