By Sherry Koh | Jul 13, 2010
‘Greenest person on the planet’ greens Subang Olives Residence
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| Treehugger: Greenest Person on the Planet 2008, Matthias Gelber |
Meet Matthias Gelber, the ‘greenest person on the planet’, as awarded by 3rd whale Canada in year 2008. He arrived in Malaysia from Germany approximately five and a half years ago. Through his company Maleki GmbH, he manufactures green products in Germany such as green cement and other eco-friendly low carbon footprint water-based material that make buildings last longer, more eco-friendly and better insulated.
Gelber has recently been appointed by Everest Point Sdn Bhd, developer of the prestigious Subang Olives project and a wholly owned subsidiary of AmanahRaya Berhad Group, to green the existing Subang Olives Residence.
Subang Olives is an integrated development comprising Residence, Hotel and Commercial. According to Gelber, residents are expected to receive the CF (Certificate of Fitness) for the completed service apartment (Residence) soon. In the three short weeks since he was appointed as Subang Olives Residence’s eco-advisor, Gelber already has plenty of ideas on greening the place, from the residence’s operations to creating awareness among the residents.
StarProperty.my talked to Gelber about greening the Subang Olives Residence – inside out.
On the development’s inherent green aspects
Gelber says, “There are some positive green aspects which were not necessarily designed for the current building, but there are green assets. For example, it is breezy and windy, with lots of open space. This natural air circulation lends a cooling effect.
“Plus, the building is painted in white, with high ceilings. So when you enter the units, the temperature is very comfortable, even when it is really hot outside. Olives Residence is also at a great location with public transportation, which makes it easier for residents to live an eco-friendly lifestyle. There are lots of shopping centres and other infrastructure close to the area. You could even walk there. I know that Malaysians don’t like to walk, but for me, if I walk, it would be a 5-minute walk and there are plans for a free shuttle service.”
On greening specific areas
“One thing I focus on is quality of life, healthy life,” Gelber enthuses. “I intend to test an area, to look at the feasibility of turning an area into a small-scale organic garden. We have identified an area next to the children’s playground as the pilot-testing area. The selected area has enough rain and sunlight. Once it is done, we need to start a green residential committee to take over.”
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| Green room: Trash room with recycling bins at Seri Raja Chulan Condo, Kuala Lumpur |
On generating awareness among the residents
To encourage Subang Olives Residence’s residents and interior designers to go green, Gelber suggests, “We should have a green showroom. Make the unit VOC (Volatile Organic Components) and formaldehyde free. So it is up to the residents if they want to emulate the green showroom.”
Gelber adds, “We could also have a green ID showroom competition, for people to recommend the best concept that is cost effective. We will brief and they will come up with a proposal.”
When asked why designers would want to participate, Gelber explains, “If they win, the whole of Malaysia will know that they came up with the most effective concept. They get to do business. The profit might be smaller but people will want to know about how to do green interior. There should also be prizes allocated. Just the fact that they are showing to the world their creativity, should be enough of a reward, recognition and incentive for people to pitch for it!”
On confirmed planned activities
“As the developer will be offering green car wash services for its residents, there will be a small green car wash demonstration, including cleaning grease from the car engine and wheels in an eco-friendly manner. However, upon implementation we are looking at the use of minimal water, biodegradable car wash liquid and green maid service with the exploratory idea of a real green car wash by reusing the same water over and over again and recycled cleaning via biodegradable enzymes, ” Gelber shares.
Gelber also explained that green maid service refers to how the cleaning maids will be trained to clean using non-toxic washing materials. Other planned activities include helping owners and residents with recycling and raise awareness about energy-saving and recycling. Gelber said that there are two ways to go about it. One is to copy a system that has been implemented at a condominium he used to live in, Seri Raja Chulan. The alternative is to work with a local company that has an incentive system for recycling where individual units get a barcode and are rewarded based on the recycling done.
On other possible green ideas
Gelber is experimenting with various ideas. One of it includes a wind turbine. “It is just an idea, we might not do it. Since the place is breezy, with nothing blocking, maybe this is one of the few places where we can generate power from a wind turbine,” Gelber ponders.
On what the general public can do to be greener at home
“The project represents a good example of what other existing buildings can do. For example, how many condos clean with chemicals which are not good for health?” Gelber questions. He also shared the following tips of what the general public could do to help the environment.
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Snapshots of Gelber at Subang Olives Residence
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• Change your way of doing things - Start by reducing electricity usage. Gelber said that there is a system where, with a push of a button, you can switch off the power at specific power points you integrate the system into. Gelber claimed that it is rather inexpensive, costing approximately RM88 to install the system at three main power points.
• Reduce water consumption - What Gelber does is put two bricks into the water tank.
• Filters for windows - Filter the heat for sun-facing windows.
• Use fans instead of air-conditioning
• Change light bulbs - Switch from incandescent bulbs to energy-efficient light bulbs
• Create shading - Gelber shared that he has friends who have plants on walls (eco-wall)
• Roof insulation - If you are living in a house, make sure that the roof insulation is good to keep the temperature in your house low. The long-term savings could be significant when the price of electricity increases.
• Measure quality of air - Check the concentration of VOC and formaldehyde in your home’s environment. Gelber has had people measure the air quality before moving into some of his previous homes. These people would check the levels of carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, VOC concentration, chemicals and others, in the home.
High solvent material is harmful to both the environment and humans. Gelber highlights a very important issue, “Where does cancer come from? It is from the food, water and air we breathe, especially when we sleep.”
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Working together: Thumbs-up for green efforts
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On spreading the word to the residents of Subang Olives
"We will be setting up a green committee for residents of Olives Residence. We have a Green event, which is part of the green and health awareness programme on July 18, from 11am to 3.30pm. It is for both existing owners and the public. The event will focus on green living, as well as healthy lifestyle. It starts with education and awareness. The recycling company that we are going to work with will be at the event; we will have an organic farmer there; I will be speaking at 12pm, 1pm, 2pm and 3pm. It is a bazaar with different organisations present,” Gelber enthuses.
Gelber mentioned that the success of all the green plans depends on how committed the residents are and hopefully, there will be some champions to drive all the green initiatives and experiments. As Subang Olives Residence is an existing structure, Gelber points out that the committee will need to work closely with the building management (Intra Harta Consultancy Sdn Bhd), of which Gelber has ideas on how to ensure that the building's operations and management are streamlined from a green point of view.
For more information on the prestigious Subang Olives project by Everest Point Sdn Bhd, go to www.subangolives.com
To read the Subang Olives development review, click here.
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