woods bagot and buro happold: 'zero e'

‘zero e’ – pilot project along the yangtze river in chongqing, china

international companies – architectural firm woods bagot and multi-disciplinary engineering
consultancy buro happold – have developed a ‘zero emissions design’ (zero-e) – a new model
for large-scale sustainable development that significantly advances the construction industry’s
contribution to realizing a zero carbon economy by 2050. the announcement was made at
the 2010 bloomberg businessweek global green business summit in shanghai.

‘zero -e’ tower

involving the expertise of multi-disciplinary teams, underpinned by cutting-edge parametric
technologies and based on a comprehensive approach to sustainability, ‘zero-e’ was created
to deliver on the promise of zero carbon and zero emissions development. while current approaches
to sustainable development reduce the environmental harm caused by the construction and operation
of new buildings, ‘zero-e’ goes beyond reducing the impact of new development to creating buildings
that contribute to the healing of compromised human and ecological systems.

‘zero -e’ tower

the joint initiative represents an emerging, revolutionary approach to sustainable design
and challenges the industry to fulfill its leadership role in support of the UN compact on climate
change and china’s commitment, made last november, to reducing carbon dioxide emissions per
unit of GDP by 40-45% by the year 2020, compared with 2005 levels. as their ‘test case,’
the joint team has chosen a typical development type for china.

‘zero -e’ tower facade

the ‘zero-e’ pilot project examines the development potential of an
industrial site on the yangtze
river in chongqing, china. the study
scheme proposes a 450,000-square-meter mixed-use development,
featuring
an 82-storey office and hotel tower, which will continually monitor and
react to internal
and external climatic conditions for maximum
performance. a ‘holistic resource system’ integrates
photovoltaics,
solar thermal panels, absorption chillers, a bio-gas fuel cell and an
anaerobic waste
digester into a closed-loop system that greatly
improves the building’s operational performance while
minimizing resource consumption and waste production. beyond the technological
advancements,
zero-e’s systems approach encompasses the human dimension
of sustainable development, seeking
to create socially and economically
thriving communities that:

– produce zero emissions
– create more energy than they require on an annual basis
– process their own waste and release only beneficial output
– release cleaner air than they takes in
– heal compromised sites and ecosystem
– restore natural habitat
– reconnect humans and nature
– increase occupant health
– build financial value with ecological value
– exhibit material integrity
– delight and beautify their surroundings
– supply 100% of their water needs using collection and closed loops

woods bagot and buro happold undertook extensive research, including
the development of
new parametric modelling, tools to design and test
zero-e concepts. in the pilot project’s next
phase, the partnership
will collaborate with development partners in the application of zero-e

solutions.

‘zero -e’ tower