Charlotte Fernández
UKIMEA Press Office,Leeds
Waterfront building is first to achieve the highest sustainable building accolades from the world’s two leading accreditation bodies, LEED and BREEAM.
Since opening last year, the Siemens Crystal has quickly become a landmark within London’s emerging Royal Docks district. A flagship for Siemens’ vision of the future of urban sustainability, the Crystal was designed to be a living demonstration of sustainable design.
The ambitious and innovative nature of the design has been ‘officially’ recognized, with Siemens Crystal the first building in the world to earn both LEED Platinum and BREEAM Outstanding accreditations.
“Gaining accreditation from certification bodies such as LEED and BREEAM requires a commitment to integrating sustainability fully into the design process and to being accountable about a design’s impacts. We are proud that Siemens Crystal has achieved the highest-possible sustainable building accreditations. Margaret Hamilton, sustainability consultant
The building’s design includes onsite blackwater recycling, rainwater harvesting, an integrated solar photovoltaic roof, ground source heating and cooling, and mixed mode environmental systems.
Siemens Crystal is an all-electric building, powered by solar photovoltaic cells on its roof and by electricity from the UK National Grid. This means that its carbon footprint is expected to shrink further, as electricity produced by the grid shifts away from fossil fuel sources and toward low and carbon-free generation.
Arup provided a full range of building, civil engineering and specialist services for the project, including management of the LEED and BREEAM accreditation process as well as façade engineering, fire engineering, building physics and water treatment consultancy.
Siemens Crystal has been awarded the British Council of Offices’ 2013 Innovation prize. It has also been highly commended for design and innovation by the UK Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors. It was shortlisted at the 2013 British Construction Industry Awards.