"Cradle to Cradle" - Park 20|20
Cradle to Cradle - Park 20|20
"Park 20|20 is the first of its kind in the world. Built on the principles of Cradle to Cradle it is leading the way in ambition for a circular economy. Park 20|20 is where people, the environment and economic feasibility is the foundation. Many large companies have been attracted already. Let us also inspire you."
Today, many manufacturers don't know what goes into making their products, therefore architects don't know what is in their buildings. This raises the question on how can we ensure that we have both quality materials and quality design.
Quality ingredients + quality design = quality product
With "cradle to cradle," we create a building that contains defined elements which add value and celebrate innovation and enjoyment by enhancing the overall quality.
So far there is only one real estate development that has fully embraced this concept. It's called Park 20|20 and it's a huge mixed use sustainable development project that generates more energy than it consumes and all material used is either recyclable or bio degradable. The buildings would last for centuries for they would be continually adapting to human use. Park 20|20 goes with the idea of building one community to unite all residents and workers gives them a sense of pride, boasting happiness, health and productivity.
Park 20|20 adopts a circular economy approach that creates closed cycles for energy, waste and water. Everything has the potential to be recycled or composted back into the system. The buildings will have a net positive impact on the environment. All materials can be endlessly recycled and are designed for disassembly. There is a large push towards thinking about embodied energy and making sure that the construction materials are not toxic. This give the interior spaces a pure and natural feel. Circulation is natural and productivity and overall health is greatly improved.
For a project like this to be built, there has to have a positive economic impact for it to be viable. This is changing the way real estate development is valued for financing purposes. The value of the reusable materials is now taken into account bringing a new term, "material banking." It highlights the possibility and flexibility of these buildings to adopt to future tenants. Material suppliers retain ownership of the materials as they really don't lose their value over time.
The three main principles for a cradle to cradle project are:
- To negate waste. Everything is a resource for something else. In nature, the waste of one system is food for another.
- To use renewable energy in many forms such as sun, wind, geothermal and gravitational energy.
- To celebrate diversity. The world has astonishing diversity of natural and cultural life. Designs that respond to the unique challenegs and opporitunities offered by each place fit elegantly and effectively into their own niches.
*All images and quotes are the property and ownership of Park 20|20 at www.park2020.com.