For people & planet

Project nutshell

Riverlands Precinct in Observatory, Cape Town, was recently certified 5-Star, using Green Building Council South Africa’s Green Star Sustainable Precincts (SUP) tool. This tool is designed to assess the environmental sustainability of larger scale precincts or neighbourhoods, and is especially useful for masterplans. It uses five categories to assess the performance from early planning through to construction stages. The four primary categories assessed are Governance, Liveability, Economic Prosperity and Environment, and a minimum number of points is required to achieve a certification. An optional fifth category, Innovation, allows for additional points to be targeted that are not currently captured by the tool. It does not assess individual buildings within the scheme (which can, of course, pursue individual Green Star ratings), but rather the development as a whole.

What is Riverlands?

Riverlands is a 14.7ha precinct, owned by Liesbeek Leisure Properties Trust and developed by Zenprop Property Holdings, which spreads out along the Liesbeek Parkway in Observatory in Cape Town. The masterplan is subdivided into two precincts separated by an eco-corridor. Precinct 1 encompasses three smaller zones: 1A has basement parking, a retail level and a podium level of office blocks above; 1B consists of about 410 residential units, around 125 of these being affordable units; and 1C is a future residential phase, similar to 1B. Precinct 2 consists of 2A, with basement parking and five office buildings at podium level, and 2B, comprising a basement and two office blocks. While some buildings are already occupied, the balance of the buildings are due to be completed by early 2027.

Development Manager at Zenprop, Jacques Oosthuizen, explains how they saw a unique opportunity to pursue a high green rating on a piece of land that already had open spaces, natural beauty and a river flowing alongside it. “Our vision was to create something truly distinctive – an innovative, sustainable space that harmonises with its surroundings while offering long-term value”, he says.

Environmental health

The site underwent extensive ecological restoration. One of the most significant aspects of this was the restoration of the Liesbeek River itself. Adrie Fourie, Sustainable Cities & Research Department Head at Solid Green Consulting, who was the Accredited Professional (AP) for the project, says that the conversion of the concrete canal back to its natural riverine state was a deeply moving experience. Oosthuizen echoes this sentiment as he describes seeing the wildlife in the revived river. He explains the process of protecting the endangered Western Cape leopard toad during construction: “We designed dedicated pathways that allow the toads to move freely … while incorporating barriers to prevent access to roads, and reducing the risk of injury.” These efforts show a “commitment to ecological preservation and responsible development”, he adds. In addition to the leopard toads, the revived ecosystem is also home to grey herons and malachite kingfishers, among many other species.

The buildings in the precinct are nestled within a replanted, indigenous landscape that includes medicinal plants and areas for outside activities, and the eco-corridor traversing the site allows for the safe movement of fauna through the landscape. The ecological restoration and indigenous landscaping contribute to a measurable increase in site biodiversity and actively mitigate the urban heat island effect by enhancing ground permeability and vegetative cover.

All new buildings are required to demonstrate best-practice energy efficiency measures as part of the SUP compliance strategy, and over 30% of the precinct’s energy requirements will be provided by on-site solar PV.

Designed for the community

A sustainable precinct is fundamentally different from a private, gated estate – it is designed with openness and community integration in mind. In this case, the park-like environment is open to public access, with over 6km of walking paths, cycle routes and outdoor gym equipment. A Community Development Plan encourages engagement by all residents, businesses and visitors.

Imraan Ho-Yee, Design Director at Vivid Architects, elaborates on the community considerations when designing the scheme. “This is a true mixed-use public precinct. It incorporates commercial offices, retail, residential, heritage, ecological rehabilitation and generous public space,” he says. He adds that transport integration was also important, with considered connections to rail, bus and non-motorised transport routes.

Honouring and celebrating cultural heritage

Fourie explains that several SUP tool credits relate to cultural heritage and community sustainability. In particular, there is a section that celebrates projects that incorporate the Culture, Heritage and Identity aspects of a specific site into the design. Riverlands secured all three points for this category. “The development will commemorate and celebrate the history, culture and future of South Africa’s First Nations through a custom-designed cultural centre,” says Fourie.

“A huge part of this project was First Nations heritage integration,” adds Ho-Yee. Initially there was some resistance to the development as the site holds significant cultural meaning for the indigenous Khoisan people. The First Nations Collective, a grouping of indigenous stakeholders was formed, initially in protest of the development, but later as an important voice in the precinct’s evolution. Ho-Yee says that the First Nations Collective came to support the development and asked not to halt the proposal but for recognition, presence and space. “That led to the creation of a Heritage Centre, designed by Jo Noero of Noero Architects, as a space of gathering, storytelling and cultural celebration.” The centre will be managed in perpetuity by the Western Cape First Nations Collective Trust. Alongside the centre there is a garden of traditional medicinal plants, and symbolic totems are scattered throughout the landscape. “We avoided tokenism in the architecture and, instead, wove heritage subtly into the precinct experience,” says Ho-Yee.

Precinct processes

The process involved to bring this precinct to fruition was a long one. Ho-Yee, who traces his involvement with the scheme back to 2008, explains that the site itself is an incredibly complex one. It is located on a flood plain and required intensive environmental studies, technical solutions for flooding, and for flora and fauna preservation, and a resolution to the debate around the river canal versus its original course. Heritage concerns and First Nations consultations played a further role in the dialogue and design development.

“Design is fundamentally shaped by problem-solving,” says Ho-Yee, “and Riverlands presented many.” The environmental setbacks and flood lines, combined with the commercial density and urban interface created a kind of three-dimensional puzzle. “The joy of design was in the resolution of that puzzle; spatial flow, commercial logic, urban permeability and contextual aesthetics.” Ho-Yee and his team leaned into the industrial heritage of Observatory, with face brick, exposed steel and off-shutter concrete grounding the buildings in their context.

Future Riverlands

Fourie states that the transition from project-phase governance to long-term stewardship is often the most under-estimated challenge of a development. This, she explains, is the reason that the Green Star SUP tool “places strong emphasis on embedding resilience, both through policies such as Climate Adaptation and Community Resilience Plans, and through practice, including education tools and community development strategies”. A client’s commitment towards long-term governance and community engagement is key. And, for this reason, a Green Star-accredited precinct needs to be re-certified every five years until complete build out is achieved.

Ho-Yee adds that the fact that this precinct is owned by the developer (albeit in a trust), with only the housing being a sectional-title scheme, will help with continuity. “There’s a vested long-term interest in maintaining the precinct’s quality, tenant mix and upkeep.” Oosthuizen concurs that the best way to maintain the fiscal value of the investment, and the ethical and environmental values built into the project, is to set up robust management and training structures and maintain stakeholder investment, going forward, as well as to pursue continual re-certification.

An example to follow

There’s more than one way to create a successful, environmentally sustainable precinct. By design, each site or location will have a different set of parameters to consider, different heritage aspects to celebrate, and specific environmental considerations to design for. Fourie explains that there is no single path to getting such a scheme off the ground but that early alignment between vision, land ownership and governance strategy is crucially important. Ho-Yee concurs, and adds that a project of this nature also needs to make financial sense for the developer. Fortunately there is now a high demand for sustainable rental space, as corporate tenants have governance requirements that may include occupying green-rated spaces. “Green financing incentives, preferential rates and long-term energy savings make [schemes like this] a smart investment. Sustainability, when done right, is also a commercial asset,” explains Ho-Yee, adding, “I’m proud of the scheme overall. I hope it will grow old with me, and with time, as the landscape matures and the space gathers life, I think Riverlands will prove to be a truly enduring part of the city’s fabric.”