To address the need for information and skills around the latest green building principles, knowledge and tools, the Green Building Council of South Africa (GBCSA) is launching its Convention Education Days - focused workshops and seminars that tackle the most topical green building issues and ensure that SA professionals have access to the latest international and local green building knowledge.

“Our Convention Education Days – which are planned before and after the main Convention programme on Monday 20 and Thursday 23 September respectively - offer a unique opportunity to learn from some of our expert international presenters in a small, interactive group, where it is possible to get into far more detail than is possible in a plenary presentation format,” says Nicola Douglas, CEO of GBCSA.  “This is a fitting accompaniment to the already comprehensive GBCSA annual convention programme.”

“The Education days have become a valuable and extremely popular part of our annual Convention, which is being held at the Cape Town International Convention Centre from 20 – 22 September.” notes Douglas.

The Education Day on 20 September will include the popular Green Star SA Accredited Professional Course. This course provides practitioners with an understanding of the Green Star SA rating system and the ability to apply Green Star SA tools to various projects.

Another topic of interest to be offered as a seminar on 20 September is that of Building Envelope Design, which focuses on designing of building facades for optimal daylight availability and thermal comfort.  This course will be hosted by Paul Carew of PJC Consulting in Cape Town. 

The workshop on The Integrative Design Process, presented by Bill Reed, one of the Convention Keynote speakers from the US, will look at the philosophy and practice of integrative design.  It will also focus on the research and design process findings that featured in the recent book by Seven Group and Bill Reed.

Another popular and critically important theme – The Fundamentals of Green Building Investment Analysis – will be presented as a workshop by Lisa Galley of Galley EcoCapital in San Francisco. This focuses on core themes that commercial property investors, developers, financiers and their partners are likely to encounter as they consider developing new green buildings or retrofitting existing commercial property portfolios and is a rare opportunity to learn from an expert on this subject.

Finally delegates attending the Innovative HVAC Systems workshop by Shane Esmore, one of the leading Environmentally Sustainable Design consultants in Australia, will gain insight into a range of innovative energy-Efficient heating and cooling systems, from design stage through to construction and commissioning, and will also gain understanding of the implications that these systems have on projects aiming for Green Star SA certification.

“The GBCSA Convention’s training opportunities will appeal to professionals associated with building design, investment and management.  This training will give delegates a once-off chance to learn directly from expert international presenters in far greater depth than a conference usually allows,” notes Douglas.

Another series of talks and workshops planned for Thursday 23 September will cover Green Commercial Interiors by Australian sustainability consultant Digby Hall, as well as the Green Star SA Project Certification Workshop, which covers the certification process and the compilation of high-quality Green Star SA submissions for formal certification.

The third annual GBCSA Convention, sponsored by Nedbank Corporate Property Finance, is to be held at the Cape Town International Convention Centre from 20 to 22 September 2010. A parallel Exhibition of green building products and services and an Africa GBC Day will also feature as part of the 2010 programme. 
Publisher: eProp
Source: GBCSA