DATEM Bags Two Wins at the Real Estate Asia Built Environment Awards
Philippine construction company DATEM took home two major accolades at the inaugural Real Estate Asia Built Environment Awards 2024 for its Green Materials Directory (GMD), which caters for the company’s design, planning, and acquisition of suitable materials for its green building projects. It also received the first LEED version 4 Building Design and Construction: Core and Shell Development for its Makati Commerce Tower project.
The GMD has been created to address challenges in identifying materials or products that may help obtain credits, which the rise of demand for green building and sustainability efforts has brought. It has become more needed as the Philippine green building community struggled to meet international demands for green buildings due to the local products not being up to par.
In the directory’s first edition, product descriptions are written, including its green features and the credits it contributes for green building certifications. GMD is to be updated annually to count more sustainable materials and provide relevant information and awareness to its readers about the importance of sustainable construction.
It is also going to provide ample information to employees who are not working onsite about the crucial role of responsibly produced and manufactured materials. DATEM highlights the importance of its GMD in encouraging like-minded suppliers and contractors to apply sustainable practices in their manufacturing processes and operations continuously.
“By utilising environmentally friendly construction materials, applying responsible harvesting and manufacturing of raw materials, and complying with methodologies and procedures set by green building councils locally and internationally, DATEM solidifies its commitment to energy efficiency and stewardship for the environment,” the company said.
With its commitment to further green building advocacy, DATEM received the win in the Innovation in Sustainable Materials of the Year – Philippines category. Amongst the green buildings it has constructed is the Makati Commerce Tower, which has also garnered the Office Construction of the Year – Philippines category win. The 37-storey landmark along the city underpins sustainability with its innovation, futureproofing, and wellness features. Flexibility and space are also guaranteed with typical floor plates of between 2,178 and 2,252 sq. m. on high-zone floors and 2,178 sq. m. in the mid-zone.
It includes touchless technology solutions to reduce common touchpoints, energy-saving features, parking with charging points for e-vehicles, a unitised glass curtain wall façade insulated with Low-E coating for improved thermal and acoustic properties, and low-flow plumbing fixtures. The construction of the Makati Commerce Tower has utilised 55,548 cubic metres of concrete, solidifying the structure’s safety and resilient foundations. The concrete used in the project has been carefully and efficiently identified and applied to ensure the sturdiness of the structure, the safety of the building occupants, and its environmental sustainability.
This careful selection of concrete installed in the project also helped achieve LEED credits, particularly on sourcing raw materials due to its local harvesting and manufacture, as well as having pre-consumer recycled content in the form of fly ash. Based on the final construction review by the Green Building Certification Institute (GBCI), the project was awarded points for the said credit for having complied with 49.4% of permanently installed materials based on cost. The pandemic also solidified the need for a building like Makati Commerce Tower, a structure for future-proofing office space structures, ensuring sustainability and durability, and prioritising the health and wellness of the occupants.
“The project team and developer’s collaboration responded to the importance of having a building that delivers not only commercially but also the whole being of the occupants and the surroundings,” the company said.
The Real Estate Asia Built Environment Awards is a groundbreaking celebration of outstanding achievements in construction, architecture, and interior design across Asia, as well as recognition of innovation and sustainability in the industry.