Green Ambitions – Trendsetting Eco Buildings

Posted by Spaciable on 24th November 2021 -

One of the early successes of COP26 seems to be many developers announcing their net zero strategies.

Two of our treasured clients – Countryside and Redrow – have recently outlined their plans, and many others are sure to follow suit.  The stakes are simply too high not to.

This means the built environment could start to look a lot different over the next few decades, as a new era of architecture could be imminent.

While domed bubble homes may be a way off yet, that shouldn’t stop you looking at the COP26 Built Environment Virtual Pavilion’s virtual domed treetop galleries.  The 360° exhibition lets you explore leading built environment projects from around the world at your leisure, and could be a great source of inspiration for your next development or even office revamp.

Standouts include Modulus Homes in Pakistan, which provides low-cost, flat-pack net zero housing to help overcome the overcrowding in the city, while ensuring the homes are amongst the most affordable net zero homes in the world.  They also strive to promote female ownership of their homes, as well as making them accessible for disabled communities.

Hope Rise, meanwhile, is a council-led development in Bristol that offers 11 net zero homes to vulnerable young people who are at risk of homelessness.  The homes are built on steel frame stilts over an existing public car park, retaining the original purpose of the land and providing an effective example of how developers can build on brownfield land, while renovating the community space.

From a commercial perspective, property investor Ashby Capital and developer Janson Urban have partnered with Carbon Intelligence to create The Kensington Building – one of London’s most sustainable office buildings, which boasts PV panels on the roof, a heat recovery plant, LED lighting and smart controls through a bespoke building app.  As detailed by UK Property Forums, 100% of the building’s electricity comes from renewable sources.  The sustainability extends to the outside areas, with landscape architects Gillespies designing landscaped terraces that will feature fully managed beehives.

These buildings are a great reminder of the outside the box thinking that can lead to the construction industry shedding its reputation as the UK’s main culprit for carbon emissions.