PDM’s Vienna Court Office Complex Bags Prestigious LEED Gold Pre-certification

Vienna Court, a Grade A low-rise office complex developed by PDM Holdings, has won the highly coveted Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (Leed) Gold pre-certification, making it one of the few commercial buildings in East Africa to attain the mark of quality and achievement in green building at international standards.

According to Mr. Richard Fedrizzi, CEO & Founding Chairman of the United States Green Building Council (USGBC), Vienna court received the award for incorporating building designs that are going to help tenants to be environmentally responsible and use resources efficiently.

“By setting goals and intentions to incorporate green features, enhancing occupants’ health, reducing waste, pollution and environmental degradation, Vienna Court will serve as a model for future high performance green development in the region,” said Mr. Ngure Gideon, Marketing Manager PDM Holdings.

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Located along State House Crescent, Vienna Court is attuned to modern sustainable development features which include a generous mature landscape, central courtyard, provisions for rainwater harvesting, balconies with solar shading, solar control glass, priority parking for energy efficient cars and bicycle storage facilities. In addition, all office spaces have passive ventilation, and access to highly efficient central air conditioning infrastructure.

Despite the high land prices in Upper Hill, Vienna Court has dedicated approximately 0.25 acres to green areas and the central mature garden. PDM Holdings in its commitment to environmental conservation went to extremes to preserve the existing indigenous gardens by excavating around it and designing the building around it. The company also engaged international landscape architect Mr. S. Gary, Lead Architect Leonard Design Architect(LDA), (who is also the designer of Garden City in Nairobi, Dubai World Trade Centre among others) to ensure the garden is not tampered with and incorporates new foliage.

“A high performing and energy efficient building greatly affects a buyer’s decision about purchasing or renting a property. LEED-certified buildings have proven to have lower operating costs and better indoor and outdoor environmental quality and are more attractive to a growing group of corporate, public and individual buyers,” said Mr. Ngure.

According to Mr. Ngure, Vienna Court is designed to help ensure reduced cost of lighting and air-conditioning, savings which are passed on to the tenants, while the provision of bicycle and priority parking bays for energy efficient cars helps reduce pollution and exposure to greenhouse gases by encouraging tenants to cycle and use energy efficient cars.

A research by USGBC reports that, LEED-certified buildings have been proven to use 25% less energy and a 19% reduction in aggregate operational costs in comparison to non-certified buildings.

“To ensure our tenants enjoy seamless operation, and reduce costs of operation, we have installed building automated management system (BMS) which intelligently monitors units like fuel tank levels, water tank levels and common area lighting switching off when left running or idle.” said Mr. Ngure.

The KSh2.5 billion project set to be completed by September 2016 is already attracting a great deal of interest from multinationals and local blue chip companies that appreciate a high quality functional space built to international standards and prioritize on environmental conservation and sustainability efforts, says Ngure.

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Studies carried out in Seattle, United States of America (USA), across 31 green buildings, showed that companies occupying green buildings benefits from a 20 to 25 per cent higher productivity and employee absences were found to be 40 per cent lower than in non-green offices. While elsewhere the annual utilities cost per employee in green facilities was $675.26 lower than in non-green facilities.

According to a report by USGBC, 73% of corporate leaders expect to attract and retain customers as a direct result of their sustainability efforts. Hence more companies preferring the green buildings that the non-green ones.  While several financial institutions say that employees working in the LEED-certified branches of the same financial institution were found to be “more productive and engaged in their work” at the same time, using LEED-certified buildings increases revenue generated by bank branches even when they offer the same products and services.

PDM Holdings, the developer of Vienna Court has an impressive track record in landmark real estate development, with the building of Nation Centre and IPS Building, now definitive features of Nairobi’s skyline, and The Courtyard among the key outstanding projects in the firm’s portfolio.