‘ICD Brookfield Place’ tower becomes the tallest and largest LEED Platinum-certified office building in EMEA region

ICD Brookfield today announced that its newest commercial office development, ICD Brookfield Place, has achieved the prestigious LEED^® Platinum (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification, the highest rating awarded by the US Green Building Council for green building design, construction, operations and performance. In accomplishing LEED^® Platinum, ICD Brookfield Place becomes the tallest and largest office building in the EMEA region to achieve the rating, and takes its place among the top 20 of the world’s largest LEED^® Platinum projects.

Designed by Foster + Partners, ICD Brookfield Place is a 1.1 million square foot, state-of-the-art office and retail complex offering 990,000 square feet of highly efficient and flexible workspace alongside 160,000 square feet of curated retail and dining offerings. The development and management of the property are overseen by Brookfield Properties, one of the world’s leading real estate services companies.

“We are very proud to be one of the most environmentally and occupant conscious buildings globally,” said Rob Devereux, CEO of ICD Brookfield. “Our leadership approach to sustainability, creates value for our tenants while focusing on what’s right for our planet. By reducing our impact on the environment, we are setting a new benchmark for healthy, highly efficient, and cost-saving buildings in the region.”

LEED is a globally recognized symbol of excellence in green building and ensures electricity cost savings, lower carbon emissions and healthier environments where people live, learn and work. The certification marks an important milestone for the 53-storey office and retail destination which recently achieved practical completion and is set to welcome first tenants soon.

A number of sustainable, environmentally conscious, carbon footprint reducing features as well as occupant wellbeing principles have been incorporated at ICD Brookfield Place to achieve the world’s most widely used green building rating system. These include:

Location

• Located in the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), a densely occupied and pedestrian friendly community with great public transport links to reduce car travel environmental impacts.

Energy Efficiency

• Designed to be energy efficient and minimize its ecological footprint, ICD Brookfield Place has reduced its energy consumptions by 28% above industry standards.
• The building management system (BMS) and energy meters will be utilized to monitor consumption to help optimize usage.

Materials & Resources

• During construction over 87% of waste was recycled to reduce waste to landfill.
• Over 30% of construction materials were from recycled sources (e.g. steel and concrete) to save natural resources and sourced locally to reduce environmental impacts from travel.
• There has also been a reduction in the sources of VOC (Volatile Organic Compounds) by conscious choices throughout the design and construction phase.

Air Quality

• The building has increased fresh air by more than 30% above the ASHRAE (American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers) requirements and significantly above local standards, and uses UV light technology incorporated in the HVAC system to prevent the transmission of bacterial and viral infections.
• Smart building sensors have been installed throughout the tower to monitor air quality.
• The use of high-quality non-toxic paints, materials, and adhesives, as well as the green cleaning policy also contributes to a healthy indoor environment.

Daylight & Views:

• The building has also implemented features that promote exposure to adequate levels of sunlight which is critical for the health and well-being of occupants contributing to both visual comfort and potential phycological and neurological gains.
• With access to daylight and quality views, the mood of occupants is enhanced which in turn leads to higher rates of productivity, focus and satisfaction levels.

Water

• Water requirements for irrigation have been reduced by 60% due to the selection of low water demand plant species.
• The irrigation across the project utilizes recycled condensate water from the air conditioning system, therefore the building does not draw water from the municipal water supplies for the extensive 140,000 sq. ft of landscaping across the project.
• In addition, the bathrooms within ICD Brookfield Place use 48% less water than the industry baseline.

Community and Mind

• Over four acres of amenity spaces have been incorporated into the project to encourage people to meet, share, and collaborate, including a 31-meter-high public realm featuring an award-winning arts and events program.
• The building also includes a community hub space that will host a vibrant and exciting calendar of workshops and classes designed for those who want to further enrich their daily lives.
• The property possesses all the key themes of Brookfield Properties’ successful placemaking ethos with its focus on wellness, culture, sustainability, and experience.

“It is an honour to have been appointed by ICD Brookfield to work on this incredible project that sets a new benchmark for commercial development in the EMEA region,” said Saeed Al Abbar, Managing Director of AESG. “Helping ICD Brookfield Place successfully achieve the LEED Platinum certification emphasizes our commitment to supporting our clients worldwide to achieve high performance buildings that meet the highest levels of sustainability. ICD Brookfield Place sets a new benchmark for the region and it is industrious leadership such as this will not only support the sustainable vision of the UAE, but also raise the bar for sustainable buildings globally.”