Building Quarantine Camps by MiC
Swire Properties Continues to Lead Sustainable Building Development Through Green Finance
HKGBC CPD Webinar Series: Keep Learning to Combat COVID-19
Hong Kong: Green Building in Action 2019
Green Building Webinars & Resources for Global Engagement
From Heritage to Green Buildings
Building Quarantine Camps by MiC
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To compete with the rapid development of COVID-19, the HKSAR Government has been building additional quarantine camps since February 2020. Modular Integrated Construction (MiC) technology, which has been promoted by the Government in recent years, was deployed to meet the extremely tight delivery time frame. By end April, around 760 quarantine units in total have been built at Lei Yue Mun Park and Holiday Village, Sai Kung Outdoor Recreation Centre, JPC Permanent Activity Centre in Pat Heung, as well as in Penny’s Bay. It is expected that 1,400 more units would be completed in phases from July to September.
MiC is a game-changing disruptively–innovative approach in building construction adopting the concept of “factory assembly followed by on-site installation”, to transform as far as practicable the conventional on-site construction method into modern off-site industrial production. On environmental sustainability aspect, study results show that MiC can at least minimise on-site waste by 70%, reduce number of site delivery trips by 60%, shorten construction time by 15% etc. These imply less energy consumption, less carbon footprint and eventually improved sustainability performance. Construction nuisance can also be reduced on site.
The Government will continue to promote the use of MiC in the construction industry, which will be one of the key leading factors contributing to the green building movement in Hong Kong.
Swire Properties Continues to Lead Sustainable Building Development Through Green Finance
Swire Properties supports the transition to a low-carbon and sustainable economy through their green financing initiatives – green bonds and sustainability-linked loans, which also reaffirm the company’s commitment to sustainable development, and to design and develop sustainable projects that improve the wellbeing of building occupants and local communities.
In the first half of 2020, Swire Properties has issued two Green Bonds totaling HK$804 million and made separate agreements with Standard Chartered Bank and DBS to convert two Sustainability-Linked Loans totaling HK$2,000 million. These green financing initiatives will fund new and existing green projects, such as advanced energy-saving technologies and green building development.
Swire Properties has recently launched their web-based Sustainable Development Report 2019, which highlights achievements on their SD 2030 Strategy and how these works continue to make the company a leading global sustainability performer – with rankings in DJSI World (No.1 in Asia), GRESB (Global Sector Leader) and Hang Seng Corporate Sustainability Index (AAA rating).
For green building development, in 2019, 100% of projects under development achieved the highest ratings of green building certification. 97% of all existing buildings are certified green buildings, of which 84% have achieved the highest ratings.
As at the end of 2019, 36 buildings earned HK-BEAM or BEAM Plus certification with 29 of those achieving the highest ratings (Excellent/Platinum).
Furthermore, the Company began reporting against the newly-revised HKEX ESG Reporting Guide with additional disclosure on board engagement and climate-related issues, as well as our second Climate-related Financial Disclosures as per TCFD recommendations.
Available via a highly-flexible web-based format, the report is filled with interactive data charts and maps, and is accessible across all major types of devices to allow easier and better viewing experience.
You may click HERE to view Swire Properties’ Sustainable Development Report 2019 for more details.
Buildings that received BEAM Plus certifications in 2019:
Two Taikoo Place – BEAM Plus New Buildings Version 1.2
Provisional Platinum (Photo for illustration purpose only)
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South Island Place – BEAM Plus New Buildings Version 1.2
Final Platinum
HKGBC CPD Webinar Series: Keep Learning to Combat COVID-19
The Covid-19 outbreak has sharpened the focus of indoor environmental quality and brought imminent attention to the role which buildings can play to prevent or reduce potential health risks, as well as enhance comfort and wellbeing of occupants.
