URBAN POWER, an architecture firm based in Denmark, has recently unveiled a plan to build nine islands that will be used for fossil-free energy production, act as a flood barrier, and add a publicly accessible nature area.
The land reclamation project, dubbed Holmene, will consist of nine industrial islands, each one surrounded by a “nature belt” that will include areas for sports as well as more tranquil areas for relaxation. Also included will be several small islets and reefs to provide new nature areas for plants and animals to thrive in the water and on land. The new islands will provide approximately 3.08 million sm of new space and will be built and developed stepwise to limit any impression of an unfinished project as construction progresses.
Courtesy URBAN POWER.
See Also: This is the country’s greenest academic building
Surplus soil from the regions building projects, such as its subway, will be used to create the islands. This surplus soil will also be used to create a natural protective landscape along the existing coastline, making it more resilient toward future flooding and providing an improved bike route.
Courtesy URBAN POWER.
The largest of the nine islands is reserved for the development of green technologies. It will be home to the largest waste-to-energy plant in Northern Europe. This plant will handle waste from the region’s 1.5 million citizens and turn it into clean water, resources, and biogas. When this waste-to-energy plant is combined with the heat storage, wind mills, and other green technologies across Holmene, an annual reduction of at least 70,000 tons of CO2 and production of more than 300,000 MWh fossil free energy can be achieved. This is equivalent to the power consumption of 25% of the population of Copenhagen.
The project is expected to be completed in 2040.
Courtesy URBAN POWER.
Courtesy Hvidovre kommune/URBAN POWER.
Related Stories
| May 3, 2011
What green building types are most likely to get noticed?
The general public isn’t terribly aware of green buildings in their area, according to a TD Bank survey of 1,510 consumers within major metro markets in its Maine to Florida footprint. The bank conducted the poll to better understand consumers’ knowledge of green or sustainable buildings. According to the poll, these green buildings are most likely to get noticed.
| May 3, 2011
Green building materials in U.S. to exceed $71 billion in 2015
Demand for green building materials is projected to expand 13.0% annually to $71.1 billion in 2015, slightly outpacing the growth of building construction expenditures over that period, according to a new study from The Freedonia Group, Inc., a Cleveland-based industry market research firm. While the rising use of green materials will support gains, the most important driver for demand will be the expected rebound in the construction market.
| Apr 26, 2011
Ed Mazria on how NYC can achieve carbon neutrality in buildings by 2030
The New York Chapter of the American Institute of Architects invited Mr. Mazria to present a keynote lecture to launch its 2030 training program. In advance of that lecture, Jacob Slevin, co-founder of DesignerPages.com and a contributor to The Huffington Post, interviewed Mazria about creating a sustainable vision for the future and how New York City's architects and designers can rise to the occasion.
| Apr 22, 2011
GSA testing 16 emerging sustainable technologies, practices
The GSA is testing and evaluating 16 emerging sustainable building technologies and practices in select federal facilities under its Green Proving Ground program. Testing will determine the most effective technologies that may then be replicated on a wider-scale basis throughout the GSA inventory with the goal of transforming markets for these technologies.
| Apr 19, 2011
Is a building sustainable if it kills birds?
Migratory birds were flying into the windows and falling, dead or injured, to the foot of the LEED-Platinum FBI building in Chicago. The FBI building isn't the only LEED-certified structure to cause problems for migratory birds, however. Some of the more than 33,000 LEED-certified buildings in the U.S. use large amounts of glass to bring in natural light and save on energy—and all that glass can confuse birds.
| Apr 19, 2011
Philadelphia opens massive, LEED-Silver recycling center
The 60,000-square-foot single-stream material recovery facility (MRF) in Philadelphia will process around 20,000 tons of newspaper, cardboard, aluminum, glass, and plastic every month, and will simplify the collection of recyclable materials and increase recycling rates by 50%.
| Apr 19, 2011
AIA announces top 10 green Projects for 2011
The American Institute of Architects Committee on the Environment announced its Top 10 Green Projects for 2011. Among the winners: Cherokee Studios in Los Angeles, the Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden, Colo., and the Vancouver Convention Centre West in Vancouver, British Columbia.
| Apr 19, 2011
BMW dealers driving up sustainable construction in NYC
BMW North America will invest $60 million in two green dealerships in Manhattan. The new stores, which are being designed to cut energy use by 25%, reflect the auto company’s effort to reposition itself as environmentally conscious.
| Apr 19, 2011
15 mind-blowing skyscrapers
Our friends at Inhabitat have rounded up 15 incredible buildings—from underground cities to vertical farms to bio-fuel power plants and skyscrapers.
