M E S S A G E

This publication of HK-BEAM case studies presents a landmark of

achievement for Hong Kong. In it you will see the scale of our high-rise and

high-density built environment, the physical and environmental challenges that

these factors present, and the start that we as an industry have made to create

better buildings for today’s and future generations using HK-BEAM.

Since its initiation in 1996, HK-BEAM has played a leading role in highlighting

the impacts that buildings have — both on people and the environment —

and how these can be curtailed. Every one of the buildings so far assessed has

implemented change in some shape or form to improve its environmental

sustainability. Whilst we’re proud of these achievements, we recognise that

these are just the first small steps of many more still needed.

The introductory section of this book provides an insight into the key attributes

of HK-BEAM, how it has been developed and how it is helping Hong Kong’s

construction industry to improve performance by incremental steps.

I welcome your feedback on what we have achieved to date and — more

importantly — how we can build upon the partnering between our industry

and HK-BEAM that has been created in recent years as the foundation for

our future.

Mr Michael I ArnoldChairman,

HK-BEAM Society

香港環保建築協會

M E S S A G E M E S S A G E

On behalf of all members of the Provisional Construction Industry

Co-ordination Board (PCICB), I would like to offer our sincere congratulations

to the HK-BEAM Society on the double celebration of 10 years of operation

and its first 100 project assessments.

HK-BEAM originated from a common recognition among private sector

stakeholders of the need for enhanced awareness of the long-term operating

costs and overall sustainability of buildings. It has since grown and evolved

over the last decade to a modular assessment system catering for a full range

of building types.

The PCICB very much encourages initiatives emanating from within the

industry as we believe they directly address prevailing needs and are more

sustainable over the long run, given a solid base of support within the sector.

At the same time, continuous quality improvements are essential to the

advancement and development of any industry, and we commend HK-BEAM

for making proactive efforts to set an example by constantly striving to

broaden its scope and upgrade its assessment methods.

We wish the Society well and look forward to its further progress and

contribution to the industry in the years ahead.

Keith Kerr Chairman

Provisional Construction Industry Co-ordination Board

Kenneth Chan Jor Kin, BSc, FHKIS, FRICS, FBEng, AHKIArb, F.PFM, RPS(BS), AP

Chairman,

Professional Green Building Council, HKSAR

Professional Green Building Council

I am very pleased to be writing a foreword for this important publication

since sustainable development lies at the very heart of Hong Kong’s

Professional Green Building Council.

Over the years, hundreds of organisations and individuals from all sectors and

disciplines of the construction industry have contributed to the development,

use, refinement and promotion of HK-BEAM. Many of us recognise the need

for further consensus on what constitutes a sustainable building and how this

can best be achieved. However, an important start has been made. HK-BEAM,

with such widespread input and unparalleled implementation, provides a

unique and industry-led basis to build upon.

I encourage more parties to become involved in the sustainability debate,

and congratulate the HK-BEAM Society for the unprecedented start that it

has provided.

M E S S A G E M E S S A G E

On behalf of all members of the Provisional Construction Industry

Co-ordination Board (PCICB), I would like to offer our sincere congratulations

to the HK-BEAM Society on the double celebration of 10 years of operation

and its first 100 project assessments.

HK-BEAM originated from a common recognition among private sector

stakeholders of the need for enhanced awareness of the long-term operating

costs and overall sustainability of buildings. It has since grown and evolved

over the last decade to a modular assessment system catering for a full range

of building types.

The PCICB very much encourages initiatives emanating from within the

industry as we believe they directly address prevailing needs and are more

sustainable over the long run, given a solid base of support within the sector.

At the same time, continuous quality improvements are essential to the

advancement and development of any industry, and we commend HK-BEAM

for making proactive efforts to set an example by constantly striving to

broaden its scope and upgrade its assessment methods.

We wish the Society well and look forward to its further progress and

contribution to the industry in the years ahead.

Keith Kerr Chairman

Provisional Construction Industry Co-ordination Board

Kenneth Chan Jor Kin, BSc, FHKIS, FRICS, FBEng, AHKIArb, F.PFM, RPS(BS), AP

Chairman,

Professional Green Building Council, HKSAR

Professional Green Building Council

I am very pleased to be writing a foreword for this important publication

since sustainable development lies at the very heart of Hong Kong’s

Professional Green Building Council.

