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Green development celebrates first birthday |
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14 Sep 2011, 9:01 PM
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A recent UK low-carbon development, Greenhouse Leeds, is celebrating it's first Birthday this October. Developer Citu is proud of the success of its building, as well as the occupant's more sustainable lifestyles 1 year on. They feel that the overall green ethos of the project goes further than just the sustainable technologies which have been installed..
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As a commemorative celebration of their residents commitment to really ensuring Greenhouse is a 'building of the future', the developer has commissioned a video to showcase Greenhouse’s ‘Green Champions’, and this will also be launched at the birthday celebrations by MP Hilary Benn.
By illustrating the everyday changes residents have made to their energy usage, the organisation hopes to encourage others to adopt similar lifestyle adjustments to help build a more sustainable future and highlight to the construction and refurbishment industry the wider implications of a truly sustainable development.
Greenhouse, a multi-million pound retro-fit mixed-use development, was 3 years in the making. The project launched last year in the regeneration area of Beeston and now has over 350 residents alongside a growing business community, co-existing on the one site.
With a current running total of 28 awards including The Energy Saving Trust Micro Generation Awards Development of the Year and UK Green Building Council's Sustainable Refurbishment of the Year, the development has been heralded as ground breaking.
Figures just released show that the solar thermal technologies at work over the last year have generated over 36878KWH - this equates to energy capable of heating 27,226 showers. However, as the 1st Birthday approaches and celebrations are planned, Greenhouse heralds their ‘Green Champions’ – the residents - as the truly successful ones..
Commenting at the launch last year, Citu Managing Director Chris Thompson said: “What we’ve built with Greenhouse is a low carbon development, using the most pioneering techniques that blend technology and nature, to produce a building with sustainability at its core. However, to make Greenhouse succeed what we need to achieve is a sustainable community, not just a low carbon building, and this will come down to the end users who live and work here”.
One y ear on this vision is very much coming to life as Greenhouse residents have built their own community and now service the Greenhouse Deli, maintain the free bike club, tend to the allotments, run the local pub quiz, organise a free-cycle trading club, and have even recently launched the Greenhouse Apart-Hotel.
Residents have also adapted to more low carbon ways of living, having been able to track their energy usage, in real time, thanks to their unique IPTV systems and access local public transport information, car share schemes, and the free bike club, to make leaving the car at home an easier option. All this backs up the energy generated by the renewable technologies installed at the building, enabling residents to lower their utility bills and carbon emissions.
One of the featured ‘Green Champions’ is Architect Matthew Sturgeon of Sturgeon North, who worked on the development and now occupies office space at Greenhouse. Sturgeon said: “We loved working on Greenhouse in its development and reducing my carbon footprint has always been important to me. Whilst it's fantastic that we have the ability to create renewable energy we should also personally be looking at ways to reduce our energy consumptions. Greenhouse has given our business the kick it needed to actively take some ownership of our energy consumption and start making a difference”.
Another 'Green Champion' is trainee Teacher Thomas Graves, 24, who has lived at Greenhouse since last October and plays an active role in leading initiatives which have become the backbone of the community.
Graves said: “One of the things I love about Greenhouse is there’s a real sense of everyone coming together. To me, there’s no point living here if you’re not going to get involved, so I’ve jumped at every given opportunity to take part in community activities. I help lead the maintenance of our allotments where we grow our own fruit and veg, some of which is given to the onsite deli, where I work to produce locally sourced, home-cooked meals for residents and office tenants. I have also recently got involved in a local pub quiz, which is a weekly gathering of both Greenhouse and local Beeston residents. I've never lived anywhere where there is a real meaning to knowing your neighbours, especially in the city centre, but Greenhouse has proved that this is possible - once you tell people where you live they often have a lot of questions, so that in itself is a bit of an ice breaker!”
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