A Blueprint for the Future

If you commute between Johannesburg and Pretoria, you’ve probably noticed this development near the Buccleuch interchange in Midrand, and wondered what it’s like living in the middle of the hustle and bustle – until you step inside the serene environment of Kikuyu Waterfall City.

It’s evident that the architect and landscape architect have worked closely together. “We wanted to optimise the open spaces within the development,” says senior architect at LYT Architects Lore de Bruyn, “and to link these with internal walkways and indigenous planting throughout.” The sense of oneness with nature is elevated by views of the Jukskei river that borders the property. “Residences look out over this adjacent green belt, which also provides opportunities for pathways for recreational walking and relaxation” adds De Bruyn.

“Balwin has successfully introduced owls to further enhance the bird life,” De Bruyn says, and explains that a healthy relationship with the environment is evident everywhere. “The area and the river have ongoing ‘clean-up’ operations to remove pollution and maintain the natural environment.”

This achievement is only the tip of the iceberg, however, and obtaining EDGE (Excellence in Design for Greater Efficiencies) Final Certification for this 1 270-unit development is no surprise – although it’s a first for Balwin Properties. “We want to provide apartments for owners to live in that are energy- and water-efficient, and have been built with materials with low embodied energy,” says Balwin’s green Accredited Professional Lloyd Tinney. According to him, the ever-increasing cost of living in South Africa is making buyers more conscious about the advantages of a sustainable lifestyle. “It provides clients with a high-quality home, where utilities are not breaking the bank and the client is able to receive or apply for a green bond.”

Wardah Peters, Technical Services Success Manager at Solid Green Consulting, is no stranger to projects seeking Final EDGE certification. Her team provided the EDGE expert and EDGE auditor services. In this case, she commends the sheer scale of the project’s efforts and, in a region where residential developments are mushrooming rapidly, she believes that developments like this set the standard.

“All of these growing communities really need to focus on water and energy savings, as well as the entire lifespan of the materials used because it has a major impact in the overall planning of a city,” she says. Peters adds that EDGE certification, and the benefits that go along with it, fits large-scale developments like a glove. “It’s less complex, and if done right, it’s quite easy to achieve without significant costs for developers. Balwin is leading the charge of showing that every developer can do it.”

So how did they do it?

ENERGY

Required savings: 20% | Savings achieved: 24%

Tinney says the project team mostly targeted a reduced window-to-wall ratio, and energy-efficient appliances like washing machines and refrigerators, as well as LED lighting throughout internal and external lighting. He believes that installing such appliances and making clients aware of the building’s EDGE rating plays an educational role and aids in creating a mental shift towards sustainable habits.
“We also installed solar arrays on the roofs of the residential blocks, which contributes significantly towards reducing the demand on electricity,” he adds. The 949.8kW system is thus supported by an emphasis on efficient energy consumption and, along with energy-wise appliances, residents unknowingly use less energy because of the units’ passive design and ceiling insulation. Tinney says, “We want to regulate the spaces that people are living in so that there’s no excessive heat coming in or excessive heat being lost. If you don’t have insulation, you end up using a heater, or you end up using an air conditioner to cool the space, which would be unnecessary if you insulate the spaces correctly.”

WATER

Required savings: 20% | Savings achieved: 27%

Another key element of the development’s energy saving is water consumption – on which the project team managed to save 27%.

Following the recent long-lasting periods of load shedding, Tinney warns that concerns around water supply shouldn’t be overlooked. “The reality is that water is going to become a lot scarcer, so we targeted four measures within the water category,” he says. “These were specified as low-flow shower heads designed to use 6 litres per minute, compared to the base case flow rate of 10 l/minute. In addition, low-flow mixers were specified for the kitchen and bathroom basins, allowing a flow rate of 4 l/minute instead of the base case 8 l/minute. Furthermore, the specified dual flush system featured a full flush rate of 7 l/minute and a single flush rate of 4 l/minute, improving upon the base case of 8 l/minute for a full flush and 6 l/minute for a single flush.”

While the Kikuyu development is considered one of Balwin’s older projects, the impact of the work that’s gone into it – especially from a water savings point of view – has gone a long way. “We continue to install these fittings throughout all our developments,” says Tinney. He adds that it compares so well with regular fittings – that clients barely notice the presence of the aerators and flow restrictors.

EMBODIED ENERGY

Required savings: 20% | Savings achieved: 23%

When it comes to this category, Tinney once again underscores the important role sustainability plays in their decision-making processes. “We want to build resilient buildings with materials that have lasted for years,” he says. It resonates with the goal of this category, which, according to Peters, considers the entire lifespan of materials used in a project: “How were the materials extracted from the ground? How were they processed and manufactured, and how were they transported to the site?”

Starting with the floors, Tinney says this is one of the largest contributors to achieving their score of 23% savings on embodied energy. The project team used precast hollow core concrete slabs. Tongue in cheek, Tinney describes the process as their having arrived on site, packing the floors like puzzle pieces – and leaving. “The positive effect of this is that it uses less concrete and less steel, both of which are high in carbon.”

Natural light floods the rooms, automatically leading to energy saving during daylight hours.

Another factor is the use of timber roof rafters that are covered with steel sheeting and the use of cement bricks. The external walls are 230mm thick, while the internal walls are 115mm thick – but why use cement bricks? If the choice lay between clay stock or cement bricks, in this case the latter would take precedence – the large amount of embodied energy in clay stock bricks is due to the way they are fired in their manufacturing process.

Ceramic tiles were selected over porcelain tiles for their lower embodied carbon, and when it comes to window frames, the team went one step beyond the base case – which requires steel – and installed aluminium frames.

Tinney says the measures the development targeted have been specifically chosen to have a real-life impact on their clients and it’s only the beginning. According to Peters, it’s evident in the way their projects are executed. “Final EDGE certification is a process. Balwin has been quite good at following that process and is getting better with each certification,” she says. “We have done a number of preliminary certifications for different developments for them – and this EDGE Final certification is the first of many.”