Brandix HQ wins Gold at National Energy Efficiency Awards

Brandix Group Director Feroz Omar (right) and Head of Engineering, Environment and Energy Management Iresha Somarathna receive the ‘Gold Flame’ award from President Maithripala Sirisena at the 2015 National Energy Efficiency Awards

Less than nine months after it was commissioned, the new head office of the Brandix Group won the ‘Gold Flame’ for Commercial Buildings in the Large Scale category at the Sri Lanka National Energy Efficiency Awards 2015, reaffirming the apparel manufacturing giant’s commitment to the environment. 

The award presented by President Maithripala Sirisena to Brandix Group Director Feroz Omar and Head of Engineering, Environment and Energy Management Iresha Somarathna at the BMICH, recognises the substantial savings achieved in energy consumption through the eco-friendly design of the new eight-storey edifice of 37,800 square feet, its state-of-the-art energy-efficient technology and sophisticated intelligent building management systems.

Built on the site of the Group’s previous head office on the intersection of Rheinland Place, Colombo 3 and Marine Drive, the visually minimalistic tower’s double-glazed Argon-filled black tinted glass walls give the structureimproved thermal insulation and a high solar reflectance index, keeping its interiors cool.

The all new building, purpose-designed by Architect Murad Ismail, accommodates approximately 200 people, sets a new benchmark for low-carbon smart buildings and makes a statement for the Brandix Group’s position as the thought and process leader in eco-friendly operations among Sri Lanka’s apparel manufacturers.

The extensive use of a unique self-cleaning glass as exterior walls provides the building’s occupants with panoramic views of the Indian Ocean and Colombo City while reducing energy consumption. Wired for extreme efficiency, sophistication and security inside, the new building is the home of senior management and all centralised corporate functions of the Brandix Group, Sri Lanka’s largest apparel exporter.

“Brandix embarked on its Green journey many years ago, and today, the environment is instinctively factored in to everything we do,” Omar said, commenting on this latest accolade. “We therefore set very exacting standards and specifications for the design and construction of our head office building. Winning Gold at the National Energy Efficiency Awards for this building gives us immense satisfaction.”

Commissioned on 1 March, the Brandix HQ has 29,783 square feet of air conditioned office space, but has an electricity consumption of just 4.63 kWh/1,000 ft2, well below the baseline set for commercial buildings.

Daylight harvesting facilitated by a high window to wall ratio, the use of Light Emitting Diode (LED) lighting controlled by a smart system that switches on and adjusts lux levels based on ambient light and occupancy, and a highly energy-efficient water-cooled air conditioning system with magnetic bearing technology, – first for Sri Lanka – variable speed drives, temperature and occupancy sensors and low power consuming fan coil units, are among the energy saving features of the new smart building.

It operates a series of integrated Extra Low Voltage (ELV) systems for its Building Management System, access control system, lighting control system, Lync telephony, meeting room management system, washroom feedback system, seamless wireless network connectivity and integrated fire safety detection system among others, making the building one of the most intelligent in the city.

Over the past two years, the Brandix Group’s operations encompassing Sri Lanka, India and Bangladesh have achieved a 17.4% reduction in emissions, improved renewal energy usage to 23%, saved 2.9 million litres of heavy fuel oil, used 453MWh of solar electricity per year, harvested 208,719M3 of rain water, recycled 255,604 M3 of water, recycled 49% of solid waste and diverted 96.8% of solid waste from landfill.

One of the largest suppliers of apparel to top retail brands in the US and Europe, Brandix is a benchmark and international award winner for eco-friendly manufacture and commitment to environmental best practice. The Group was recognised as Sri Lanka’s ‘Organisation Committed to Green’ by the Green Building Council of Sri Lanka (GBCSL) in 2014.