One of the big challenges on the bumpy road towards a more sustainable world are the cities. Today about 80 percent of global CO2 emissions come from cities in Sweden 60 percen). With more and more people moving into urban areas – according to UN about 70 percent of the World’s population will be city dwellers by year 2050 – cities will have to change in many ways if they are to be both environmentally and socially sustainable.
This issue occupies a lot of brains all over the world, resulting in some interesting projects that can work as pieces in this immense puzzle. One of them is Kungsbrohuset, an office building next to the central station of Stockholm, which will be inaugurated this week. It tries to gather most of the existing knowledge of how to make a building more environmentally conscious.
For example the excess body heat of the 200 000 travellers rushing through the adjacent Central Station of Stockholm will be used to at least partially heat Kungsbrohuset. Energy efficient windows allow the daylight to enter, lowering energy use for lighting, but shuts the summer heat out. Fiber optics are used to lead sunlight into darker areas of the house.
But constructing a more sustainable building doesn’t only mean using the latest technology. Another important thing is making it easier for people to make better choices. One way is offering those working in the building access to safe parking spaces for their bicycles, the possibility to take a shower and also facilities to repair their bikes.
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