Abstract
Sustainable building, or more commonly referred to as “green building” in China, is an integral part of the country’s path toward sustainability. There are both opportunities and challenges in China’s green building market. Opportunities lie in both architecture and building engineering, as well as planning and urban development areas. The recently appeared WELL building concept may also be promising in China. On the other hand, the development of green building in China faces challenges in economics, professional capability and awareness, and regulatory standards. Moving forward, the certification-focused developers shall introduce new technologies to increase the added value of green building labels. For technology-focused developers, they will need to combine their advanced core technology with the existing ones to capture larger shares of the market, particularly in the residential area. The ideas and concepts that may bring about technological integration will be the main drivers in the market.
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Notes
- 1.
Green Practices in the Chinese Building Industry: drivers and impediment studied the evolving process and influence of the national policies within the green building industry. The Institute for Building Efficiency took another angle and researched more on the local policy in different parts of China in their report of Green Building in China: Conception, Codes and Certification. EU SME Center also published a related report on The Green Building Sector in China, which paid attention on the international rating system adopted by China, and comparison of different rating systems was analyzed.
- 2.
Fraser Place Shekou in Shenzhen, Prosper Center in Beijing, and Lac Song Shopping Plaza in Harbin were the first projects to apply for any green labels in China.
- 3.
AECOM’s own offices in Guangzhou and Shanghai achieved LEED Silver and Gold certifications.
- 4.
The Beijing Changyang Project has a total land area of 154,076 m2, FAR 2.17, and total floor area is 374,487 m2. It achieved 30% greenery coverage with 50.8% of outdoor areas being water permeable. It increased energy efficiency by 65–72% and 65% of housing units adopted solar heating system. It used gray water for irrigation and decreased water usage by 50–70% compared to traditional irrigation system; it promoted water recycling and satisfied as least 30% of water demand; and it put in place safe and environment-friendly collection and disposal system for solid waste.
- 5.
Vanke Center is a long building as long as the Empire State Building, with a total size of over 120,000 m2. It won numerous awards including 2010 Good Design, Good Business China Award for Best Green project, 2010 Architectural Record Best Green Project in China, 2011 AIA Honor Award in the USA, and 2014 Federation Internationale Du Beton, Switzerland.
- 6.
LEED ND revaluates an entire community looking at walkable streets and reduction in dependence on cars and energy efficiency for buildings and infrastructure in terms of usage of renewable energy sources and reduction in water usage.
- 7.
Legacy EDAW, now AECOM, completed the project in 2009. The project site area is 1080 ha. The water strategy included utilization and management of storm water and waste water and measures for flood control and water recycling. The ecological restoration strategy included the creation of an ecological corridor, a wetland habitat, and planting was based on an investigation into existing wildlife communities. The team proposed a new circulation system and added a waterborne transportation route and theme tour routes. In riverine slope treatment and existing wetlands were preserved while new ones were created, resulting in a variety of shorelines that are well integrated with leisure and recreational programming. Soil and vegetation restoration was considered as well. To establish the project as an exemplary case in economic, ecological, energy-saving, and environment-friendly goals, the design utilized advanced measures to convert wind energy, solar energy, and thermal energy into electricity and put into use.
- 8.
Situated on approximately 1000 ha land, the Beitang New Town project’s existing conditions consist of residential development, limited commercial development, and significant portions of environmentally degraded, undeveloped land. The Tanggu District has a history of industrial development that has seriously affected the environmental condition of the area, which was once home to healthy wetlands.
- 9.
Several “sustainability indicators” were chosen to provide a comparison through which a preferred master plan alternative could be chosen. Once the best performing and thus preferred alternative was chosen, the cost and benefit of various system (water, transport, energy, etc.) measures were modeled individually to determine the highest performing measures with a parallel cost-benefit analysis. Finally, SSIM measured the overall environmental and cost impact of all systems combined into various sustainability program alternatives and determined which program met the goals of the client, while ensuring the greatest financial benefit for the initial and long-term investment.
- 10.
According to Beijing Municipal Government, the municipal government covers the certification fees for GBL 1-star and 2-star projects, which is around 8000–10,000 CNY per project.
- 11.
The Green Building Regulation of Jiangsu Province was passed by the 15th Standing Committee Meeting of the 12th Provincial People’s Congress on March 27, 2015, and became effective on July 1, 2015.
- 12.
