London, 2013-Jul-15
- Iconic London landmark awarded highest BREEAM certification
The Crystal – designed to be the world’s most sustainable building
The unique, crystalline-shaped, ‘all electric’ building located in the Royal Docks at the heart of the Mayor of London‘s Green Enterprise District uses solar power and ground source heat pumps to generate its own energy, meaning no fossil fuels are burnt in the building. The design of the building’s structure, including its innovative glass-clad façade, provides additional insulation, solar control and natural daylight, taking energy efficiency to a new level. The Crystal incorporates rainwater harvesting, black water treatment, solar heating and automated building management systems (please see image 1). The building features charging stations for electric vehicles and will be part of the Source London charging network.
Pedro Miranda, Head of the Global Center of Competence Cities at Siemens, said:
“The Crystal is setting the benchmark for sustainable building, design, technology and operation. It was designed and built to be one of the most sustainable buildings in the world with the highest BREEAM and LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification. Achieving ‘Outstanding’ in BREEAM is a significant step in cementing the Crystal’s reputation as one of the world’s most innovative and iconic sustainable landmarks.”
The Crystal covers an area of more than 6,300 square metres, including the world’s largest high-tech exhibition on the future of cities which opened to the public in September 2012 and has already attracted 83,000 visitors. The exhibition is fully interactive with two immersive film theatres and more than 50 screens with a host of games and experiences that help visitors explore the cities of the future. The exhibition has been designed in conjunction with the UK national curriculum and the content was mapped to Key Stage 3 (age eleven to fourteen) and upwards.
The Crystal houses a conference centre with a 270-seat auditorium which successfully hosts many major international conferences, bringing together international urban planners and exploring visions for urban development and smart cities. In addition, the Crystal is also a global technology and innovation centre and home to the Global Center of Competence Cities at Siemens.
BREEAM sets the standard for best practice in sustainable building design, construction and operation and has become one of the most comprehensive and widely recognised measures of a building's environmental performance. It encourages designers, clients and others to think about low carbon and low impact design, minimising the energy demands created by a building before considering energy efficiency and low carbon technologies. BREEAM, with 250,000 buildings with certified BREEAM assessment ratings and over a million registered for assessment since it was first launched in 1990.
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Contact for journalists:
Siemens plc
Silke Thomson, Tel: 07808 822 780 / email : silke.thomson-pottebohm@siemens.com
Emma Whitaker, Tel : 079212 46942 / email : emma.whitaker@siemens.com
Notes to editors:
Entrance to the Crystal exhibition is free of charge.
The exhibition is open from Tuesdays to Sundays from 10am to 5pm.
The Crystal Café is open seven days a week from 10am to 5pm.
Fees for corporate hire are available at: www.thecrystal.org
Further information and photos of the Crystal are available online at:
www.siemens.com/press/thecrystal
For further information on Siemens plc and press pictures, please see: www.siemens.co.uk/press
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The Siemens Infrastructure & Cities Sector (Munich, Germany) with approximately 90,000 employees, focuses on sustainable technologies for metropolitan areas and their infrastructures. Its offering includes products, systems and solutions for intelligent traffic management, rail-bound transportation, smart grids, energy efficient buildings, and safety and security. The Sector comprises the divisions Building Technologies, Low and Medium Voltage, Mobility and Logistics, Rail Systems and Smart Grid. For more information, visit http://www.siemens.com/infrastructure-cities