Over the years, hundreds of organisations and individuals from all sectors and

disciplines of the construction industry have contributed to the development,

use, refinement and promotion of HK-BEAM. Many of us recognise the need

for further consensus on what constitutes a sustainable building and how this

can best be achieved. However, an important start has been made. HK-BEAM,

with such widespread input and unparalleled implementation, provides a

unique and industry-led basis to build upon.

I encourage more parties to become involved in the sustainability debate,

and congratulate the HK-BEAM Society for the unprecedented start that it

has provided.

M E S S A G E M E S S A G E

Needless to say, we live in a time in which the world is concerned about

sustainable development. It is widely accepted that buildings have a key role to

play — in their design, construction and operation — in safeguarding our

environment and community for generations to come. Architects, planners and

surveyors see their role in promoting this concept and facilitating the

community’s understanding as to what is a sustainable building.

Hong Kong can be proud to see launched, back in 1996, the first series of

HK-BEAM standards to address these issues. Since then, HK-BEAM has evolved

with wide industry input as shown by the array of case studies in this

publication. I extend my congratulations to HK-BEAM for its promotion of

sustainability and encouraging so many stakeholders to take action.

Hon Patrick Lau, SBC, JP

Legislative Council Member (Architectural, Surveying & Planning Functional Constituency), HKSAR

Over the last ten years, Hong Kong has made significant progress in

improving the quality of its buildings. This is the result of the effort of many

throughout our industry “supply chain,” working more closely together to find

new approaches, embrace new technologies and define new standards of

achievement.

During this time, HK-BEAM has done much to focus our efforts on the

environment. Working quietly in the background, HK-BEAM has brought

together the project and management teams of so many buildings with a

common goal of ”achieving more with less.” Most remarkable, however, is

that the scheme was created by industry and is adopted by industry on a

wholly voluntary basis. This bodes well for our future and I applaud HK-BEAM

for its success.

Hon Abraham Shek, JP

Legislative Council Member (Real Estate & Construction Functional Constituency), HKSAR

M E S S A G E M E S S A G E

Needless to say, we live in a time in which the world is concerned about

sustainable development. It is widely accepted that buildings have a key role to

play — in their design, construction and operation — in safeguarding our

environment and community for generations to come. Architects, planners and

surveyors see their role in promoting this concept and facilitating the

community’s understanding as to what is a sustainable building.

Hong Kong can be proud to see launched, back in 1996, the first series of

HK-BEAM standards to address these issues. Since then, HK-BEAM has evolved

with wide industry input as shown by the array of case studies in this

publication. I extend my congratulations to HK-BEAM for its promotion of

sustainability and encouraging so many stakeholders to take action.

Hon Patrick Lau, SBC, JP

Legislative Council Member (Architectural, Surveying & Planning Functional Constituency), HKSAR

Over the last ten years, Hong Kong has made significant progress in

improving the quality of its buildings. This is the result of the effort of many

throughout our industry “supply chain,” working more closely together to find

new approaches, embrace new technologies and define new standards of

achievement.

During this time, HK-BEAM has done much to focus our efforts on the

environment. Working quietly in the background, HK-BEAM has brought

together the project and management teams of so many buildings with a

common goal of ”achieving more with less.” Most remarkable, however, is

that the scheme was created by industry and is adopted by industry on a

wholly voluntary basis. This bodes well for our future and I applaud HK-BEAM

for its success.

Hon Abraham Shek, JP

Legislative Council Member (Real Estate & Construction Functional Constituency), HKSAR

M E S S A G E M E S S A G E

Engineers of every discipline have a critical role to play in engineering a

more sustainable tomorrow. In Hong Kong this is particularly so for those of us

in the building industry. Buildings are a key element of our economic success

yet, as in other places, they consume energy, water, materials and other

natural resources over their lifetimes that affect our environmental quality.

It is widely accepted that this cannot indefinitely be sustained.

For the last ten years, HK-BEAM has provided a unique means for engineers to

contribute their expertise in the design, construction and operation of more

environmentally responsible buildings. I congratulate the HK-BEAM Society and

its members for their significant achievements to date and wish them

continued success into the future.