The Council has been working hard to continuously provide learning opportunities and resources for green building practitioners during the COVID-19 pandemic, by shifting to online platforms in response to social distancing. Recently, a series of CPD webinars has been held. The webinars covered a wide range of indoor environmental quality related topics, from anti-viral air filtration technologies and drainage system designs that reduce inter-floor disease transmission, the latest no-touch design and technologies in sanitary wares, to the use of big data to monitor and analyse factors that affect occupants’ health, etc. The response was so overwhelming that over 1,500 participants attended our CPD webinars throughout April and May.
We believe the COVID-19 outbreak not only poses a challenge to us, but an opportunity that brings us together to reflect on how to build a more sustainable future!
For “BEAM Pro” and “BEAM Affiliate”, missed the live CPD webinars? You can enroll for the recorded webinars and other online CPD courses at the HKGBC Online Training Portal .
Hong Kong: Green Building in Action 2019
First published by the HKGBC in 2017, Hong Kong: Green Building in Action is a handy summary of Hong Kong’s green building development status. In the newly released version, Hong Kong: Green Building in Action 2019 provides up-to-date key and significant figures of the Hong Kong’s unique built environment, HKGBC's current work and future plans for transforming Hong Kong into a greener city.
Webinars and online resources seem to have become a new norm of knowledge sharing in view of the recent pandemic and are proved to be effective in engaging members and stakeholders across borders. The HKGBC has therefore seized this opportunity to strengthen our online resources for our members including webinars and publications from our global network of Green Building Councils and associations.
In this regard, the HKGBC has recently launched a new webpage on the official website to recommend upcoming International Webinars and share useful materials. In addition, you may also check out our website to know more about Local and International Publications of green building movement.
From Heritage to Green Buildings
Heritage is not only about preservation and revitalisation, but is also about adaptive reuse of the building which helps reducing the use of new construction materials. Recently, two Grade II historic buildings in Hong Kong have been converted and transformed into green buildings, achieving Final Platinum rating under BEAM Plus New Buildings.
Formerly known as Chai Wan Factory Estate, the last H-shaped factory building in Hong Kong, Wah Ha Estate now provides 187 public rental housing flats for single people and small families. Not only 70% of the building structure is preserved, eco-wells are also added to enhance natural ventilation and introduce daylight into the residential flats, creating a more liveable environment for residents.
At Shanghai Street in Mong Kok, the cluster of pre-war shophouses and post-war residential buildings has been revitalised into a new mall – 618 Shanghai Street. To preserve the historical “ambience” of shophouses, the entire façade including the cloister, overhanging balconies and the key architectural features are retained. Greenery is added to 40% of the site area, through vertical greening, green roof and planters, in order to mitigate the heat island effect.
Green buildings are growing everywhere in Hong Kong. Let’s find them out at BEAM Plus Online Exhibition!
From industrial use to residential use, Wah Ha Estate is also a showcase of converting a traditional building into a green building for residents’ sustainable living.
Formed by pre-war and post-war buildings, 618 Shanghai Street is now revitalised and becomes a cluster of green buildings that achieved Final Platinum Rating under BEAM Plus New Buildings.
Formerly known as Chai Wan Factory Estate, the last H-shaped factory building in Hong Kong, Wah Ha Estate now provides 187 public rental housing flats for single people and small families. Not only 70% of the building structure is preserved, eco-wells are also added to enhance natural ventilation and introduce daylight into the residential flats, creating a more liveable environment for residents.
At Shanghai Street in Mong Kok, the cluster of pre-war shophouses and post-war residential buildings has been revitalised into a new mall – 618 Shanghai Street. To preserve the historical “ambience” of shophouses, the entire façade including the cloister, overhanging balconies and the key architectural features are retained. Greenery is added to 40% of the site area, through vertical greening, green roof and planters, in order to mitigate the heat island effect.
Green buildings are growing everywhere in Hong Kong. Let’s find them out at BEAM Plus Online Exhibition!
From industrial use to residential use, Wah Ha Estate is also a showcase of converting a traditional building into a green building for residents’ sustainable living.
Formed by pre-war and post-war buildings, 618 Shanghai Street is now revitalised and becomes a cluster of green buildings that achieved Final Platinum Rating under BEAM Plus New Buildings.