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| Solar innovation and urban masterplan honoured with Sustainia global solutions awards  Last Thursday evening, in front of an audience of more than a 1,000 people at the Royal Danish Theater in Copenhagen, former Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger announced the winner of the Sustainia Award, a new global award honouring innovative, sustainable solutions and ideas.British Azuri Technologies won the Sustainia Award for their Indigo solar solution for homes in the developing world. The technology allows residents to install small solar panels paid for with scratch-cards. The pay-as-you-go business model was singled out for its promising potential for supplying poor families throughout the developing world with clean, low-cost electricity. 6, 000 families in Kenya, Malawi, Zambia, and South Sudan have already adopted the Azuri solution. Calculations show that the solar solution can cut a family's weekly energy expenses by 50 percent. Community Award winner provide a new way of living The Chicago Lakeside masterplan won the Sustainia Community Award - the solution that received the most votes from the general public. The Chicago Lakeside Development is a 600-acre mixed-use development in Chicago. When complete, this new community will provide a new way of living based on 21st century infrastructure and technologies. ´ Plans include a rich mix of proposed uses, including over 15, 000 residential units and more than 15 million square feet of retail, restaurants, commercial, institutional and research facilities. Open space will include two miles of new park land along the shores of Lake Michigan. Solutions based on Copenhagen experience Danish engineering company Ramboll has been part of the Chicago Lakeside project by developing concepts for district heating and cooling, waste and water based on experience from Copenhagen and current economic drivers. write your comments about the article :: © 2012 Construction News :: home page |