The high profile Eastgate 20 building that has been redeveloped on the corner of Grayston Drive and Katherine Street in Sandton is an excellent example of the perfect balance being achieved between design, sustainability and performance.
Dulux Trade’s Ecosure range played an important role in ensuring that the decorative coatings element of the redevelopment maximized the marrying of sustainability with a professional finish.
Valued at around R40 million, this 3,500 square metre, four star green-rated redevelopment project is a highly visible landmark site in the Sandton CBD, certainly a prime location for an environmentally friendly and sustainable building to take pride of place.
Begun in October 2010 and due for completion in 2012, the project involved demolishing the existing roof, the second floor and half of the first floor slab. Following the reconstruction of the first floor slab, an additional three floors were developed along with roof slabs to accommodate the building’s contemporary office and conference facilities.
Along with the building’s redevelopment came a strong focus on “green”, environmental friendliness and sustainability, issues that Dulux – a member of the international AkzoNobel group – fully embraces and regards as core across all of its operations and activities.
It was partially Ecosure’s extremely low VOC (Volatile Organic Compound) levels that made it the ideal product for the interior painting of the building, especially in its office and public areas.
Developed by Dulux trade, the new Ecosure range is a perfect example of Dulux South Africa’s “Step Towards Greener” philosophy in action. This range of water-based paints offers “best in class” coverage and application characteristics, providing a superb balance of sustainability and performance.
“Step Towards Greener is our acknowledgement that whilst Ecosure paints are the most sustainable within our product portfolio to date, their introduction is only a single stage in the journey towards developing increasingly sustainable products in the future,” said ,” explains Frank Wagner, Marketing Manager for Dulux Trade.
“Environmental sustainability is a core element of the Dulux business philosophy. It drives product development and has resulted in Dulux setting new standards in the creation of environmentally sensitive products.”
According to Thulani Sibande of Paragon Architects, Dulux Trade’s Ecosure complied ideally with its green rating requirements. “We specified the product that we needed and Ecosure worked very well for the project. We requested data sheets to comply with the green star rating requirements and these were very efficiently supplied to us,” said Sibande, adding that the entire development had to meet strict standards to adhere to and qualify for a level four green star rating.
“It was very important for the paint to meet the VOC levels we specified and for it to provide a professional finish. The same strict environmental criteria was applied to lighting, heating, water, sunlight and other aspects that needed to be considered in the overall green rating process.
Meanwhile, Alfred Stephenson of Virtue Coatings, the painting contractors on the Eastgate 20 project, also paid tribute to Ecosure as the specified paint for the project. “It is an easy product to work with and the absence of fumes allows for easier working in confined areas,” he said, adding that he would not hesitate to recommend Dulux Trade’s Ecosure for other similar projects.
Importantly, Ecosure has been specifically formulated to have a demonstrably lower environmental impact than standard Dulux Trade products, whilst maintaining the highest possible standards of quality and performance. Ecosure Matt is a professional quality, high opacity emulsion that provides excellent coverage and application. It is suitable for all normal interior wall and ceiling surfaces.
With more and more developers, architects and contractors placing a strong emphasis on sustainability throughout new and redeveloped buildings, paint manufacturers such as Dulux and AkzoNobel are placing a strong focus on ensuring that using eco-paints does not mean any sacrifice on performance levels.
“As building specifications and features become greener and greener, sustainability is becoming increasingly relevant and we are committed to growing and deepening our sustainability journey,” explains Prea Moodley, specifier for Dulux. “Eastgate 20 is an important example of our Ecosure range being put into practice in a redeveloped Johannesburg building and we believe this will set the tone for it to be used in other similar projects around the country.”
Significantly, Dulux adheres to AkzoNobel’s comprehensive sustainability code across its world-wide operations. This included products and services offered by the group, interaction with customers and communities, the environmental impact of energy and transport used by the group, and the way in which the group utilizes other resources and handles waste products.
“Our ambition is to reduce the whole-life ecological footprint of the decorating process and to contribute to more sustainable home, work and leisure environments as well as minimize the environmental impacts of our own operations,” concludes Wagner.
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