A contractor will be appointed this month to start work on a zero-carbon project that will act as a blueprint for future urban developments.

The scheme at Gallions Park in London’s Docklands is being driven by the London Development Agency and comprises of 230 houses on a 1.2 hectare site that will be self-sufficient in energy and produce virtually no CO2 emissions.

The masterplanning of the estate has been devised by Arup, which was appointed following its work on the Dongtan eco-city in China. The buildings have been designed to maximise energy efficiency. Heating is provided by a CHP system fuelled by woodchips from sustainable forests. Additional energy comes from wind turbines and roof mounted PV panels.

The LDA owns a number of sites nearby Gallions Park, the intention is that it will act as the hub for a series of interlinked zero-carbon developments which all generate their electricity, heat and cooling via a decentralised systems.

Currently there are six firms shortlisted to build the scheme.

Source

Building Sustainable Design