Frank Gehry

Beddington Zero Energy Development
(BedZED) environmentally friendly housing
development in Hackbridge, London, England.
It is in the London Borough of Sutton, 2.0 miles
(3 km) north-east of the town of Sutton itself.
Designed to create zero carbon emissions,
it was the first large scale community to do so.

Central Park is a major mixed-use urban renewal project in Sydney, Australia located on Broadway in the suburb of Chippendale. The development is focused on a new public park located just off Broadway of approximately 6,500 square meters (70,000 sq ft) in size. For many decades the southern side of Broadway was dominated by a brewery. The facility closed in the 2000s and the site was put up for sale. Frasers Property purchased the site from the Fosters Group and immediately began to process of conversion to a sustainable, energy independent building.

Green building brings together a vast array of practices, techniques, and skills to reduce and ultimately eliminate the impacts of buildings on the environment and human health. It often emphasizes taking advantage of renewable resources, e.g., using sunlight through passive solar, active solar, and photovoltaic equipment, and using plants and trees through green roofs, rain gardens, and reduction of rainwater run-off. Many other techniques are used, such as using low-impact building materials or using packed gravel or permeable concrete instead of conventional concrete or asphalt to enhance replenishment of ground water.

Green building rating systems such as BREEAM in the United Kingdom, LEED in the United States and Canada, DGNB in Germany, CASBEE in Japan, and VERDE in Spain help consumers determine a structure’s level of environmental performance. They award credits for optional building features that support green design in categories such as location and maintenance of building site, conservation of water, energy, and building materials, and occupant comfort and health. The number of credits generally determines the level of achievement. Today’s architects and engineers are mindful of these guidelines and pushing forward with positive and sustainable solutions.