The US Government has officially opened its United States Agency for International Development (USAID) offices in Totius, Pretoria South Africa.
The building which is four storeys is 8000m2 and received the Green Building Council of South Africa (GBCSA) 4 star green building rating due to its feature.
The building features 1400 solar panels with a generation capacity of 355kW of electricity to help power the site of the building. It also has a grey water system with the capacity to hold 55 000 liters of rainwater and over 12000 toilet urinal flushes to help cut on the consumption of water by 50 percent.
Other green building rating features about the building include 20 000 ground cover plants and 110 new trees planted. There is a drip irrigation system on site to allow plants make 90 percent use of water supplied while at the same time reducing evaporation.
There is a building management system to control light and air conditioning by zones. Lighting used emits diode lighting to reduce the consumption of electricity.
The building currently hosts all the nine US Government agencies with a major inclusion of the US President Barak Obama’s Power Africa Initiative which is the only presidential initiative to ever have been held out of Washington DC.
According to the Mayor of Pretoria, Kgosientso Ramakgopa, the construction of the USAID and African Union Head Offices improved the stature of the city. He also noted that the aim was to make the city the leading in Green building rating in the whole continent.
The Assistant Secretary of State for Africa Affairs, Linda Thomas Greenfields noted that the building which houses over 300 employees would facilitate workplace communication while reducing overcrowding. It will also offer a healthy work environment for employees without taxation of the local resources.
KEYWORD: 4 Star Green Rated USAID Office
CAPTION: 4 Star Green Rated USAID Office Officially Opened in Pretoria South Africa
http://www.engineeringnews.co.za/article/new-green-star-rated-usaid-building-opened-2015-06-12
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