Accra, Nov. 19, GNA
-The International Finance Corporation (IFC), in collaboration with the Ghana
Institute of Architects (GIA) and the Ghana Green Building Council (GhGBC), has
organized a training programme for stakeholders on the new Ghana Building Code.
The Ghana Green
Building Code Masterclass brought together architects, engineers, urban
planners, property owners, members from the Ghana Green Building Council, and
the Architect and Engineering Institutes to discuss Section 37 of the Ghana
Building Code, which highlights green building.
The training aimed
to encourage the participants, who were major stakeholders in the building
industry, to incorporate the concept of designing sustainable buildings in
their various fields of endeavour.
Among topics
discussed at the intensive training programme were requirements for building
envelopes, indoor environmental air quality, lighting and controls, renewable
energy, water efficiency, and waste management.
Ms Marloes Reinink,
Director of Solid Green Consulting in South Africa, who was the facilitator for
the Ghana Green Building Code Masterclass, said the rationale for the training
programme was to bring attention of the built environment professionals to
Section 37 of the Ghana Code.
“Building
professionals need to understand the code on green building and its
requirements so they will know how to apply it,” she remarked.
Mr Reinink
emphasized the environmental benefits of the new Ghana Building Code, saying,
we need to change the way we build to prevent climate change.
“It’s beneficial
from the social point of view as the new code provides a better quality
environment for people working or living in the building, and it’s beneficial
from an economic point of view for building managers due to reduced operational
savings over time.”
The incorporation of
IFC’s EDGE green buildings software into the code verification process makes it
easy for everyone to understand what kind of interventions positively affect
their buildings.
The EDGE software is
freely available for professionals to determine how the different interventions
impact overall savings.
Mr Reinink further
advised that the new code would be possible for governments, real estate
developers, property owners, architects and engineers to “build sustainable,
sensible buildings; buildings that are adjusted to the climate and location
that they are found.”
Mr Seth Bright
Attipoe-Denyah, the Chairman of the Ghana Green Building Code, said “the green
building code would help instill discipline in the design of buildings to save
energy and water.
“This is
particularly important, as energy has become not only expensive but also at
times difficult to get. In Ghana, we have experienced erratic power supply
because energy consumption is rising and we cannot meet the demand.”
The Ghana Building
Code was officially established on August 31 and is now being rolled out by
educating building designers and the Metropolitan, Municipal and District
Assemblies (MMDAs).
It is expected that
the various designers and local assemblies would have an in-depth understanding
of the new building code before it is enforced.
GNA
