Singapore, 2 June 2015 – City Developments Limited (CDL)’s Tree House condominium was awarded World Gold Winner in the Sustainable Development category at the FIABCI World Prix d’Excellence Awards 2015 held in Kuala Lumpur on Saturday, 30 May 2015. It emerged the only World Gold winner from Singapore. To date, CDL has 13 FIABCI World Prix d’Excellence accolades, the most amongst local developers.
Awarded by an international panel comprising real estate professionals and experts, the FIACBI World Prix d’Excellence Award is one of the highest industry honours conferred on outstanding projects that embody excellence in all real estate disciplines involved in their creation.
CDL’s Deputy Chairman Mr Kwek Leng Joo said, “As the world faces rapid urbanisation and significant population growth, natural resources are fast diminishing. Thus, the need for sustainable development becomes more critical and pronounced. The real estate industry, which has great environmental impact, must continually evolve and seek green building innovations, sustainable engineering solutions and more efficient use of resources.”
“Since 1995, CDL has remained steadfast in our commitment to green buildings as well as sustainable living and development. By championing green innovations, we strive to conserve as we construct, building a sustainable future for generations to come.”
With a strong belief that developers can and must exercise greater environmental stewardship in their operations, CDL has been investing 2% to 5% of the construction costs of a new project in eco-friendly features and innovations.
Situated at Chestnut Avenue and flanked by lush greenery, Tree House is an eco-inspired condominium that is home to the world’s largest vertical garden. Spanning a total site area of 22,700.40 m2 and comprising four 24-storey towers with 429 units, Tree House achieved a Guinness World Record for its stunning 24-storey 2,289 m2 vertical garden in April 2014.
Beyond aesthetic appeal, the vertical garden provides natural insulation and helps to filter pollutants and carbon dioxide out of the air. It also reduces heat absorption and lowers the energy needed to cool indoor spaces. Recent research studies by the National University of Singapore have shown that the 48 west-facing bedrooms insulated by the vertical garden are expected to achieve air-conditioning energy savings of 98,000 kWh / year, or about S$23,000 annually based on prevailing tariff rate.
Tree House’s extensive array of green features include heat-reducing laminated green tinted windows and lifts with Variable Voltage and Variable Frequency motor drive and sleep mode programming, all of which are expected to result in approximate energy and water savings of over S$500,000 annually.
Underscoring its steadfast commitment towards green building innovation and architectural excellence, CDL developments have been winners of the FIABCI World Prix d’Excellence Awards for close to two decades. CDL’s flagship commercial property, Republic Plaza, was the first Singapore development to clinch a FIACBI Prix d’Excellence Award in 1997.