Introduction

When management bigwigs at Japanese insurance giant Tokio Marine & Nichido Fire Insurance decided to redevelop an office building on McCallum Street in the business district, they opted to go green in a big way. While it's almost impossible these days to ignore the dire warnings of global warming and the threat posed to Planet Earth by climate change - witness the blanket media coverage and the priority given to the topic by numerous high-profile individuals as well as governments - more than a few companies are still slow to commit corporate funds to tackle the issue directly.

Tokio Marine, which has a significant presence in Singapore and the region, has taken the lead in a still-emerging field by specifying that its new Singapore headquarters should be a shining example of green, or environment-friendly, architecture. It has taken a page from the Building and Construction Authority's (BCA) book - namely, the guide that BCA produced to highlight good industry practices to minimize environmental impact - and set itself the goal of constructing a building that meets or exceeds the industry's highest standards.

The new Tokio Marine building on 20 Mccallum street- a mid-size 24-storey block plus 1 basement (124.5 m overall height) with a typical floor area of 715 square meters (2nd level) and 925 square meters (18th level) on a site area of 1309,9 square meters (14,671 square meters of maximum allowable GFA) including 17 typical office floors (4th - 20th storey) with a 4,5 meter floor to floor height - is due to be completed only in the third quarter of 2009. In fact, the building that currently occupies the site - Asia Chambers - is not slated for demolition until next month, but it is interesting to note that the company employed energy consultants to work with its design team right from the start of the project. 'We pride ourselves as being an environmentfriendly company and our aim is to reduce the burden on the environment worldwide,' says Jun Hemmi, GM of Tokio Marine Asia, a wholly owned subsidiary. 'We want this building to reflect that corporate philosophy and the commitment that we have in Singapore' (adapted from tokimarine.com).

The inspiration for the new building's design, by Chan Sau Yan Associates (CSYA), came from the concept of a simple clump of bamboo. The basic V-shaped building is crisscrossed on the outside by concrete-encased steel columns that represent an abstract bamboo cluster, which serves as structural support as well as providing shade from the sun. 'We looked at every single aspect of the design to make it work from an architectural as well as environmental point of view,' says Phillip Yong of CSYA. 'The idea started from how bamboo strands reinforce each other while growing high and strong. We wanted to do a structure that both shades and supports the building.' Yong estimates the bamboo-like exterior structure will provide shade for up to 30 per cent of the building. 'It is environmentally responsible and efficient at the same time. We shade the building first, not the other way around.'

Another prominent design feature is a high-ceilinged ground-floor concourse that will be a public space devoted entirely to a landscaped garden. Instead of banking halls, shops or offices, almost 10,000 square feet will be dedicated to an urban green space. There will also be a rooftop garden for tenants. Rainwater will be collected and used to water all the plants. Meanwhile, the building will also make use of solar panels to supply lighting for internal lobbies and toilets on each floor.

'This is an energy-intelligent building,' says Joseph Loh, director, business & operation of GEnergy Global, the project's energy consultant. 'We looked into energy conservation for lighting and ways to minimize air-condition usage. We followed BCA's good practice code and bettered it by 30 per cent.' He adds: 'We will have eco-friendly refrigerant equipment that is high in efficiency, and we have included a monitoring system to ensure that the building operator can sustain operating efficiency.'

The building reflects various innovations in its engineering and design. 'We will also be looking at waste management and recycling, and monitor water and energy usage during construction. So we measure energy use and, if necessary, tell them how to reduce' (adapted from Spirit, 2007 skyscrapercity.com). So this review analyzes and presents different options for improving the buildings green mark considering a reasonable budget and payback period.

Design Analysis
Sun path analysis
Sun path analysis is visualized by a sun path diagram which is a convenient way of representing the annual variation in the path of the Sun through the sky within a single 3D diagram. The results from the analysis provide (see Figure 1.) information on the availability of natural sunlight and serve as a reference when selecting main building orientation:

Figure 1 - According to the buildings location (Singapore 10 22N 1030 48E) the angle of the sun varies significantly throughout the year

The noon sun angle in summer is 67.5o and 65.5o during winter which provides a great summary of solar position that the designers can use for designing windows in order to optimize the daylight and to mitigate the glare.

