Winning Entry of Finland’s Low2No Competition: c_life

On September 1, Bustler reported that the proposal “c_life – City as living factory of ecology” by British/German/Italian team ARUP/Sauerbruch Hutton/Experientia/Galley Eco Capital was selected as the first prize winner of the sustainable development design competition Low2No. This Finish-organized competition invited teams from around the world to submit concepts for an energy- and innovation block in Jätkäsaari, Helsinki.

The c_life proposal is based around the concept of the ‘Climate Neutral District’: “A low carbon building cannot be made into a no carbon building without addressing larger scale issues such as energy infrastructure and mobility that cannot be solved within a single block. By pooling the resources of like‐minded neighbors, large scale investments could be made in renewable energy projects to offset carbon emissions. A district approach would also make low carbon initiatives more effective.”

c_life by ARUP – Sauerbruch Hutton – Experientia – Galley Eco Capital

The extract from the c_life opening statement explains the team’s development approach:

In 1990, Finland became the first country in the world to establish a carbon tax. Now, 20 years later, SITRA and Finland will demonstrate to the world a bold solution for cities and how they can address climate change.

Our vision is to join SITRA on this journey of design and delight that will demonstrate and ultimately diffuse the ideas, policies, technologies, strategies and economic frameworks that conceive the City as a Living Factory of Ecology.

c_life by ARUP – Sauerbruch Hutton – Experientia – Galley Eco Capital
c_life (City as Living Factory of Ecology) is a real time and real space demonstration of how to live, work, play and learn, producing innovation that benefits people, the environment and the economy.c_life will attract Living, Leisure and Innovation + Entrepreneurship creating an environment that will bring people and families to live and work in this new centre of Helsinki, demonstrating that moving in to a well designed and sustainable city block is an affirmative action leading to a healthier, more productive and creative lifestyle.

c_life is a living factory of ecology where SITRA will attract Start Ups and Companies by creating a stimulating environment for entrepreneurship, where prototyping of built environment policies, technologies and services can be showcased.

c_life by ARUP – Sauerbruch Hutton – Experientia – Galley Eco Capital
c_life is a carbon negative initiative. People living in c_life will see their carbon footprint reduced by 38% in 2012 and by 44% in 2037, compared to living elsewhere in Helsinki. An offsite wind farm, funded by the development, will offset the remainder of the carbon, making c_life carbon negative by 2022.c_life’s 50 ideas to reduce carbon emissions will enable people to understand choices about their energy, transport, food and consumer goods to impact their carbon and ecological footprints in a transparent, engaging, fun and cost effective way.

c_life is the first to benefit from the Climate Neutral District, a governance and economic framework that ensures a cost effective and holistic delivery of Jatkäsaari, as a carbon negative proposition. This proposal ensures that individuals, communities and companies investing in it will share the resulting financial and environmental benefits in a timely and concrete manner. This will strongly contribute to make c_life and Jätkäsaari replicable, vibrant and a resilient carbon negative community, where businesses want to be and people want to live.

Following are the concept summaries of the other four finalists:

Rebuilding 2.0: REX/Croxton Collaborative/NOW (New York, USA) – Transsolar Energietechnik – Magnusson Klemencic Associates – Bureau Bas Smets – 2x4 – Arup New York – Front – Jonathan Rose Companies

Densification: Sustainability and carbon emissions reduction through densification rests on a simple idea: create less impact by doing more. Build more transportation infrastructure and public services to allow people to drive less. Provide more housing in smaller areas to reduce the energy waste that is a biproduct of distance.

Cradle of Innovation: WSP Group (London, UK) – Heatherwick Studios – B&M Architects – JK MM Architects – Space Syntax – Helsinki University – AA Palmberg Ltd – Pekka Himanen – Pauli Aalto‐SetäläDecarbonization Strategy: Carbon emissions are easy to measure when one looks at simple systems, like a single power station. But when the goal is to decarbonize a building or district over the lifecycle, measurements become far more complicated. By extending carbon accounting methodologies to include embedded carbon, building operations and individual lifestyle, the opportunities and challenges to a low to no carbon development are revealed.

Low Carbon‐High Urban: Peter Rose & Partners (Boston, USA) – Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates – Guy Nordenson and Associates – Matthias Schuler, Transsolar Climate Engineering – Mobility in Chain – ARO Architectural Research OfficeUrban Landscape Strategies: An urban area is only sustainable if its occupants and civic leadership feel that it has value. But value in cities is not only measured by economic development or energy efficiency. Value is also a reflection of how people feel about a place. For this reason, it is important to consider how the urban landscape will contribute to a more sustainable urbanism.

ReciproCity: Bjarke Ingels Group, BIG (Copenhagen, Denmark) – Vahanen – ARUP Foresight Innovation – Transsolar Energietechnik – Anttinen Oiva Arkkitehdit AoA – Masu Planning – Passiivitalo.fi – Pasi Mäenpää – Mikko JalasWaste Energy Recovery: Most of our modern systems were developed in an era of cheap, abundant energy. For that reason, many systems are wasteful. A more holistic approach to energy cycles provides and opportunity to extract resources from waste and redirect them into other linked systems. Using waste heat energy from ferries for district heating is one such opportunity.