Raycom Information Technology Center is a high-end office development project in Zhongguancun area in northwestern Beijing. The Center comprises four buildings, and the project site is Building B, which is 118 m tall with a total construction area of 85,000 m2(58,000 m2 aboveground and 27,000 m2 underground). AECOM provided LEED consulting services both before and during the design phase between 2009 and 2011.
- 13.
Volkswagen Brand Center is located in Chaoyang District, Beijing. The site is in close proximity to 798 Art Zone and between the INDIGO mixed-use development and the Bahe River. The project’s total aboveground area is 18,161 m2, and it aims to achieve LEED Silver certification.
- 14.
AECOM provided structural, MEP, and sustainability consulting services to the TEDA project. The frame of building’s south façade is made of building integrated photovoltaic (BIPV). Natural ventilation, sun shading devices, and solar tube are widely adapted in entrance hall and office tower. On top of the podium, solar heating panel provides domestic hot water for the whole building. Besides renewable energy, energy-efficient systems such as ground source heat pump, capillary tube radiant cooling and heating, and lift power regenerative motor help bring the building’s annual energy consumption and carbon emission 35 and 30% lower than national building code.
- 15.
In the design scheme, by using energy modeling, AECOM helped the project team to integrate high-performance strategies, such as good façade system, highly efficient lighting system and chillers, chilled beam, free cooling, demand ventilation and PV facilities, etc.
- 16.
The TEDA project has been certified for LEED Gold, BREEAM Very Good and GBL 3 star, and LEED Platinum and Beijing Aether Plaza for LEED Platinum and Green Mark Platinum.
- 17.
The project site is located in the north of the Jinyang New District in Guiyang, capital city of Guizhou province. AECOM designed an ecosystem for the community green belt, the jade lace, that connected four neighborhoods together as well as with nearby Jiang Jun Hill. Water-sensitive urban design principal was applied to integrate the regional water cycle, including storm water, groundwater, water supply, and wastewater management into environmental design to minimize environmental degradation and improve esthetic and recreational appeal. Rainwater garden, bio-swale, and other best practices not only reduce storm water runoff but also reserve and create ecological habitat for local animals. Bird feeder, butterfly wall, and squirrel nest also enhance the communication between residents and their environment.
- 18.
The project site is located in Foshan, southern Guangdong province with a total land area of 300 ha, and is planned for residential buildings, hotels, and retail facilities. The developer wishes to make the project a landmark low-carbon community in southern China. AECOM consulted on sustainable solutions including design review and adjustment recommendations, renewable energy, waste management, and on-site gray water reclamation and rainwater management.
- 19.
The project covers a total land area of 121,320 m2 with gross floor area of 406,467 m2 in Beijing. The project will include villas, serviced apartments, commercial and financial facilities, schools, and other types of properties. AECOM has been involved since June 2016 to use WELL standards to optimize the relationship between the buildings and the well-being of the occupants and create a healthy and vibrant neighborhood. The lighting system, for instance, divides a day into five time intervals according to the 24-h circadian rhythms of people. LED light is used to present the diurnal changes to enhance residents’ stable biological cycle and good sleeping quality. In addition to adopting WELL standards for the whole community, the main building also aims for WELL Platinum certification.
- 20.
AZIA Center is the first office building in China to be certified LEED Platinum under LEED v2009 for Existing Buildings: Operations and Maintenance. The project is 11-year center; 500 m2 of plant area was added to improve the environment; submeters were installed to monitor consumption to improve water and energy efficiency; new landscape irrigation system was installed to enhance rainwater collection and irrigation. Air-handling units and fresh air unit filters were replaced.
- 21.
Beijing International Finance Center (IFC) increased outdoor air ventilation rates for all air-handling units serving occupied spaces by at least 30% to help prevent particulates from entering into the building; smoking was prohibited in the building and within 75 m of entryways, outdoor intakes and operable windows were installed, and an indoor air quality management plan for facility additions and alteration phases were developed and implemented to protect construction workers’ occupant’s health.
- 22.
Chengdu International Finance Square (IFS) is a 760,000 m2 development by The Wharf (Holdings) Ltd. It achieves a 35% higher energy efficiency than the average for buildings and overshoots Platinum standards by 7 points.
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Chiao, S., Lin, N.F. (2021). Sustainable Buildings and Practice in China. In: Wang, B., Just, T. (eds) Understanding China’s Real Estate Markets. Management for Professionals. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-49032-4_17
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