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The green surroundings of a nature reserve provided inspiration for a group of Redrow employees tasked with making the housebuilder’s operations more eco-friendly.
Redrow’s ‘green teams’ gathered at theBrandon Marsh Nature Reserve, theheadquarters of the Warwickshire Wildlife Trust (WKWT) in Coventry, to see how the organisation’s work could help them in their own environmental mission.
A national housebuilder has been rewarded for its efforts to reduce its carbon footprint at a prestigious awards ceremony.
Redrow Homes, headquartered in Flintshire, North Wales, won the ‘Green Award’ at the 2014 Daily Post Business Awards, which were sponsored by the Welsh Government and Bangor University.
Students at Arts University Bournemouth are enjoying the benefits of a low carbon district heating scheme designed and installed by contractor Lorne Stewart and featuring a specialist eco-friendly pipe network.
The new accommodation in Madeira Road, Bournemouth comprises 378 en-suite rooms in three buildings, together with communal facilities, with domestic hot water and central heating distributed from the central plant room via Flexenergy's energy efficient Flexalen 600 pipe technology.
Work has completed on a 40,000 sq ft bespoke Grade A office building at North Esplanade West, Aberdeen for North Sea operating company, GDF SUEZ E&P UK Ltd.
Designed by architects Halliday Fraser Munro and built by contractor Mansell, the building is one of the first in Aberdeen to achieve a BREEAM Excellent rating. The five storey, Grade A office accommodation offers capacity for up to 200 people providing the company with the required space to grow operations in support of its exploration and production projects.
Walls could be made from shredded paper after researchers at Nottingham Trent University developed a new material which is as strong as MDF.
A study led by Dr Anton Ianakiev, of the School of Architecture, Design and the Built Environment, and Dr Anthony Crabbe, of School of Art & Design, established a new, rigid composite material which is paper-based but also fire and water resistant.
Two new beachside holiday cottages at Camber Sands in East Sussex have been installed with ground source heat pumps from Danfoss, as part of creating a renewable energy system that is affordable to run.
The developers approached Reina Group, based in Folkestone, Kent, a Danfoss-approved installer, which recommended two Danfoss DHP-L Opti Pro heat pump systems with a 400 litre cylinder and 120 litre buffer vessel. Each four bedroom property has two boreholes of around 100 metres in depth drilled onto the beach as the source of energy for the heat pumps. The two beach houses, which are built on a steel frame clad with cedar, were fitted with heat pumps of 8kW output.
An innovative technology system that uses solar energy to heat buildings all year round is being installed for the first time in a commercial property.
The Zero Carbon Solution, which combines PV-T, heat pump and thermal energy storage, is being fitted into a 550m² office building in Faversham, Kent. Located at the Foundry business park, the property is a standard metal-framed construction and will boast no obvious visible signs of its carbon neutral credentials.
Built by developers Quinn Estates, the commercial unit will be home to renewable energy specialist Newform Energy, which is a joint venture partner in the Zero Carbon Solution with house builder Caplin Homes.
A survey of more than 100 real estate investors across Europe has shown that a huge majority are in favour of certification schemes that recognise building sustainability. Almost two-thirds say their preferred scheme is BREEAM, the standard which is rolled out through a network of European and scheme operators.
The findings of this independent survey by international law firm DLA Piper, have been published in a report called Towards a Greener Future, which was launched last week at MIPM 2014 in Cannes.
Solardome Industries, Southampton, UK, is celebrating moving in day with the Hjertefolger family. Their Nature House on a remote island near Bodo, in the Arctic Circle has now become their home and fulfils their lifetime dream of creating a sustainable, self-contained environment.
This Norwegian eco-project comprises a 15m diameter SOLARDOME® PRO geodesic dome, which covers the entire house and part of the garden. Built in just three weeks, the single-glazed dome stands 7.5m tall and contains 360 glass panels. With 832m of recycled aluminium framework, the dome has been designed to withstand the extreme wind and snow loading conditions of the Arctic Circle, at least five times that of the UK.
