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Beddington zero energy development, Greater London
Financed by the Peabody Trust, BedZed aims to create a sustainable community, both environmentally and socially. Built on reclaimed land, Bill Dunster Architects' design remains the UK's largest carbon neutral "eco-community" six years after its completion. As an example, the community's energy comes from a power plant fuelled by tree surgery offcuts that would otherwise go to landfill. The Peabody Trust has supplemented the sustainability of the infrastructure by providing a "green lifestyle" officer to help residents lower their environmental impact.
Bahrain WTC
The wind turbines on the bridge linking these two 50-story towers were set spinning earlier this month, using the Gulf breeze funnelled through its sail-shaped design. The turbines have a diameter of 29 metres, and will provide up to 15 per cent of the energy required to power the building. The fans have been dismissed by some as "greenwash", more visible than effective, especially as they will be unable to adjust to changing wind directions. Its architect, WS Atkins, emphasises that the fans are only a small part of what makes the building green.
Green Energy, Paris
Built on the outskirts of Paris, this 70,000 square metre office block plans to produce more energy than it consumes. Most of that will come from solar panels covering an area equivalent to 27 tennis courts, supplemented by heat-pumps. "We are just building tomorrow's building today," says Patick Getreide, the entrepreneur behind the scheme, who has hired Skidmore Owings & Merrill, the firm behind the Burj Dubai, as architects. He concedes that it will cost 25-30 per cent more to build than a conventional building, a cost which should be offset by lower running bills, and possibly through trading the carbon credits it hopes to generate.
CH2, Melbourne, Australia
Council House 2, designed by Zimbabwean architect Mick Pearce, was among the first buildings to meet the exacting criteria for six Green Stars under the Australian Green Building Council guidelines, the highest level possible, even though it was designed before the scheme was launched. The 10-storey building, which houses city government workers, has a water-mining plant in the basement and materials that keep the building's temperature constant throughout the day. Most noticeably, its facade consists of shutters powered by photovoltaic cells that track the sun to regulate internal temperature. The result is a structure that consumes only 15 per cent of the energy of a regular building.
Masdar Green City, Abu Dhabi, UAE
Initiated in 2006, the Masdar aims to be the world's first zero carbon sustainable city. Situated on the outskirts of Abu Dhabi, most of the energy for its 50,000 inhabitants will come from new solar technology, which will also power a water desalination plant. The city will take a decade to build and cost an estimated $22bn. But critics worry that this six square metre oasis will be used to deflect attention from wasteful energy practices in the rest of the UAE.
30 St Mary Axe (The Gherkin), London
The City of London's second-tallest tower was designed by Lord Foster, the acclaimed architect behind the famous Reichstag restoration. The green aspects of this building were incorporated to help obtain planning permission - the first granted for a tower in the square mile since the 1970s. It claims to consume only half of the energy of a similar-sized building, mainly by using a variant of an age-old ventilation shaft system commonly found in the Middle East. Gaps in each floor create natural air chimneys that regulate the building's temperature and allow natural light to penetrate to its core. The new tower struggled to find tenants upon completion in 2004, which some blamed on the higher rents commanded by the perceived environmental benefits.
La Tohu Pavillion, Quebec, Canada
The architectural brief for this permanent circus hall adjoining the Cirque du Soleil headquarters was to overcome challenging surroundings - a disused quarry and waste burial site. The first thing designer Jacques Plante did was to re-position the building in order to benefit from the biogases emitted by the millions of tonnes of decomposing waste underground. The gas provides the fuel for a power station, and some of the electricity created is sold back to the power grid. The heated waste water is channelled through the floor, reducing electricity bills during Quebec's long winters. "There is nothing revolutionary about the means we used to maximize the building's energy efficiency," notes the architect. "What is special is that we incorporated virtually every one of them in a single building."
