The owner of Dorottya Udvar paid particular attention to the energy efficiency and green solutions during the 2002 refurbishment and modernization, and the improvements implemented since then have also been made along the principles of sustainability.
"The excellent rating of Dorottya Udvar demonstrates that an already existing building can have serious reserves, and with ongoing care, taking into account the building potential, significant results can be achieved." - said Eva Beleznay, the architect-urbanist, BREEAM certification expert and HuGBC board member preparing the building's classification. During the audit Dorottya Udvar won its best results in the areas of recycling, transportation and use of materials, but of course it fulfilled all the other conditions as well, thanks to which it became the only office building with excellent rating of „International in-use” category not only in Hungary and in Central and Eastern Europe, but also only one building won a better classification in all of Europe, and by only a few percentage points. “The other Hungarian office buildings with existing classification were rated "good" or "very good", but no other building received an "excellent" evaluation besides Dorottya Udvar”, Péter Sebes senior architect at STÍLUS+P Architect Studio, BREEAM auditor added.
The BREEAM certification received after the many months of the elaborate audit officially confirmed that - among other things – the modernization of energy supply, the replacement of the previous lighting system with LED light sources, the development of building management system and the implementation of a complex waste management system not only generate significant savings for the tenants and the building, but the environmental impact was also greatly reduced. The “excellent” rating however is no reason to sit back, but the management will continue to work on sustainability, perform further developments and encourage the owners and operators of other office buildings.
According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report released in recent weeks, buildings account for 32 percent of the energy consumption of the world, and they also play a significant role in environmental pollution. According to the researches and projections – taking into account the increase in urbanization, the lifestyle changes and the expansion of energy networks - energy demand will double by 2050 and carbon dioxide emissions will grow by 50 to 150 percent. “With this in mind it is very important that the builders, owners, operators and tenants of buildings follow the example of Dorottya Udvar and other Hungarian office buildings that earned good ratings, moreover that by keeping up-to-date with technological developments they provide effective and sustainable operation, in addition to a high level of service, through continuous improvements and by paying attention to the smallest details", Eva Beleznay added.
The BREEAM rating system
The Building Research Establishment (BRE) was the first to develop the ecologically conscious BREEAM building rating system in 1990. For the classification of already existing buildings BREEAM introduced the In-Use scheme, which - with the freely combinable certifications – rates the building itself ("Asset"), the operation ("Building Management"), and the building's users, that is the tenants ("Organisational Effectiveness"). The BREEAM In-Use certification is produced by an accredited BREEAM In-Use auditor working with the client. Unlike the certification of new buildings, this is a one-step process and must be renewed annually.
The main areas of classification include the state/quality of the building, transportation, waste and water management, health and comfort, pollution, energy and land use, and ecology. Within these themes points can be obtained with the fulfillment of specified conditions. The final result is produced by the weighted average of the theme-wise scores. The greatest weight is given to the energy efficiency, but other important areas include the healthiness of the indoor environment, pollution and transportation. The rating has five grades; "Pass", 30%, “Good", 45%, "Very God", 55%, "Excellent", 70% and "Outstanding", 85%.
For more information please see: Hungary Green Building Council (hugbc.hu) and breeam.org.
Dorottya Udvar Office Building
Dorottya Udvar is located at the west gate of the capital, at Bocskai út, close to M1 and M7 motorways. The complex was built between 1914 and 1918 as a military uniform warehouse. After several functional changes the property was redeveloped as Dorottya Udvar office building in 2002. The high quality building offers 28,500 sq m of category „A” office with impressive floor to ceiling heights and large windows in a creative, relaxed environment.
More information at dorottya.net
