Paya Lebar Quarter Achieves Highest Rating for New Green Mark Standards

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Paya Lebar Quarter by Lendlease, a $3.2 billion mixed-use development, is the first in Singapore to achieve a Platinum rating under the Building and Construction Authority’s (BCA) latest version of its Green Mark scheme for new non-residential buildings, Green Mark for Non-Residential Buildings NRB: 2015.

Currently benchmarked as the highest sustainability standard for non-residential buildings in Singapore, the GM NRB: 2015 Platinum has been awarded to Paya Lebar Quarter’s three office towers and retail mall. The development’s residential component, Park Place Residences at PLQ has also been awarded the BCA Green Mark Platinum for Residential Buildings.

GM 2015 addresses sustainability in a balanced and holistic manner which rewards overall performance of buildings that are climate responsive, energy effective, resource efficient, smarter and have healthier indoor environments.1 The assessment criteria also reflects a strong recognition of sustainable design features that boost the health and well-being of building occupants.

Paya Lebar Quarter’s sustainability vision focuses on creating an active, green and engaged environment by putting people at the centre of its design. The development offers more than 100,000 square feet of green public spaces, seamlessly linked with the Park Connector Network. Its public space design which fuses retail, entertainment and leisure experiences allows the community to engage in a diverse range of activities and the vast, open spaces where they can relax and mingle makes Paya Lebar Quarter a vibrant, evolving place.

Mr. Richard Paine, Managing Director of Paya Lebar Quarter by Lendlease, commented: “Lendlease places people at the heart of our vision to create the best places. We are deeply honoured and encouraged by this award, recognising our holistic approach towards sustainability which is aligned to BCA’s Green Mark evolvement placing greater focus on the health and well-being of building occupants, energy effectiveness, climatically contextual design, smart buildings and resource use. We will continue to create inclusive urban living spaces that redefine the way people work, live and lead truly connected lives.”

Paya Lebar Quarter recognises that an efficient performing building will also result in operational savings enhancing property valuation on top of conserving the environment. As such, the precinct has incorporated various features to efficiently use resources throughout the building’s life cycle.

With the implementation of high efficiency water fittings along with monitoring and leak detection systems, the development expects to save over 40 percent of water annually during operations. The development will also achieve over 30 percent in energy savings, in comparison to a reference building designed for code compliance. The energy savings stem from a variety of design solutions, from high performance facades to the use of Light Emitting Diodes (LED) and more efficient air-conditioning systems.

Future retail and office tenants will also benefit from Lendlease’s Green Lease program, which encourages tenants to adopt sustainable fittings, equipment and mindsets for operational savings and providing a healthier environment for their employees in their tenancies.

The project’s focus on health and wellbeing on top of energy efficiency is also evident from other progressive initiatives throughout Paya Lebar Quarter. The lush landscaping resulted in a precinct-wide Green Plot Ratio of 6.93 and the precinct wide tree-positive strategy means there will be three times more trees as compared to the original site. Paya Lebar Quarter will also introduce some of the best active mobility provisions in Singapore, including end-of-trip facilities for office and retail tenants, ample bicycle parking spaces, and almost one kilometre of dedicated mobility routes seamlessly connected to the wider Park Connector Network.

Paya Lebar Quarter’s Green Mark achievements are the latest in a series of sustainability milestones, testament to Lendlease’s commitment to creating liveable cities that positively contribute to the social, economic and environmental fabrics across urban landscapes. In addition to Green Mark, Paya Lebar Quarter is also the first private mixed-use development to be designed and certified under the Public Utilities Board (PUB)’s Active, Beautiful and Clean Waters (ABC Waters) programme through the incorporation of water sensitive urban design principles.

Lendlease’s mixed-use development in Jurong, Jem®, one of the first mixed-use developments to achieve Green Mark Platinum Version 4.0 in 2012; its 313@somerset mall along Orchard Road is the first shopping mall in Singapore to be recertified under the Green Mark Platinum Award (Existing Building Version 3.0) in 2014; Parkway Parade is one of the first mixed use developments in Singapore to have achieved the BCA Green Mark Platinum Existing Building (Non-Residential) criteria in 2010. Lendlease has also won 50 Sustainability awards to date for other projects in Singapore.