Century City will soon be home to another green building, when a well known global engineering company starts construction on its new offices.

When the Aurecon’s Century City office building in Cape Town was built in 2011, it was the first building in South Africa to be awarded a 5-star Green Star SA Office Design v1 rating by the Green Building Council of South Africa (GBCSA).

The company is rapidly outgrowing this space and will be developing a second building that will be adjoined to the first one via a sky-bridge.

The second building, which will be named Aurecon West, will be developed by Rabie Property and owned by Ingenuity Properties.

It will comprise 3 280 m² of premium office space on two levels, as well as three parking levels to accommodate 152 undercover parking bays.

Construction of the R88 million green office building will start early in 2015, with completion scheduled for November 2015. The project team is also targeting a Green Star SA rating for this building.

As with the first building, Aurecon has been appointed for the engineering services and will also be responsible for the Green Star rating application for the new building. MaC Architects will be assisting with the design of the building, while Ludwig Design Consulting will assist with the Green Star rating process.

Aurecon’s Cape Town Office Manager, Ferdi Nell, says a decision to pursue a Green Star SA rating was not only one that fulfils the group’s aim to reduce its carbon footprint but also made business sense: “Profit aside, it’s the right thing to do for our planet,” he commented.

“The sustainable design practices that will be applied to Aurecon West align with our global strategy to continually improve the efficiency and effectiveness of our business operations. Green buildings give a positive return on investment and contribute to Aurecon’s reputation as a leading, vibrant, global brand,” added Nell.