Green Star Leadership Awards recognises top buildings, professionals

Bruce Kerswill receives his Lifetime Achievement Award from GBCSA CEO Dorah Modise and chairman Rudolf Pienaar.

The awards rates Green Star buildings and green building professionals in four categories - for buildings, there are the Highest Rated Building and Best Quality submission categories, while individual professionals are recognised as either an Established Green Star or a Rising Green Star.

The best performing building projects receive the awards based on their submission data during the Green Star certification process while quality submissions are evaluated based on the strength of their submissions. Individuals are nominated by the industry, independent Green Star assessors, technical working groups and their Green Star engagement.

2017 winners

Highest Rated Building:

Winner: Omake House (Project owner: FAH Properties, AP: SCE Consulting Engineering)
Runner up: Belgotex Floorcoverings (Project owner: Belgotex Floors, AP: Ecocentric)

Best Quality submission:

Winner: 34 & 36 Fricker Road (Project owner: Growthpoint Properties, AP: RHDHV)
Runner up: Weirda Gables (Project owner: Growthpoint Properties, AP: Aurecon)

Established Green Star:

Winner: Fabio Venturi, Terramanzi
Runner up: Michelle Ludwig, Ludwig Design Consulting

Rising Green Star:

Winner: Gregory Rice, WSP
Runner up: André Harms, Ecolution

This year, for the first time, two specific EDGE awards were presented in partnership with the International Finance Corporation. The first Ground Breaker Award – the recipient of which was Innovative Housing Solutions (IHS) – recognises an organisation which adopted EDGE early and has been an advocate for it on the market, and who continues to support and engage with the development of EDGE. The Best EDGE Submission recognises an accredited professional who submits a high quality set of projects for EDGE certification and the inaugural award went to Fabio Venturi from Terramanzi Group.

In celebration of its 10 year milestone, the GBCSA also awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award to a member who has shown outstanding commitment to the African green building agenda over the past 10 years. Bruce Kerswill was the recipient of this award in acknowledgement of his exceptional contribution to green building globally. Kerswill was the founding executive chair of the GBCSA when it began in 2007 and continued to serve on the board until 2016. He was also a board member of the World Green Building Council from 2009 and is the immediate past chair of the WorldGBC.