Atholl Towers: The office of the future

The recent launch of the Atholl Towers office building has been well received and has set the bar high for other new developments in terms of style and function.

What makes Atholl Towers so special is that it has been awarded a significant 5-Star Green Star SA Office Design V1 rating certification from the Green Building Council of South Africa (GBCSA).

Graham Cruickshanks, executive of the GBCSA is very pleased with the new development. “One of the great stories about this project is that it was originally targeted at being a 4-star rated building, but managed to achieve a five-star level. What this means is that Atholl Towers is considered an industry leading example of how environmentally-friendly technology has been incorporated into a building,” said Cruickshanks.

He added that the way businesses in South Africa are looking at office space is changing. “We’ve seen a shift in how businesses see commercial office space, with a leaning towards investing in green buildings.”

Managing director of ALW, Gary Woolf, stated that the built environment is responsible for about 40 percent of our carbon footprint. “The environment is important to us, so being a property developer and having some control over the built environment gives us the chance to build structures that are eco-friendly.”

Woolf added that Atholl Towers features an astonishing amount of green technology, including a heat recovery VRV air conditioning system, resulting in low electricity costs for tenants. “The elevators installed in Atholl Towers use the latest energy-saving technology that can deliver savings of up to 75 percent compared to conventional elevator systems,” he said.

The new building also features water storage tanks which harvest rain and ground water during rainfall, with a capacity of more than 40 000 litres. This water is utilised in the urinals, toilets and building irrigation system, lowering costs even more.

Details: www.atholltowersgreenoffice.co.za