Developer Lumiere Developments has recently announced The Beacon, a 17-story residential tower that will be located in Hemel Hempstead, 25 minutes from London Euston. According to Lumiere Developments, The Beacon will become the most sustainable residential tower in the world upon completion, saving residents up to £11,000 a year in living expenses.
Some of the key features for the new building include:
- The highest density solar farm in the world (0.8mw on <0.5 acres)
- Solar photovoltaic panels – embedded into the solar balustrades at each floor level
- Triple-glazing to all apartments
- Quadruple-glazing to upper level apartments
- Ground Source Heat Pumps – to extract heat from the basement of the building to heat the hot water
- Air Source Heat Pumps to extract heat from the atrium
- 100% rainwater harvesting (collected at roof and balcony levels) for toilet flushing and irrigation of the green planters on each external balcony and internal arboretum
- MHVR – Mechanical Heat and Ventilation Recovery System – to ventilate apartments and create comfort cooling
- Thermal emissivity of less than 0.2W/M2K
- UK’s tallest residential indoor arboretum
- UK’s largest underground automated robotic car park (supplied by Skyline Parking) - 319 car park spaces underground in less than half an acre
The Beacon does not want to be a one-trick pony, however. In addition to all of the sustainable features, a myriad of luxury amenities will also be included. Each one of the 272 apartments will be move in ready and can be accessed from the central atrium via glass elevators that overlook the arboretum. All apartments will include smart-controlled thermostats, comfort cooling systems, and automated blinds.
The 13th floor will be home to the premium Skyline apartments, which will feature terraces with winter gardens, hot tubs, and electro-glass for privacy.
All residents will have access to a 2,120-sf gym and a communal roof garden with an observatory at the top of the building. An in-house electric car and electric bike share scheme (a first for a residential development in the UK) will be included. Residents with cars will have access to the UK’s largest automated underground car parking system with 319 spaces. Skyline Parking will manage the system, which cuts 80% of CO2 emissions compared to a standard car park and can also reduce the wait time by 50% and car insurance by up to 20%.
The tower is set to be complete in 2018 and will offer studio, one, two, and three bedroom balconied apartments and luxury penthouses. Prices will start at £217,950.
Related Stories
| Aug 11, 2010
Historic building to be restored in Kansas City
Construction has begun on the conversion of the historic 17-story Home Savings Association building in Kansas City, Mo. The transformed structure, to be known as Grand Boulevard Lofts, will house 134 apartment units. The $18-million project, designed by architect Rosemann & Associates, follows a revitalization of downtown Kansas City, where there is high demand for affordable housing to ser...
| Aug 11, 2010
Old factory converted from hearth to home
A former briquette factory in Cologne-Frechen, Germany, was converted into a mixed-use building by Astoc Architects & Planners, Cologne, in association with Rheinischen Amt für Denkmalpflege—the Rhenish agency for historic preservation. The roughly 172,200-sf building includes a mix of residential condominiums, lofts, and leased commercial space.
| Aug 11, 2010
And the world's tallest building is…
At more than 2,600 feet high, the Burj Dubai (right) can still lay claim to the title of world's tallest building—although like all other super-tall buildings, its exact height will have to be recalculated now that the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) announced a change to its height criteria.
| Aug 11, 2010
Luxury high-rise meets major milestone
A topping off ceremony was held in late October for 400 Fifth Avenue, a 57,000-sf high-rise that includes a 214-room luxury hotel and 190 high-end residential condominiums. Developed by Bizzi & Partners Development and designed by Gwathmey Siegel & Associates Architects, the 60-story tower in midtown Manhattan sits atop a smaller-scale 10-story base, which creates a street façade t...
| Aug 11, 2010
Mixed-use Seattle high-rise earns LEED Gold
Seattle’s 2201 Westlake development became the city’s first mixed-use and high-rise residential project to earn LEED Gold. Located in Seattle’s South Lake Union neighborhood, the newly completed 450,000-sf complex includes 300,000 sf of Class A office space, 135 luxury condominiums (known as Enso), and 25,000 sf of retail space.
| Aug 11, 2010
Triangular tower targets travelers
Chicago-based Goettsch Partners is designing a new mixed-use high-rise for the Chinese city of Dalian, located on the Yellow Sea coast. Developed by Hong Kong-based China Resources Land Limited, the tower will have almost 1.1 million sf, which includes a 377-room Grand Hyatt hotel, 84 apartments, three restaurants, banquet space, and a spa and fitness center.
| Aug 11, 2010
Brooklyn's tallest building reaches 514 feet
With the Brooklyner now topped off, the 514-foot-high apartment tower is Brooklyn's tallest building. Designed by New York-based Gerner Kronick + Valcarcel Architects and developed by The Clarett Group, the soaring 51-story tower is constructed of cast-in-place concrete and clad with window walls and decorative metal panels.
| Aug 11, 2010
RMJM unveils design details for $1B green development in Turkey
RMJM has unveiled the design for the $1 billion Varyap Meridian development it is master planning in Istanbul, Turkey's Atasehir district, a new residential and business district. Set on a highly visible site that features panoramic views stretching from the Bosporus Strait in the west to the Sea of Marmara to the south, the 372,000-square-meter development includes a 60-story tower, 1,500 resi...
| Aug 11, 2010
'Feebate' program to reward green buildings in Portland, Ore.
Officials in Portland, Ore., have proposed a green building incentive program that would be the first of its kind in the U.S. Under the program, new commercial buildings, 20,000 sf or larger, that meet Oregon's state building code would be assessed a fee by the city of up to $3.46/sf. The fee would be waived for buildings that achieve LEED Silver certification from the U.
| Aug 11, 2010
Colonnade fixes setback problem in Brooklyn condo project
The New York firm Scarano Architects was brought in by the developers of Olive Park condominiums in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn to bring the facility up to code after frame out was completed. The architects designed colonnades along the building's perimeter to create the 15-foot setback required by the New York City Planning Commission.
