Park Town, a business center rising in Vilnius, near the intersection of Lviv and Geležinii vilkos streets, was the first in Lithuania to receive the BREEAM "New Construction Excellent" intermediate rating, which shows that the first building of the complex was designed in accordance with the highest international standards. The experts rated the building's favorability for the health and well-being of the employees working here with extremely high scores.
"From the very beginning, we aimed for the building to be built in a unique location in Vilnius - on the right bank of the Neris in the expanding business artery, and at the same time - next to nature (the future Japanese garden) to become a benchmark business center in the country: it would be built according to good international practice, environmentally friendly and ensure not only rational needs of business enterprises, but would also create the best conditions for the employees who work here every day. The result of this ambition is international recognition, the first of its kind in Lithuania, which testifies to Park Town's uniqueness in the market of business centers", says Sigita Survilaitė-Mekionienė, CEO of MG Valda.
The first, evaluated at the design stage
Real estate developers can certify new buildings both at the design stage and after the building has already been constructed. According to the manager of MG Valdas, it is more difficult to meet the "Excellent" level in the design stage, because the requirements for future buildings are higher than when trying to certify an existing building.
"If the building has a certified project, it means that it will be more in line with the best international practice, will create greater added value for the tenants and the environment, because all important details have been taken care of even before construction," adds S. Survilaitė-Mekionienė.
The "Excellent" certificate was awarded by the experts to the project of the first building of the "Park Town" business center. The company will also strive for high BREEAM standards with the second building of the complex, which will be completed at the end of next year - twice as large, 14.800 square meters. The certification procedures for the building project with an area of meters have already started.
It will create favorable conditions for employees
According to experts, obtaining the "Excellent" certificate for buildings is the most difficult according to two criteria - energy and health and well-being.
"When certifying buildings, a lot of attention is paid to the extent to which conditions are created for people to feel comfortable. Many aspects are evaluated - from thermal comfort, workplace lighting, room ventilation, to such things as the availability of natural daylight, ease of movement in the building or devices that ensure water quality", says S. Survilaitė Mekionienė.
For that purpose, "MG Valda" not only carefully planned the premises, but also installed many smart engineering systems that regulate the comfortable ventilation and humidification of the premises, lighting. For example, there are sensors for the condition of the rooms and the position of the windows, electric blinds for individual lighting control of the workplace, and the microclimate can be controlled individually in each room. Various studies show that BREEAM-certified buildings have a positive impact on the well-being and productivity of those working in them. For example, the productivity of employees can increase by 8-11 percent just because of better air ventilation, and the probability of illness is lower by 8-10 percent.
A Japanese garden planned near the business center will help create a healthy and pleasant environment, the project of which was prepared by world-class Japanese landscape architects - father and son Shiro Nakane and Yukihiro Nakane.
In order to create an environmentally friendly building, the company has also applied many technological innovations in the field of energy: the aerothermal and geothermal heating solutions installed in the building help to maintain the proper indoor microclimate and ensure lower energy costs, electricity is produced by solar energy modules installed on the facades of the building, and electricity regeneration solutions are applied in the elevators.
The "Park Town" project is being developed in two stages - the first 7 sq.m. the construction of the building with an area of 200 sq.m. is already being completed. area building will be completed at the end of 14. quarter. The total investment in the business center amounts to 800 million. EUR, real estate development company "MG Valda" invests in the project.
