The International Commerce Centre is the tallest building in Hong Kong, housing some of the most prominent financial institutions in the world, at 98 per cent occupancy. The building is routinely recognised as a paragon of good management, from a commercial, environmental and community standpoint.
The level of energy efficiency achieved by the ICC is unusual for a tall building, and significant investments have been made in improving energy performance over the years especially since adapting to the ISO 50001 Energy Management Systems in 2011. This commitment was followed by more than 50 advanced energy saving methods. The Energy Utilisation Index (EUI) of ICC’s energy performance in 2013 was 157.3 kWh/sqm placing among the top 90% of energy efficient commercial buildings. A computerised building management system manages and controls the energy use in the building. The total energy consumption of the project was reduced from 56.3 million kWh in 2012 to 49.9 million kWh in 2013, a reduction of 6.4 million kWh, or 11 percent.
Of course a building’s initial successes in performance based design can be undone if occupants are not well trained and motivated to continue imbuing their daily activities with these principles. The key to achieving high performance lies in the ICC’s intensive, involved relationship with its tenants. Each tenant is assigned its own account manager, who is in frequent contact with the tenant and learns about their requirements in detail. A 24/7 helpdesk is available for tenants regardless of where they are in the world.