Building Greener Eco Friendly Structures & Businesses
Wednesday, March 05, 2008SUSIE GHARIB: By the year 2020, half of the world's new buildings are projected to be built in China. That's spurring a growing business for American engineers and consultants, especially for makers of so-called green buildings. Rreal estate developers and the Chinese government are looking for eco-friendly alternatives to fuel the country's construction boom. Shannon Van Sant reports.
SHANNON VAN SANT, NIGHTLY BUSINESS REPORT CORRESPONDENT: It's a city within a city, where every resident's need will be fulfilled within eight interlocking towers. This is modern Moma as it will look in June 2008. No, not the museum of modern art in New York, but a luxury apartment complex in Beijing. At $400,000 U.S. dollars for a one-bedroom, 70 percent of the apartments here have been sold to buyers investing in a greener future.
Just seven years ago this was a polluted paper factory and an old train car still sits at the construction site. When the complex is finished Chen Yin, chief engineer of the modern group developers, says it will epitomize ecological urban living.
TRANSLATION OF: CHEN YIN, CHIEF ENGINEER, THE MODERN GROUP: The five apartment buildings here feature eco-friendly and energy efficient design, which is becoming a popular concept with China's upper classes. Wealthy customers are willing to pay more for a green apartment.
VAN SANT: Market demand has enabled U.S. environmental consulting firm EMSI to expand from two to 20 China projects in just five years. EMSI engineers worked with developers at modern Moma to create a sustainable neighborhood. A swimming pool will bridge two apartment towers and walkways will link cafes, bars, a gym and school 10 to 15 stories above ground. The goal is to make residents entertainment and service needs accessible by foot, reducing the number of cars on the road and carbon emissions. Engineer Kenneth Law of the firm Parsons Brinckerhoff or PB, says demand for green design has helped double their sales volume in China.
KENNETH LAW, ENGINEER, PARSONS BRINCKERHOFF: For the new clients that we have contacted, on the local developers side, I would say one in five are asking for green designs already and this trend is going up.
VAN SANT: At this apartment complex under construction called the Beijing Chateau, developers say PB-designed double glazed windows will improve energy efficiency and help this 1,800 square foot apartment sell for an asking price of $1 million U.S. dollars. Yang Yang, an engineer with EMSI, says those building elements are essential.
YANG YANG, ENGINEER, EMSI: I think it is a marketing requirement. So the pollution of Beijing is very serious.
VAN SANT: It's a requirement not only for developers to stay competitive but for the government. Last March China's ministry of construction mandated that all new buildings cut energy consumption by 50 to 65 percent. And as the government promotes a green Olympics next summer, EMSI is consulting on construction of an eco-friendly Olympic village. Swimmers will compete in a solar-powered water pool . The national stadium will use an energy efficient heating system and landscapers are hard at work transforming this into an Olympic park.
YANG YANG: I think it is just the beginning in China. I think it is just the beginning for China, for the green buildings, for the green projects. Everything will be environmental, more friendly. I think it is just the beginning.
VAN SANT: For consultants and engineers, it could be the beginning of big business, as green, efficient design becomes a status symbol for high- end consumers and a necessity for a nation with a soaring appetite for energy. Shannon van Sant, NIGHTLY BUSINESS REPORT, China.
