SOM Unveils Plans For a Green Geothermal District in Beijing
Posted By Bridgette Meinhold On February 15, 2010 @ 1:05 am In Architecture,Sustainable Building,Urban design | 1 Comment
SOM [4] recently unveiled plans for a new urban center in Beijing [5]’s Dawangjing District that will feature an integrated heating and cooling solution designed to reduce energy use and carbon emissions. The new development will include a central park that utilizes a geothermal heat-exchange system to help passively heat and cool all of the district’s buildings.
Located 11 kilometers from the Beijing Capital International Airport, the proposed district [5] will include multiple public parks, cultural attractions and high-rise buildings that will welcome visitors to the capital city. Part of the plan to minimize carbon emissions is to use the central park as a “sustainable engine” or geothermal heat-exchange [6], which would help to passively heat and cool the district buildings instead of using water and energy-intensive cooling towers.
The new urban district will also have a strong focus on public transportation [7], aiming to get 80% of residents and workers traveling by subway, streetcar, biking or walking. Multiple transit stations are proposed along the M15 subway line, which ends at the International Airport. A series of streetcar lines have also been proposed along with a vast network of bicycle lanes [8], which will help reduce car traffic.
+ SOM [9]
Article printed from Inhabitat – Sustainable Design Innovation, Eco Architecture, Green Building: http://inhabitat.com
URL to article: http://inhabitat.com/som-unveils-plans-for-a-green-geothermal-district-in-beijing/
URLs in this post:
[1] Tweet: http://twitter.com/share
[2] Share on Tumblr: http://www.tumblr.com/share
[3] Email: mailto:?subject=http://inhabitat.com/som-unveils-plans-for-a-green-geothermal-district-in-beijing/
[4] SOM: http://www.inhabitat.com/2009/09/10/treasure-island-reveals-new-sustainable-development-plan/
[5] Beijing: http://www.inhabitat.com/2009/10/26/som-wins-competition-to-create-beijings-sustainable-city-center/
[6] geothermal heat-exchange: http://www.inhabitat.com/2008/04/09/orly-to-utilize-geothermal-heating/
[7] public transportation: http://www.inhabitat.com/2009/12/07/new-york-city-unveils-new-silent-electric-bus/
[8] vast network of bicycle lanes: http://www.inhabitat.com/2010/02/10/video-boston-bike-czar-nicole-freedman-talks-bike-share-urban-cycling/
[9] + SOM: http://www.som.com/content.cfm/www_home
Click here to print.