VietNamNet Bridge - Vietnamese people, especially city dwellers, have increasingly expressed their concern about the environment in the community where they live, thus putting significant pressure on developers to lower the carbon footprint and to maximize the energy savings.

A high-rise building that AECOM gets involved in HCMC

Therefore, green technology and other environmentally friendly features in buildings are a more imperative now for sustainable development, says an executive officer of AECOM Technology Corporation, which is a strong advocator of the green value in property development.

Vincent Tong, the regional managing director of the building engineering business in Southeast Asia, of AECOM Technology Corporation, touches on the point as the company joins the Vietnam Architecture 2011 exhibition which starts running from Wednesday to Saturday at the Saigon Exhibition and Convention Center in District 7 in HCMC.

Vietnam’s rapid urbanization results in greater demand for apartments and offices in big cities like HCMC, and the consequence of the economic advancement and rapid urbanization was the appearance of more and more high-rise buildings in urban areas.

Tong says those facilities are facing big challenges in being energy efficient because of high solar radiation and the energy required for running the buildings.

“Building skyscrapers is as much an art as it is about science and technology,” says Tong, who will deliver a speech on ‘Low Carbon and Low Energy Design for Tall Buildings’ at the exhibition on Wednesday.

He says a green design can improve energy efficiency in buildings, helping reduce not only the energy cost but also greenhouse gas emission, and contributing to the fight against the burning issue of climate change. The managing director explains that a green design can help a building save on the energy cost from 30% to 50%, water usage from 20% to 30% and construction waste from 35% to 40%. Besides, the facility’s productivity can increase up to 30% and help improve the return on investment by 6%.

However, what developers concern is that applying the sustainable technology on their projects requires more capital investment. That means they have to spend more to go green.

Tong agrees that developers are often concerned about the costs and returns on investments, and the upfront cost of having a sustainable project could be 6% higher than usual. However, this margin is not considered a lot when they think of the long-term cost savings in maintaining a greener and healthier building.

“The slightly higher cost requires developers to remain committed to the cause of having a leaner, cleaner and greener building. We are not asking developers to go from zero to full accreditation.

“Going green is a journey that cannot be done in a day. The earlier developers start, the more cost saving they can enjoy down the road,” Tong says.

Asked which low-carbon and energy-saving solutions for high-rise building will better meet the specific conditions in Vietnam, he says having an energy efficient and low carbon tall building starts with having a design that can harness the natural conditions of the surrounding to optimize envelope performance and sun shading. That will lay a strong foundation for other energy efficient technologies to be applied in the entire building.

“The trick is to turn these challenges to our advantage, which is by generating renewable energy,” Tong says, referring to the use of solar panels as an example.

Talking about challenges and advantages for the investors and planners in Vietnam to go along with green construction, Tong notes that Vietnam is one of the most dynamic economies in the region, enticing many multinational companies, which have very strong social responsibility policies (CSR) and are audited in this aspect too.

“It is to their benefit to operate in environmentally friendly buildings as this will result in benefits, whether in operating costs or increased productivity. Having a green building will help to attract these multinational companies as long term tenants,” he says.

He, however, suggests that there are things to be done to encourage the investors to take the bold step. Legislation is one, and the issuance of green standard for local buildings will have the significant influence on the developers.

Officially launching its brand in Vietnam market late last year, the American engineering consultancy firm offers different services including architecture, building engineering, design and planning, energy, environment, project management, urban development and transportation.

Up to this moment, the company has been involved in many large and complex projects by foreign and local investors, including My Thuan Bridge, Phu My Bridge as well as Furama Beach in Danang City. Besides, it is running some environmental and sustainable projects such as a study about the climate change in China and Vietnam.