Solar radiation analysis

Solar radiation refers to the total amount of radiant energy (heat) from the Sun actually falling on an object or its surface (building's exterior) which is essential in designing the building's interior climate. We can see such an analysis on Figure 2.:

Figure 2 - Solar radiation diagram on both sides of the building

During the most hottest months in Singapore, June, July and August, the building is significantly exposed to high solar radiation (>4500 Wh/m2), so it needs to be sufficiently covered/insulated or shaded in order to enhance comforts and reduce energy consumption by mitigating the effects of high heat gain.

Shadow analysis
Shadow analysis highlights commonly shaded building areas to designers, providing insights to remedial dark shaded zones and assisting in day lighting design in the office floors which can be evaluated from a 3D shade diagram presented in Figure 3:

Figure 3 - 3D shade graphic for Tokio Marine

Properly designed building forms and well managed locations and orientation benefits the building from self or mutual shading to enhance comforts and reduce energy consumption of air conditioning and lighting systems.

The actual analysis resulted in a very low 35.08 result, however with an additional Solar & Energy modeling and through a detailed efficiency study proposing a total of 87.5 points with a 25% of energy saving, which is presented in the next chapter.

Findings
Energy efficiency
The first subject in energy analysis is assessing the performance of the building's facade performance which is measured in the envelope thermal transfer value which is a relation between several factors, these are presented with possible improvement options: Improving fenestration value through replacing the sealed double glazed units with low e glass ones which could use up the whole budget. Improving shading coefficient through lowering the screen/grating to top of the glass thereby providing more extensive shading which has a minimal cost but doesn't comply with minimum ETTV value. Addition of a light shelf to enable a more even light distribution within the floors which creates an opportunity for artificial lighting savings however it is too expensive. Improving window to wall ratio through reducing the amount of window with insulated glass spandrel which improves ETTV at low cost. The last option proved to be the best one after calculations scoring a total of 15 points.

The second subject would be improving the air-conditioning system through: Using better efficiency cooling towers scoring 20 green mark points Using an air distribution system with VSD, CO2 sensors and a better efficiency AHUs which scored a total of 5 points.

The third subject would be selecting a high efficient artificial lightings through light fittings and other considerations like: T5 light fitting for office, corridor and staircase lighting, PLC for toilets and lobbies, addition of motion sensors in toilets, staircases, car park lighting with zoning, timer, motion sensors and alternating lighting circuits. These improvements scored 6.5 points with a 3 year payback period.

A fourth subject would be improving the car park ventilation with a natural ventilation (80%) and a mechanical ventilation (20%) which can be operated at a low rate with the condition that the CO concentration is maintained below the permitted level with sensors assuring 4.6 points.

Water efficiency
Water efficiency can be achieved through the next options: Installing water efficient fittings instead of conventional ones like: auto-sensor self closing delayed action taps al all wash basins, auto flushing system for WCs and urinals, dual flush WCs and low capacity flushing cisterns scoring 6 points. Efficient water usage and leak detection with linking all sub-meters to a building management system for leak detection scoring 2 points. Installing cooling tower water treatment (6 or more better cycles of concentration) on the upper roof scoring 1 point.

Environmental protection
There can be numerous improvement options regarding environmental protection as: Sustainable construction which means the adoption of sustainable and environmental friendly materials like: using recycle carpets in office areas and using flexible cementitious waterproofing membrane for rooftops and all toilets with a 2 point impact. Greater use of greenery and restoration of trees to reduce heat island effect by using recycled horticulture waste compost scoring 1 additional point to the current 4. Applying an environmental management practice by implementing programs, CONQUAS, ISO 14000 certifications, appointing GMM and GMP, users guides and provision of recycling facilities having already 8 current points. Promoting public transport use and bicycles to reduce pollution, provisioning bicycle parking lots at basement for an additional 1 point.

