© Copenblogen
Ecology has become one of the priorities of today's world, especially when CO2 emissions increase, certain presidents are opposed to believing that there is climate change and overpopulation forces us to take new measures to control the environment. Denmark, like its other northern European neighbors, continues to set an example of its sustainable good work, being its peculiar Green Lighthouse the best example of this new sustainable era.
The Green Lighthouse: sustainable buildings
© E-Architect
The importance of applying new sustainable measures in urban areas has become a priority when pollution in large cities is one of the most important triggers of climate change against which certain countries and companies have been initiating an exhaustive crusade for years, although still much remains to be done.
Northern Europe is possibly one of the areas of the world most aware of this reality, judging by the sustainability of countries such as Norway, Sweden, Finland or also Denmark, the one considered as happiest country in the world According to a last survey carried out in 2016, one of the reasons being examples such as the Faro Verde, a building inaugurated in 2009 and converted into the headquarters of the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Copenhagen.
The Green Lighthouse in Copenhagen is about Denmark's first building to be fully sustainable, being granted the American certification LEED Gold: LEED (Leadership in Energy and Enviromental Design, or Leader in Energy and Environmental Design) and in turn Gold, one of the five levels of this certification, achieved by receiving 68 points before from the organization in charge.
Conceived as a typical Danish construction with soft colors, the Green Lighthouse was built by Christensen & Co and cost 47 million US dollars. Its construction did not take more than a year of process.
© Velux
The Green Lighthouse has a cylindrical shape, compensating for a minimal surface with a larger volume, endowed with a white and diaphanous interior environment through which the sun constantly penetrates. And it is that if we pay attention to the roof of the building, we will verify that it is inclined towards the south for a reason: collect the maximum amount of solar rays in order to be able to provide the system with sufficient energy.
This is one of the most sustainable measures of a building that is fully illuminated by natural sunlight during the day, while the open windows facilitate intelligent ventilation that takes advantage of the coastal winds of the Danish country. All that energy is accumulated to, at night, allow the building to be illuminated and the students and teachers can continue to benefit from the facilities of the Faculty.
Thanks to all these implementations, the Green Lighthouse of Denmark save up to 75% of total energy, an achievement for what is the first carbon neutral building in Denmark and a perfect model to follow when it comes to continuing to implement better sustainability in urban routes not only in the country of The Little Mermaid, but anywhere in the world.
“With the Green Lighthouse becoming the first building certified as sustainable in Denmark, an important signal is born when it comes to creating relationships between public institutions and companies to achieve unique results in the field of the environment. The Gold rating also increases the understanding and interest in sustainable certification by the construction industry, which is important considering that buildings in Europe cause up to 40% of all CO2 emissions, so that it makes for enormous potential for progress, ”said Martin Lidegaard, Minister for Climatology, Energy and Construction and later Minister for Foreign Affairs of Denmark at the time.
A few words that do nothing but convince us of the need to implement new improvements in urban areas of cities around the world not only as a way of caring for the environment, but also to set a social example, to make the world aware of the need to fight as soon as possible against climate change.
What do you think of this Green Lighthouse?