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
| Jun 18, 2013
Report: HVAC occupancy sensors could slash building energy demand by 18%
Researchers at the DOE's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory conclude that significant energy savings can be achieved by varying ventilation levels based on the number of people in a given space.
| Jun 17, 2013
DOE launches database on energy performance of 60,000 buildings
The Energy Department today launched a new Buildings Performance Database, the largest free, publicly available database of residential and commercial building energy performance information.
| Jun 5, 2013
USGBC: Free LEED certification for projects in new markets
In an effort to accelerate sustainable development around the world, the U.S. Green Building Council is offering free LEED certification to the first projects to certify in the 112 countries where LEED has yet to take root.
| May 28, 2013
LED lighting's risks and rewards
LED lighting technology provides unique advantages, but it’s also important to understand its limitations for optimized application.
| May 9, 2013
Post-tornado Greensburg, Kan., leads world in LEED-certified buildings per capita
Six years after a tornado virtually wiped out the town, Greensburg, Kan., is the world's leading community in LEED-certified buildings per capita.
| May 3, 2013
'LEED for all GSA buildings,' says GSA Green Building Advisory Committee
The Green Building Advisory Committee established by the General Services Administration, officially recommended to GSA that the LEED green building certification system be used for all GSA buildings as the best measure of building efficiency.
| Apr 25, 2013
Colorado State University, DLR Group team to study 12 high-performance schools
DLR Group and the Institute for the Built Environment at Colorado State University have collaborated on a research project to evaluate the effect of green school design on occupants and long-term building performance.
| Apr 22, 2013
Top 10 green building projects for 2013 [slideshow]
The AIA's Committee on the Environment selected its top ten examples of sustainable architecture and green design solutions that protect and enhance the environment.
| Apr 16, 2013
5 projects that profited from insulated metal panels
From an orchid-shaped visitor center to California’s largest public works project, each of these projects benefited from IMP technology.
| Apr 12, 2013
Nation's first 'food forest' planned in Seattle
Seattle's Beacon Food Forest project is transforming a seven-acre lot in the city’s Beacon Hill neighborhood into a self-sustaining, edible public park.