Elementa involved in future vision for London’s Greenest Public Building powered by the Thames tide

Elementa are delighted to be involved in plans for London’s “greenest public building”, a new concept school that would be powered using the tidal movements of the River Thames.

Curl la Tourelle Head Architecture have drawn up the conceptual plans for the Thames Tidal Powered School involving a building that juts out over London’s principle waterway. A series of large turbines positioned underneath would then allow the building to harness tidal power.

The building is designed to achieve two major sustainability certifications, the Passivhaus standard and the BREEAM Outstanding rating. Elementa provided engineering strategy and guidance to leverage existing technologies and standards to achieve the highest levels of performance.

Wayne Head, one of Curl La Tourelle’s Head Architects comments “The design is conceived as an exemplar of low embodied energy and carbon construction technologies, using natural and bio-renewable materials sourced through local supply chains. Our intention is to create a school that is a recognised centre of excellence at a European level, providing world-class facilities through its sustainable design and use of materials”. The project is set as an opportunity to create a model for sustainable architecture in the centre of the city.

Elementa’s Principal, and Net Zero specialist, Ben Galuza, was excited when Head approached him with the concept, “Wayne’s concept is on the leading edge of design. Buildings that produce more energy than they consume, with zero emissions, are raising the bar across the globe for energy efficiency and thermal performance. These buildings are measured and verified at the meter, producing real savings that building operators can count on every single year. I would love to see the City get behind this project, I believe it will raise ambitions for generations to come.”

To find out more about the project and read the full article click here.

Visualisations are by Forbes Massie.