6 of the World's Most Sustainable Buildings

6 OF THE WORLD'S MOSTSUSTAINABLE BUILDINGS

The world’s best buildings are not only measured by their security or design, today sustainability plays a vital role in the longevity and attraction of office space. In fact, the sustainability trend is here to stay. From the entry point where energy consumption and carbon footprint are minimised to waste management, water recycling and light fittings, buildings are now built with five and six-star sustainability design factors in mind.

According to the World Commission on the Environment and Development, sustainability is “a form of development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.”

1. One Angel Square Manchester, UK

Manchester's One Angel Square is the headquarters of the Co-operative Group. Housing 3,000 employees, it has been awarded an "Outstanding" Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Methodology (BREEAM) rating. According to the Co-op, the building is "powered by a pure plant oil fed Combined Heat and Power (CHP) system and utilises rapeseed oil which is grown on The Co-operative's own farm land." Excess energy is sent back to the grid. Other features include LED lighting and a system to recycle waste and rain water.

2. The Crystal London, UK

With both Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Platinum and BREEAM Outstanding ratings, the Crystal, in London's east end, offers a fossil fuel free vision of the future. Run entirely on electricity – the majority of which is generated by photovoltaic solar panels – the building is lit by a combination of LED and fluorescent lights, which are switched on or off depending on the amount of daylight present. The building's roof collects rainwater, while sewage is treated, recycled and re-used onsite.

3. Bahrain World Trade Center Manama, Bahrain

Currently home to the world's tallest building, the Burj Khalifa in the Middle East has become a hotbed for innovative, stunning skyscrapers. In Bahrain, it's impossible to ignore the Bahrain World Trade Centre's clean energy credentials. Three huge wind turbines – 29 metres in diametre– are sandwiched between two vast 'sail' shaped towers, generating clean energy for the building.

4. Apple Campus 2 Silicon Valley, USA

Apple CEO, Tim Cook, is calling it the greenest building on the planet. Apple’s strategy is to power the entire campus with 100% renewable energy and it promises to plant at least 7,000 new trees and use recycled materials. Apple projects its maximum energy use across the entire 548,000 m 2 campus – including office spaces, research centres, parking structures and other buildings – to be around 142,000,000 kilowatt-hours per year. Based on the total area of all the buildings on site, Apple Campus 2 will have an energy use intensity of about 257 kWh per m 2 per year. That easily beats typical office buildings in the United States, which use around 500 kWh per m 2 a year.

5. Bullitt Center Seattle, USA

The Bullitt Center is the greenest commercial building in the world. Nestled into Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighbourhood, it used only about 32 kWh per m2 in its first full year of operation. Producing more electricity from rooftop solar than it consumes in kilowatt-hours per year, the Bullitt Center is unique even among the greenest buildings in the world.

6. Shanghai Tower Shanghai, China

Shanghai Tower stands 632 metres tall and is the second-tallest building on the planet, after Dubai's Burj Khalifa. Wind turbines located near the top of the structure power its outer lighting as well as park areas, while transparent inner and outer "skins" will allow natural light to flood the building, cutting down the need for artificial lighting. Smart controls will monitor everything from ventilation to heating and lighting, helping to cut energy bills in the process.