The sustainable community is the new market niche

I propose to developers and to their architects a new prospective in approaching the real estate market that could give them new opportunities.

by Felicia Nitu in category Sustainability / Energy

Published on 12/30/2009 | 646 readers | 0 comments

Many developers are facing difficulties in figuring out how to market themselves in order to sell their under-construction or still “on paper” projects. 

I propose to developers and to their architects a new prospective in approaching the real estate market that could give them new opportunities.  First of all, developers should rethink their place in building new developments. Specifically, instead of considering themselves as being builders or “businessman” they should be more proactive in creating new communities not just buildings.

A developer could become successful if he/she sees a project as long term investment as oppose to a short time cash in. It means that the decisions in creating the new community should be taken considering the long term use or maintenance of the buildings along with the economical and social prospective for the people living in it.    
It is pretty obvious that a new development should be located in a place that provides an economical incentive (i.e.  job opportunities). A self-sustainable community should provide sufficient jobs to cover the demand of its inhabitants in order to survive. On the other hand, the living expenses should be sufficiently low so that the income value to be proportional with the profit of a local company. Also, a developer should provide all basic living services on-site (i.e. food production) in order to keep the living costs low.   

Green/ecological infrastructure in a self-sustainable development is just as important for the new inhabitants as its economical attractiveness.    

Some developers may say: “All  sounds good, but how?”.  My answer consists in presenting a project “Eco City”, very close to Romania, in Montecorvo-Logroño,  Spain.
 
“Eco City” project - Key Data
Project Start Date: 2007 (entered competition)
Construction Start Date: First buildings could go up by 2013
Cost: €388m, of which €40m will be invested in renewable energy technology
Site Size: 56ha
Project Size: 6ha (buildings)
Architect: MVRDV
Co-Architect: GRAS
Client: LMB and Grupo Progea
Environmental Engineer: ARUP
 
Eco City site
In La Rioja, Spain, a northern province famous for wine, government officials have approved a plan for an eco city on 56 hectare site. The Logroño Montecorvo eco city achieved a carbon-neutral community in which residents use only solar and wind energy generated on site. 
In 2007 MVRDV worked with the Spanish office GRAS to enter a competition for a sustainable urban extension of the city of Logroño. Logroño is a medium size city of approximately 130.000 inhabitants. The program consists of approximately 3.000 units of social housing and its complementary program:  schools, social buildings, and sports facilities. The space made available by building compactly becomes a magnificent eco-park, a mix of landscape and energy production.
 
Energy and water sources
The beautiful site is located just north of Logroño on the two small hills of Montecorvo and la Fonsalalda. Because both are arid and steep, some had said they have little environmental value and that building an eco city there would be an enhancement. Yet, the south facing hills not only provide beautiful views of the city, but also provide optimal conditions for solar energy collection using PV-cells. All the buildings arranged in a serpentine line and have a north-south orientation, providing optimal natural lighting and natural ventilation. By making use of the height differences, every apartment takes maximum advantage of the views. The roofs of the lower situated slabs are accessible and offer possibilities to create a magnificent public space overlooking the landscape of La Rioja. Southern units will feature green roofs with porous paving. Residents can socialize on these plazas.
          
The windmills stand at the top of the hills, catching the wind; a landmark for the area. Combined, the solar and wind energy collected are capable of fulfilling the energy need for the 3.000 units of social housing. According to one estimate, sourcing solar power in this way eliminates the emission of 3,500t of greenhouse gases annually. To the north of the buildings, windmills on top of the hills will provide the rest of the energy.
For irrigation, the city will reuse 200,00m³ of grey water each year. The community will also have water purification systems.
 
Urban set-up
Only 10% of the site is occupied by buildings. Another 73% will be a combination of green space (including wind and solar farms) and paved areas (such as pathways). Finally, 16% will be a highway into the city. The idea is to build compactly, minimizing the impact on the landscape and simultaneously minimizes building costs. 
 
Conclusions
The Eco city is not built yet in order to have quantitative data to compare them against the initial expectations. Nevertheless, this type of new developments has been proposed on the market by experienced developers in a country with tradition in real estate. I would consider that the new concept is valid since Romania has followed close the real estate trend from its boom to its fall. My proposal is to continue following them and not wait for another miracle.