Plans have been submitted to the City of London for Citicape House, a 382-key five-star hotel.
Located on Holborn Viaduct at what will become the City’s “Cultural Mile,” the Sheppard Robson-designed project will feature 40,000 sf of workspace, a sky bar on the tenth floor, meeting and events space, a spa, a restaurant on the ground level, and co-working space.
The most striking element of the project, however, is the 40,000 sf of living wall that will be integrated into the facade, which, upon completion, will become Europe’s largest living wall. The living wall is projected to annually capture over eight tons of carbon, produce six tons of oxygen, trap 500kg of particulate matter, and lower the local temperature by three to five degrees celsius.
In addition to the living wall, a new public green space on the roof features views of St. Paul’s Cathedral and the surrounding city. The greenery continues to wrap the building at the roof level with spaces designed for threatened native wildflower species. The building has an Urban Greening Factor (introduced as part of The London Plan) of 1.37, exceeding the mandated 0.3 by over 45 times.
See Also: A guitar-shaped hotel is South Florida’s latest beacon
“Rather than having an isolated patch of greenery, we felt that an immersive and integrated approach would have the biggest impact on the local environmental conditions and making a better and more liveable city, as well as articulating a clear architectural statement,” said Dan Burr, Partner, Sheppard Robson, in a release.
The proposed building showcases new ideas about how the built environment can address pertinent issues in cities such as air quality, climate change, and air pollution.
Related Stories
| Oct 21, 2014
Inside LEED v4: The view from the MEP engineering seats
Much of the spirited discussion around LEED v4 has been centered on the Materials & Resources Credit. At least one voice in the wilderness is shouting for greater attention to another huge change in LEED: the shift to ASHRAE 90.1-2010 as the new reference standard for Energy & Atmosphere prerequisites and credits.
| Oct 16, 2014
Perkins+Will white paper examines alternatives to flame retardant building materials
The white paper includes a list of 193 flame retardants, including 29 discovered in building and household products, 50 found in the indoor environment, and 33 in human blood, milk, and tissues.
| Oct 15, 2014
Harvard launches ‘design-centric’ center for green buildings and cities
The impetus behind Harvard's Center for Green Buildings and Cities is what the design school’s dean, Mohsen Mostafavi, describes as a “rapidly urbanizing global economy,” in which cities are building new structures “on a massive scale.”
| Oct 14, 2014
USGBC awards individuals, firms for leading the way in sustainable construction
This year’s Leadership Award recipients include Christine Ervin, David Orr, Jim DeCesare, Lloyd Alter, Tom Paladino, The Near Westside Initiative, and Mars, Inc.
| Sep 29, 2014
Organically grown bricks, urban flood control system among 2014 Holcim Award winners
The 13 Holcim Award winners for North America illustrate how sustainable construction continues to evolve.
| Sep 29, 2014
Report finds links between office design, health and productivity
A new report from the World Green Building Council finds “overwhelming evidence” to support office design as a significant influencer of the health, wellbeing and productivity of staff.
| Sep 16, 2014
Studies reveal growing demand for LEED-credentialed professionals across building sector
The study showed that demand for the LEED Accredited Professional and LEED Green Associate credentials grew 46 percent over a 12-month period.
| Sep 15, 2014
Sustainability rating systems: Are they doomed?
None of the hundreds of existing green building rating systems is perfect. Some of them are too documentation-heavy. Some increase short-term project cost. Some aren’t rigorous enough or include contentious issues, writes HDR's Michaella Wittmann.
| Sep 12, 2014
Armstrong first in Pennsylvania to earn LEED Platinum recertification from USGBC
The Armstrong facility is the first building in Pennsylvania and among only 17 buildings globally to achieve recertification at the highest level possible under USGBC’s LEED-EBOM program.
| Sep 7, 2014
USGBC + American Chemistry Council: Unlikely partners in green building
In this new partnership, LEED will benefit from the materials expertise of ACC and its member companies. We believe this has the potential to be transformational, writes Skanska USA's President and CEO Michael McNally.
