October 1, 2008—The British research/consultancy/certification organization BRE has announced that its sustainable communities methodology GreenPrint will be used to develop part of the new Zuidas business district in South Amsterdam—GreenPrint’s first use in mainland Europe.
Called Ravel, the new development will comprise office space, high-end retail, residential units, and key local amenities including a school, new sports fields and leisure facilities, and landscaped green space.
The Dutch Green Building Council (DGBC) says it wants Ravel to be seen as a model for sustainable communities in the Netherlands. DGBC is piloting GreenPrint on the Ravel development, and if successful it is expected to be used on other sites across the Netherlands.
Zuidas is a 300-hectare site comprising of 2.7 million square meters of development space. The Ravel site is currently a mixture of car parking, wasteland and soccer fields. Work is scheduled to begin in 2012.
GreenPrint is a methodology that BRE recently developed to help design teams deliver masterplans that maximize the potential for sustainable communities. It can be applied to a wide range of development types ranging from urban extensions to business parks. GreenPrint covers eight key areas: Climate Change, Resources, Transport, Ecology, Business, Community, Placemaking and Buildings.
