Sleek, sustainable skyscrapers are becoming the norm in Hong Kong. But Hysan Place, a 38-story mega development, stands out.
It is the first property in Hong Kong to achieve pre-certification to Platinum under the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) program of the U.S. Green Building Council. The development also achieved a provisional certificate at the highest level of Hong Kong's Building Environmental Assessment Method (HKBEAM). Parsons Brinckerhoff was the mechanical, electrical, plumbing, and drainage, vertical transportation, and information and communication technologies consultant to owner Hysan Development Company Ltd for the building, which incorporates an impressive array of environmental solutions including light shelves, fresh air vents, perimeter lighting sensors, energy saving systems, a sky lobby, and sky gardens.
Located in the heart of Causeway Bay, Hong Kong's thriving commercial and retail district, Hysan Place also features Hong Kong's first AAA-rated office space as well as 17 floors of retail facilities that are conveniently situated atop the Hong Kong Metro's Causeway Bay station.
Energy On an As-Needed Basis
Controlling energy usage at Hysan Place was important to the owner. Early in the development process, Parsons Brinckerhoff worked to properly orient the building, positioning the tower for maximum reduction of heat gain and glare. The firm also incorporated design of various computerized energy management systems to monitor and adjust the building's energy usage on a real-time basis in order to boost occupant comfort, provide energy savings, and reduce emissions.
Natural vents were integrated into the curtain wall design. “This allows natural ventilation on the office floors when desired, which saves on air-conditioning and allows tenants to enjoy outdoor air during the mild season,” says Project Manager Paul Lee. A carbon dioxide fresh air system is similarly controlled. “This is a sensory technology to provide the exact amount of ventilation needed, rather than the large quantity that would otherwise be needed without such a detection system.” Escalators in the building are equipped with standby mode features, which saves energy during periods of low usage, and elevators incorporate regenerative drive, which cycles energy usually lost during braking back to the building's power grid for re-use. High- efficiency lighting technologies such as LED light and high reflectance nano coating lighting were adopted to achieve a 30 to 40 percent saving over the LEED baseline. Daylight sensors are also provided to dim the high-efficiency lighting output level when daylight is sufficient.
Another area of cost effectiveness is the central air conditioning plant, which comprises such state-of- the-art chiller solutions as a multi-stage compression duty chiller, magnetic float frictionless night chiller, variable speed, and water cooled technologies. The heat recovery system, free cooling system, computerized measurement and verification instrumentation promote continuous energy saving as well. In fact, all energy saving systems and features enable more than 20 percent of the total building energy saving comparing with the ASHRAE (American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning) standard and LEED baseline.
Indoor Environmental Quality
In green building design, indoor environmental quality is characterized by thermal comfort, visual and acoustical quality, indoor air quality, and healthful surroundings. To achieve this target, various engineering designs were incorporated at Hysan Place, including a 30 percent increased ventilation rate, high-efficiency air filtration, multiple independent air conditioning control zones, reflective low-glare lighting, a dedicated exhaust system for tenants' pollutant sources, and low VOC materials.
Hysan Place in Hong Kong has many green attributes including several sky gardens.
Sky Gardens and Rainwater Harvesting
Hysan Place includes a green roof and several sky gardens to reduce the heat island effect, which is the difference in temperature between a city and the surrounding countryside due mainly to the preponderance of large areas of hard, reflective surfaces like roofs. Parsons Brinckerhoff provided the plumbing and drainage design for these green areas as well as consulting on the building's rainwater recycling system, which reduces overall water consumption. An innovative element here is the design of an artificial wetland on the podium roof. “Through the artificial planting at the podium garden, part of the gray water from the office tower can be filtrated and re-used,” says Lee.
For today's buildings, it doesn't get much greener than this.