City&Country: The Edge Property Excellence Awards 2011-- Jury commends energy-efficient building

Judges for The Edge-PAM Green Excellence Award 2011 has given a jury’s commendation to the Suruhanjaya Tenaga (Energy Commission) building in Putrajaya.

Developed by Putra Perdana Development Sdn Bhd via its wholly owned subsidiary, Senandung Budiman Sdn Bhd, it is also known as the Diamond building due to its architectural structure.

Its self-shading façade optimises a passive design approach to achieve energy efficiency. Other green features include rainwater harvesting, greywater recycling, maximising natural daylight and solar panels to generate electricity. Greywater collected from the floor taps is recycled for irrigation purposes. Another interesting feature is the automated shutters on the glass dome which can be seen from the atrium within the building. The dome allows natural daylight to flow in while light sensors on the shutters enable them to adjust themselves accordingly.

The blinds block direct sunlight from coming into the offices while controlling the light level in the atrium where the workstations are. Tannenbaum reflector panels are also used to distribute daylight. 

The eight-floor building has a total gross floor area of 153,160 sq ft and a gross development cost (excluding land cost) of RM75.2 million. It was completed in March last year.

The Diamond building is the first green building in Malaysia to achieve both the Singapore Green Mark Platinum and the Malaysian GBI Platinum Green Building certifications.

It currently has a monthly average energy consumption of 60.6 kWh/m2 with a total of 170 permanent occupants. The total installed photovoltaic capacity is 71.4 kWp with an estimated 9% reduction in the design energy target.

According to the judges, the Diamond building is an exemplary green building showcasing state-of-the-art, passive and active green features and technologies. Recognising the Energy Commission’s intent and motivation in using innovative technologies to reduce energy consumption and promote sustainable building, the judges believe it will be a great contribution to knowledge building in the green building sector.

This article appeared in City & Country, the property pullout of The Edge Malaysia, Issue 878, Oct 3-9, 2011