BedZED is a mixed–tenure, mixed-use development designed to demonstrate everything from the re-use of brownfield land, the creation of a sustainable community, the efficient control of energy, water and waste and the benefits of a combined heat and power system. Designed by Bill Dunster for The Peabody Trust, BedZED is the UK’s first large-scale carbon neutral community, designed and built so not to add to the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Not only does it have green sedum roofs but the project adopted a 35 mile radius limit for sourcing brick, concrete aggregate, precast floor planks and hardwood as well as using second hand materials wherever practicable. The wind-driven ventilation cowls that feed the building’s heat-exchange system, enabling around 70% of the warmth of the outgoing air to be recovered, are highly visible elements of the development’s zero energy design. All the buildings are designed to maximise passive solar energy, with photovoltaic panels on the roofs and used as cladding. These panels not only generate electricity but, in conjunction with the ventilation cowls and high performance doors and windows, reduce energy demand to a quarter of a conventional home of similar size. |
