The University of Cambridge's proposed development to the North West of the city is unashamedly ambitious, as it will provide for much of the research accommodation and many of the homes for staff that the University is likely to need over the next 20 years.

However from the outset of developing the plans it was decided that this ambition should permeate the entire project - in particular with regard to the site's environmental and sustainability credentials. With this at the forefront of their minds, the project architects AECOM set about developing a plan that not only meets, but exceeds, current levels of sustainability in new build projects.

"We are very confident that the North West Cambridge project will be one of the most sustainable developments in the United Kingdom." said Sam Archer, Associate Director of Sustainability and Building Engineering at AECOM. "That may sound like a bold claim but we have used the latest technologies and adopted best practice from overseas to make sure that this development will raise the bar for new developments."

As an example of the innovation that will be used in the builds, the development will feature a central Energy Centre that will use gas to generate power and heat for the surrounding residential buildings. "This results in far lower CO₂ emissions than receiving electricity from the typical huge power stations that feed the grid" explained Archer, "Instead of belching the heat produced by electricity generation into the air, the Energy Centre will channel it underground to heat the homes and buildings on the development. This system has been used with great success in Denmark for many years, where around 60% of dwellings are heated in that way."

"We also hope that the Energy Centre will provide a useful teaching resource for the university students to learn about cutting edge sustainability technology. One other advantage of an Energy Centre is that it can be easily converted to other sustainable technologies in the future, such as fuel cells, when they become more accessible."

Solar panels will also be used to generate power for individual buildings, and in the spirit of the innovative and ambitious nature of the project, Archer and his team believe they can cut water consumption by up to 50%.

"Typically average household water use is "150 litres per day, per person." said Archer. "We are aiming to introduce measures that could cut this to as little as 80 litres per person.

"Imagine the waste involved in getting mains water to a drinkable standard, only to literally flush it down the toilet. The buildings on the North West Cambridge development will be designed to gather rainwater and store it in individual tanks, where it will be used for most purposes other than drinking water and bathing."

All dwellings on the development will be aiming for Level 5 (out of 6) of the Government's Code for Sustainable Homes from the start of development in 2012. Level 5 of the Code represents a major leap forward in sustainability standards - typically Level 3 - and will mean that the dwellings built will have some of the lowest energy and water use in the country and in the Cambridge area - even compared to other expansion sites around the city.

"The difference between Code 5 and Code 6 will lie in the level of payment into carbon offset schemes to mitigate any residual carbon emissions." added Archer "Homes on North West Cambridge will be built to Code Level 6 energy standards from 2016."

In addition to these measures, plans are in place to substantially reduce car use on the development through encouraging walking and cycling. You can read more about these plans here.

ENDS