Green Building in Bangkok: How CBRE Certified Its Office for LEED and WELL at One City Centre

Project Overview

CBRE Thailand is not just a real estate adviser. It is also its own client. In late 2023 the firm moved its Bangkok headquarters from an older building to One City Centre (OCC), a 275.8-metre Grade A+ tower on Phloen Chit Road directly linked to BTS Phloen Chit station.

The move was deliberate. CBRE wanted a space that matched its own advice to clients: sustainability, employee wellbeing, and operational efficiency matter. According to Peerawit Kiatikangval, the firm’s green building consultant who led the project, the decision came during the post-COVID return-to-office period. Companies were rethinking office design. Sustainability was no longer optional.

CBRE handled almost every scope internally. Its own teams managed site selection, design, construction supervision, and sustainability consulting. This inside knowledge gave the project a level of coordination that external consultants rarely achieve.

The Building: One City Centre

OCC is Thailand’s tallest office building. It opened in early 2023. The tower earned LEED Gold certification in November 2023 with 69 points. It was also the first building in Thailand to achieve Fitwel 2-Star.

The base building already included features that helped CBRE’s own certification effort. High-performance low-E glazing, magnetic bearing chillers, variable air volume distribution, and a building management system cut energy use by 21% against the ASHRAE baseline. Fresh air delivery runs 30% above code requirements. MERV 14 filtration handles PM2.5 particles. The tower even recycles wastewater for cooling towers and landscape irrigation.

These base-building systems meant CBRE did not have to install major mechanical plant from scratch. The video notes that the air-handling infrastructure already met ASHRAE 62.1 standards. CBRE only had to show compliance, not rebuild.

Design and Layout Decisions

CBRE made its biggest decisions early. It committed to both LEED and WELL certification for its tenant space before design began. This timing mattered. Late additions to a green building scorecard force rework. Early commitment lets requirements flow naturally into the design brief.

The layout strategy flipped the traditional executive-floor model. Enclosed rooms—meeting spaces, printer rooms, utility areas—moved to the building core. Open workstations went against the curtain wall. Every desk gets natural light and a view. The speakers note that older Thai offices often placed senior managers by the windows. CBRE abandoned that hierarchy.

The floor plan also shrank. CBRE reduced its total leased area compared with the previous office. Less space per person sounds counter-intuitive. But the video explains that smarter layout and hybrid working patterns meant the firm could operate with fewer square metres. The savings showed up in lower electricity and water bills per unit area.

Cost and Energy Results

The video does not publish exact before-and-after utility figures. But the speakers state clearly that energy and water costs per square metre dropped after the move. The reduction came from three sources: smaller floor area, efficient base building systems, and behavioural changes encouraged by the new layout.

WELL certification added equipment costs. Every workstation needed an adjustable desk and an ergonomic chair. Drinking water stations had to meet WELL water quality standards. Related: solar panel installation cost. Rest areas, nursing rooms, and wellness spaces became mandatory, not optional. The video frames these as investments, not expenses. Employee satisfaction rose. Retention improved.

Being inside a LEED Gold building also delivered innovation credits. CBRE earned bonus points because OCC already had green features—water-saving taps, energy-efficient lighting, waste-sorting infrastructure—that supported its own certification. The firm did not pay for these twice. It simply piggybacked on the landlord’s investment.

Challenges and Lessons Learned

The project was not frictionless. Peerawit identifies the learning curve as the main obstacle. Tenant-level LEED and WELL certification is still relatively new in Thailand. The interior design team and contractors had limited experience with the documentation and performance requirements.

CBRE solved this with early workshops. Before design started, the sustainability team gathered every stakeholder—designers, contractors, facilities managers, HR—and explained the certification criteria. Each team then built the requirements into its own work plan. The video calls this an “integrative process.” It prevented the surprises that usually derail green building projects.

Printer rooms illustrate the detail involved. WELL and LEED both care about indoor air quality. CBRE designed negative-pressure ventilation for print areas. Toner particles and volatile chemicals stay contained. The speakers note that this level of detail only works when the design team understands the standard before drawings begin.

Waste management needed the same foresight. CBRE wanted sorted waste bins. But the bins also had to match the office aesthetic. The design team, operations team, and sustainability consultant debated placement, signage, and bin design from day one. The result functions well and looks intentional.

Thai Green Building Context

CBRE’s project sits inside a rapidly shifting market. JLL Thailand reported that 57% of Bangkok’s Grade A office stock was green-certified by end-2023. That share is rising fast. CBRE’s own research shows that LEED O+M certifications in Thailand jumped 729% year-over-year. Existing buildings, not just new towers, are now pursuing certification.

Tenant demand drives the trend. JLL found that 96% of corporate occupiers expect full green certification by 2030. Landlords who ignore the shift risk obsolescence. CBRE notes that green buildings in Asia-Pacific command rental premiums of 1-4% over conventional stock. Non-green buildings face discounts of 0-3%.

Policy is reinforcing market pressure. The Bank of Thailand’s Taxonomy Phase 2, released in May 2025, added construction and real estate as eligible sectors for sustainable finance. Developers must now meet TREES or LEED standards and submit whole-life carbon assessments to access green loans. The taxonomy runs until 2040.

Thailand’s own TREES certification, administered by the Thai Green Building Institute, competes with LEED and WELL. Many large developers now pursue multiple labels. Frasers Property Thailand, Central Pattana, and Raimon Land have all announced TREES targets alongside LEED commitments. Central Pattana aims for 10% certified gross floor area by 2026 and 20% by 2034.

Key Takeaways

• Start certification early. CBRE decided on LEED and WELL before design began. Late additions create expensive rework.
• Base-building certification helps tenants. OCC’s LEED Gold systems gave CBRE innovation credits and reduced its own capital cost.
• Smarter layout beats bigger space. CBRE reduced its leased area but improved functionality. Energy and water costs per square metre fell.
• Tenant-level green certification is still new in Thailand. Expect a learning curve with designers and contractors. Early workshops prevent problems.
• WELL requirements improve retention. Adjustable desks, ergonomic chairs, and wellness spaces cost money upfront. The video links them directly to higher employee satisfaction.

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