Boasting one of the largest geothermal cooling and heating systems in all of Europe, Meydan Shopping Square, opened in August 2007 by METRO Group Asset Management GmbH & Co., is a 70,000-square-meter (753,474-sf) modern marketplace in the emerging Umraniye district of Istanbul, Turkey. Designed by Foreign Office Architects (FOA) of London, the 50-store shopping square […]
Developed by Hines Italia, Porta Nuova is a mixed-use regeneration project near the centre of Milan on 290,000 square metres (72 ac) of land, of which 170,000 square metres (42 ac) is a public and pedestrian area, including a 90,000-square-metre (22 ac) public park. The development comprises 140,000 square metres (1.5 million sq ft) of office space, 403 residential units, 40,000 square metres (430,445 sq ft) of retail and cultural venues, and 3,000 parking spaces. Located to the north of the city centre in Italy’s most-connected transportation hub, Porta Nuova is one of the largest urban development projects in Europe, involving more than 20 architectural firms from eight countries. The 29-hectare (72 ac) project’s master plan is designed to revitalize an abandoned area while connecting the three adjacent neighbourhoods.
Located just east of downtown Seattle, the Bullitt Center is a six-story green building with more than 44,700 square feet of net rentable office space. The Bullitt Foundation, a nonprofit philanthropic organization with a focus on the environment, worked with local real estate firm Point32 to develop the $32.5 million building. Designed to meet the stringent requirements of the Living Building Challenge (LBC), the Bullitt Center produces all of its electricity on site via a 14,000-square-foot rooftop photovoltaic array. A variety of methods are used in the building to conserve and manage water, including the following: rainwater harvesting; a green roof and a bioswale to treat graywater; and composting toilets. Other green features include geothermal heating and cooling, the use of Forest Stewardship Council–certified wood, and the use of building materials and finishes that are free of 14 classes of toxic chemicals. In addition, although the building has no automobile parking spaces, there is ample bicycle parking in the basement and showers on every floor—except the first—for bicycle and jogging commuters.