Ir Dr the Hon Raymond Ho Chung-tai, PhD, Hon LLD, Hon DBA, JP

Member of Legislative Council (Engineering Functional Constituency), HKSAR

Past President of the Hong Kong Institution of Engineers (1987/1988)

Over the past decade the development of HK-BEAM has been, and

continues to be, a remarkable collaboration between Hong Kong’s building

professionals and academics. As a voluntary scheme it must be pragmatic in

terms of performance expectations, but it has demonstrated the willingness of

key stakeholders to engage positively in improving the environmental

performance of both new and existing buildings in Hong Kong. As the scheme

matures, performance standards have risen, and should continue to rise, over

time to set new challenges for clients, owners, designers, builders and

operators who, no doubt, will respond positively.

For those of us engaged in the research effort that supports HK-BEAM

development (and this includes contributions from staff from several of our

universities and from overseas) it has been both stimulating and rewarding,

resulting in many outcomes in terms of educational material, student projects,

publications in learned journals and the technical press, and stronger

collaboration with the building construction and real estate sectors.

HK-BEAM is a positive contribution to the efforts to improve the sustainability

of our buildings, and such are the challenges, it will continue to be a

collaborative work in progress!

John Burnett, BEng(Tech), PhD, CEng, RPE, FIEE, FCIBSE

Chair of Building Services Engineering

Hong Kong Polytechnic University

M E S S A G E M E S S A G E

Engineers of every discipline have a critical role to play in engineering a

more sustainable tomorrow. In Hong Kong this is particularly so for those of us

in the building industry. Buildings are a key element of our economic success

yet, as in other places, they consume energy, water, materials and other

natural resources over their lifetimes that affect our environmental quality.

It is widely accepted that this cannot indefinitely be sustained.

For the last ten years, HK-BEAM has provided a unique means for engineers to

contribute their expertise in the design, construction and operation of more

environmentally responsible buildings. I congratulate the HK-BEAM Society and

its members for their significant achievements to date and wish them

continued success into the future.

Ir Dr the Hon Raymond Ho Chung-tai, PhD, Hon LLD, Hon DBA, JP

Member of Legislative Council (Engineering Functional Constituency), HKSAR

Past President of the Hong Kong Institution of Engineers (1987/1988)

Over the past decade the development of HK-BEAM has been, and

continues to be, a remarkable collaboration between Hong Kong’s building

professionals and academics. As a voluntary scheme it must be pragmatic in

terms of performance expectations, but it has demonstrated the willingness of

key stakeholders to engage positively in improving the environmental

performance of both new and existing buildings in Hong Kong. As the scheme

matures, performance standards have risen, and should continue to rise, over

time to set new challenges for clients, owners, designers, builders and

operators who, no doubt, will respond positively.

For those of us engaged in the research effort that supports HK-BEAM

development (and this includes contributions from staff from several of our

universities and from overseas) it has been both stimulating and rewarding,

resulting in many outcomes in terms of educational material, student projects,

publications in learned journals and the technical press, and stronger

collaboration with the building construction and real estate sectors.

HK-BEAM is a positive contribution to the efforts to improve the sustainability

of our buildings, and such are the challenges, it will continue to be a

collaborative work in progress!

John Burnett, BEng(Tech), PhD, CEng, RPE, FIEE, FCIBSE

Chair of Building Services Engineering

Hong Kong Polytechnic University

M E S S A G E

On behalf of the members of the Business Environment Council (BEC),

it gives me great pleasure to congratulate the HK-BEAM Society on this

milestone publication of case studies.

Our mission at BEC is to advocate the business case for sustainable

development, encouraging the uptake of practices that reduce waste,

conserve resources, prevent pollution and improve corporate environmental

and social responsibility.

As a private sector and voluntary initiative, HK-BEAM exemplifies these

principles. I am proud that BEC has been able to lend support to the

development and implementation of HK-BEAM since its inception in 1995,

and I look forward to its continued adoption as Hong Kong’s label of building

quality and sustainability in the future.

Andrew P. LongChairman,

Business Environment Council, HKSAR