23 September 2024
Yeonsoo Yun, Senior Sustainability & Energy Analyst
Sustainability has become a norm that cannot be overlooked in buildings where you are living, working, or having leisure time. There are numerous surveys and studies proving building users’ strong preference towards sustainability, whether it is an office, retail, residential or a hotel. A survey in the US reveals that one of the key criteria for two-thirds of 2,000 renters when choosing a place to live was the inclusion of “green practices” in the building; with 40% of them saying that they wouldn’t rent a property that doesn’t have green practices. From the perspective of office tenants, sustainability is not only important for the health and well-being, and productivity of their staffs, but also important for their brands’ value. Consumers’ demand on retailers urging more and more sustainability cannot be stressed further.
As a reaction to increasing demand for sustainability, it has become inevitable for developers to embed sustainability for their new developments across various sustainability aspects and throughout the full lifecycle of the developments. Well-implemented sustainability will bring benefits to the development’s investors; When leasing, it can be a differentiation factor. When operating, operational costs can be lower. When selling, there are lower risks in fast-changing legislation and it gives clarity for stakeholders. Whether it is an office, a residential, or a large-scale mixed-use development, having sustainability as a core concept is not only reacting to market demand but also helps the development stand out among other developments. We have witnessed various market-leading case studies sending us implications for future projects. In this article, we focus on three sustainability concepts in practice – circularity, social value, and biodiversity.
Circularity – Adaptable use of spaces
Circularity of a building should be considered throughout the whole lifecycle, from the materials in the design and construction stage, waste management during operation, all the way through to the demolition. Considering the future use of spaces and the flexibility of spaces is a great alternative way to adapt to volatile real estate market circumstances.
The Stream building in Paris boasts the possibility of flexible uses of the asset; it is designed to be adaptable to the demand for different uses without big structural interventions. The prefabrication system and the modular structural grid enables flexible functionality. Today, the building is used mainly as an office, but in the future it can be used as hotel, etc.
* What is the prefabricated system? A prefabricated (prefab) building, by definition, is where an entire building, or an assembly of its components, is manufactured at an offsite facility and assembled onsite from self-sustained volumetric modules or separate panels.
Social value – Local community
Social value involves various aspects of impacts, but specifically the impact that properties have on local communities and society as a whole. Localism is most visible when it comes to its impact to asset users. Thus, it has been one of the core concepts that developers have taken into account; Supporting the local community and revitalizing the area would bring bigger foot traffic to it.
Roppongi hills in Tokyo is a large regeneration project which combines different uses, including residential, office, shopping and culture. The development is held up as the epitome of successful redevelopment with its renown town management system, which looks after the social and cultural side of the whole development area. Created and operated by the developer, its famous art centre, social events, and participation of the local community contribute to the social value of the area. Their website ‘Hills life‘ provides abundant culture activities, and this brings visitors into the area and energises the economy and culture of the area.
Biodiversity – Supporting local fauna
There is an increasing importance regarding biodiversity as we welcome a new regulation for new developments from 2024. Developers in England will be required to deliver 10% Biodiversity Net Gain, which is a way of making sure the habitat for wildlife is in a better state than it was before development.
Chiswick Park in London is a business park with a vast amount of green spaces and a lake, which support the local fauna and flora. The landscaped areas and the lake are home various wildlife: fish, birds, bees, bugs, and plants. To make this happen, chemical free zones are implemented for less pesticides; There are bee hives, bat and bird boxes, duck houses and a bug hotel across the site; The plant passport scheme was adapted to keep track of plant diseases, and a tree survey was conducted to understand the health of trees. Everyday food waste collected from the tenants is food for wormery
Other sustainability concepts – Health and wellbeing, water conservation, energy efficiency, net zero carbon , etc. – can be applied by prioritising the most important features based on the needs of the asset users; For example, due to the rise of consumers with high awareness, retail assets and hospitality assets tend to have more significant impact if circularity is not considered; Health and wellbeing is most important when it comes to office workers. Longevity Partners provide advice on implementing sustainable design principles in new developments, renovations or refurbishments. Click here to find out more about the sustainable design services we provide.