Reducing the potential damage to the ozone layer and the increase in global warming through adding to the current R134a refrigerants of leak detection systems at critical areas of plant rooms containing chillers and other equipment with refrigerants scoring 1 point.

Indoor environmental quality

There are several options to efficiently improve indoor environment quality which the building design mostly met already presented below: Optimizing thermal comfort level for occupants through and air-conditioning system designed to allow cooling load variations due to fluctuations in ambient air temperature to ensure consistent indoor conditions for comfort (between 22.5 and 25.5 C0 and relative humidity < 70%) already scoring 2 points. Keeping the noise levels maintained at an appropriate level according to SS CP 13 which the building already met having 2 points for it. Minimizing indoor airborne pollutants and contaminants mainly from inside sources by using low volatile organic compounds (VOC) paints certified under the Singapore Labeling Scheme (SGLS) and by using adhesives certified for composite wood products already having 2 points achieved. Installing high frequency ballasts in the fluorescent luminaries and avoiding low frequency flickers associated with fluorescent lighting scoring an additional 2 points.

Innovations
We would also like to present a few innovative green features which can bring additional points: Creating a day lighting responsive design by light analysis and special interior arrangement as shown in Figure 4. scoring 1 point by a 1.5 % energy saving:

Figure 4 - Lighting energy saving interior floor design

Installing an Automatic Tube Brushing System (ATB) which brushes online the condenser tubes of the chillers 3 times a day, maintaining the fouling factor of the condenser tubes. These brushes come with Turbo Vanes that increase the spinning of the brush as it moves inside the tubes, this therefore improves the cleaning effect down to the bottom of the groove tubes scoring 0.5 points.

Conclusions
This report demonstrates that with applying the mentioned design options and innovations for energy & water efficiency, environmental protection and indoor environmental quality it is possible to achieve a Gold plus green mark with a total green point score of 87.5 (including base score of 35.08 points) according to this study and with and additional Solar and Energy Modeling investment. The detailed point count and approximated investment is presented in Figure 5. :

SUMMARY ENERGY EFFICIENCY WATER EFFICIENCY ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION INDOOR ENV. QUALITY OTHER GREEN FEATURES SOLAR AND ENERGY MODELING TOTAL

BASE 14.08 1.00 14.00

IMPROVED 50.60 8.00 5.00

COST $961,958 $210,000 $151,000

6.00 0.00

2.00 1.50

0 $86,000

$80,000

35.08

67.10

$1,488,958

Figure 5 - Scoring and investment table for Tokio Marine Singapore

As these presented options are mainly green solutions, there is an estimated payback period of this investment, meaning 98 years for the new facade design, 3.57 years for the innovated airconditioning system and 3.08 years for the lighting achieving a 25% of energy saving.

References
1. BCA Green Mark (2008) Green Marks for buildings award [Online] Available: http://www.bca.gov.sg/greenmark/others/gm2008.pdf/ [27 Oct 2013] 2. Carrier Singapore Limited (2011) Carrier Evergreen 23XRV Chiller contributes to Tokio Marine Centres achieving best-in-class air conditioning chiller plant system efficiency [Online] Available: http://www.eco-business.com/press-releases/carrier-

evergreen-23xrv-chiller-contributes-to-tokio-marine-centres-achieving-best-in-class-airconditioning-chiller-plant-system-efficiency// [27 Oct 2013]

3. Chihiro, S. (2010) " Will green buildings be appropriately valued by the market?" ENVIRONMENT AND REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT, Part 2: The Economic Value of Green Buildings. 4. Jessica Cheam (2008) Tuas Power fires up green drive for new buildings [Online] Available: http://wildsingaporenews.blogspot.ro/2008/10/tuas-power-fires-up-green-

drive-for-new.html#.Um182flkNVY [27 Oct 2013] 5. Tokio Marine Insurance Ltd. (2008) Tokio Marine Centre [Online] Available: http://www.tokiomarine.com.sg/01aboutus8news-01.htm/ [27 Oct 2013] 6. Spirit (2007) Tokio Marine Building from Business Times [Online] Available: http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=495109/ [27 Oct 2013]