Keeping Cool and Green

Real estate developer and eco advocate, CapitaLand, has once again achieved several milestones in its sustainability journey. Its largest integrated development in China and the largest single investment by a Singapore company in the country, Raffles City Chongqing, is set to be the single biggest development in the city to date to implement an advanced district cooling technology. The move will mean an improvement of up to 50% in energy efficiency and avoidance of about S$30 million in utility cost.

CapitaLand has also received nods for its green, inclusive designs at the Singapore Building and Construction Authority (BCA) Awards 2015 where 12 properties including shopping malls, offices, residential and integrated developments were recognised for their building quality, green and inclusive designs. CapitaLand was also named Quality Champion of the prestigious BCA Quality Excellence Award for the third year running.

Cool Technology at Raffles City Chongqing

On 20 May 2015, CapitaLand inked a 20-year deal with Singapore Power for it to design, build, own and operate an advanced, energy-efficient district cooling system at Raffles City Chongqing, strategically located at the gateway to Chongqing.

Said President & Group CEO of CapitaLand Limited, Mr Lim Ming Yan: “CapitaLand is one of the pioneer adopters of green building standards because we strongly believe sustainability is a continuous process that is integral to our business. As internationally recognised urban icons of excellence, Raffles City developments attest to CapitaLand’s commitment to develop user-centric built environments to improve the economic, environmental and social well-being of our stakeholders.”

Underground chiller plants that centralise the production of chilled water to cool the air for air-conditioning will replace traditional separate cooling towers. The chilled water will then be piped throughout the development through an integrated underground pipe network. On top of saving money and energy, this innovative urban utility service is also a space saver, freeing up prime floor area for lease.

“With our expertise in advanced energy-efficient cooling networks, we are confident Raffles City Chongqing will set a new benchmark in sustainability. Advanced energy-efficient cooling networks are uniquely suited to serve China’s drive towards urbanisation and clean development,” said Mr Wong ‎Kim Yin, Group CEO of Singapore Power.

Raffles City Chongqing, primed to be the crown jewel of the city, enjoys premium location - right next to the traditional Central Business District of Jie Fang Bei known for its broad pedestrian streets lined with shopping malls and department stores, with frontage along the historic Yangtze and Jialing rivers. It also has excellent connectivity, being linked to a subway station, bus interchange, ferry terminal and cruise centre.

“China remains one of CapitaLand’s core markets, accounting for 44% of the Group’s total assets. Chongqing, being the only municipal city in inland China, offers immense investment potential. Chao Tian Men, where Raffles City Chongqing is located, has historically been a vital commercial port and gateway for Chongqing. We are confident that Raffles City Chongqing will be a sought-after location for retailers, office tenants, homebuyers, business travellers and tourists in West China,” said Mr Lim.

Designed by internationally renowned architect Moshe Safdie, the property will comprise a mall, eight towers of high-end residences, Grade-A offices, a luxury serviced residence and an international five-star hotel. When completed, the landmark development will have the tallest residential tower in China with four of its towers connected by a 280-metre Conservatory which houses a viewing deck, infinity pool, sky walk and myriad dining options. The two tallest towers stand at 350 metres tall. The S$4.2 billion development will open in phases from 2018.

Cool Awards Galore

Apart from its innovative green cooling system, Raffles City Chongqing also has other green features. It boasts optimising shades to reduce heat, a high efficiency irrigation system to conserve water, building materials from recycled content, carbon dioxide sensors at office areas with fresh air control as well as a recycling programme for its construction waste.

For its commitment to sustainability, the development was accorded the LEEDS-CS (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design – Core & Shell) pre-certification Gold by the United States Green Building Council. LEED is a green building certification programme that recognises best-in-class building strategies and practices. With a total gross floor area of 817,000 square metres, Raffles City Chongqing is the city’s largest development to receive the Gold certification.

“CapitaLand is committed to building developments that are environmentally sustainable. Raffles City Chongqing is CapitaLand’s third integrated development in China to receive the LEED-CS pre-certification gold award, after Raffles City Chengdu and Raffles City Hangzhou,” said Mr Lucas Loh, CEO of CapitaLand China.

“The region that Raffles City Chongqing is located has been identified as one of the top 10 key areas in the municipality by the government. It will be a masterpiece that will rejuvenate the city of Chongqing and be a strong showcase of West China’s progress to the international audience.”

In Singapore, CapitaLand’s shopping mall, office, residential and integrated developments swept 12 BCA awards for their building quality, inclusive and green features. Residential development d’Leedon, and integrated development Westgate and Westgate Tower were awarded the BCA Universal Design Mark Platinum Awards, bringing the number of Platinum awards it has to three out of seven given out since the award was re-launched in October 2012. This makes CapitaLand the real estate developer with the most number of UD Mark Platinum projects.

Other winners include office buildings Six Battery Road and Twenty Anson which clinched the BCA Green Mark Platinum awards. CapitaLand’s wholly owned serviced residence subsidiary The Ascott Limited snagged a Green Mark Gold for Citadines St Georges Terrace Perth, making it the Group’s first BCA-awarded property in Australia. CapitaLand mall The Mines in Selangor, Malaysia and residential project Mulberry Lane in Vietnam were accorded BCA Green Mark Gold and Green Mark certification respectively. In recognition of its continued commitment to higher quality and workmanship standards, the Group won the BCA Quality Excellence Award - Quality Champion (GoldPLUS) for the third time since the inception of the award in 2013.

“CapitaLand is honoured to once again be recognised by BCA, winning 13 awards at the BCA Awards 2015. We are also pleased to be the real estate developer with the largest number of UD Mark Platinum projects to date, attesting to our commitment to design user-centric built environments where people can live, work, play and connect comfortably, regardless of age and mobility.” said Mr Lim.

To date, the Group has received a total of 92 Green Mark awards and 14 UD Mark awards for its development projects in Singapore, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam and most recently, Australia.

As one of the pioneer adopters of BCA’s Green Mark framework a decade ago, CapitaLand has remained committed to developing real estate that improves the economic and social well-being of its stakeholders. With such a vision, our next generation can be assured of a cooler, greener place to call home.