Top Eco/Green Buildings in UK
An increasing population requiring more homes and more buildings for businesses is a challenge in a world where sustainability attempts to combat climate change. Eco or green building is considered the best way forward, with buildings powered by renewable energy combined with a reduction of waste at home and at work. Through the use of on-site water treatment plants and recycling facilities UK architects continue to create green buildings as an investment in future generations and the health of the planet.
Here we list the best UK eco/green buildings that avoid a negative impact on the environment.
One Embankment Place, London
Considered the most environmentally friendly building in London, the PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) building is the UK's best "air rights" building, constructed on top of an existing structure, built over Charing Cross Station in the early 1990's.
New technologies include a tri-generation combined cooling, heat and power system. This is fuelled by recycled waste vegetable oil that is collected and refined locally to a new efficiency standard by Uptown Oil and South Bank University. Chiller beams replace air conditioning and low-power lift braking has been installed, along with eco-friendly carpet tiles and electrical charging points. Open plan spaces and airy atria provide natural light; roof gardens and green walls contribute to the building's ecology; and waterless urinals and low flush toilets reduce water use. During the work, ninety-five percent of materials were sourced responsibly and ninety-six percent of construction waste was diverted from landfill.
The result is a building with Environmental Performance Certificate A and a BREEAM score of 96.31 percent, one of the best in the world. The refurbishment is expected to pay for itself in less than four years and the company states the transformation will help it achieve PwC's 2017 targets to reduce carbon emissions by fifty percent and energy use by twenty-five percent.
Best Green Buildings Around The World
According to the United Nations Environment Programme, the world’s buildings are responsible for more than forty percent of global energy use and up to one-third of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions. Green building design reduces energy use, either through retro-fitting older buildings or designing new buildings that create surplus energy.
Green building design has evolved over time. Originally, the priority was to reduce utility and operational costs, now the world’s green build designers incorporate the principles of social, economic and ecological sustainability, by reducing the negative environmental impact of their structures. It is hoped this broader remit that reduces the negative environmental impact of their construction will become the norm for green building design around the world.
Here are our suggestions for the best green buildings around the world that showcase sustainable architecture and ecological designs that protect and enhance the environment:
The Edge, Amsterdam, Netherlands
The Edge in Amsterdam has the distinction of being awarded the highest score ever recorded by the BREEAM certification system. The rooftop panels keep it energy neutral and the “Power-over-Ethernet” (PoE)-based LED lighting allows network controls of the lighting and data gathering via sensors integrated in the light units. Workers in the building can regulate lighting in their individual work spaces by using an app on their smart-phones. The app also checks individual’s schedule and the building also recognizes their car when they arrive and directs them to a parking spot.