CityU Students won Platinum Award with Green Community Design in ‘BEC Low-carbon Home’ Green Residential Development Design Competition(只有英文版本)

Inspired by the veins of leaves, 5 students of The City University of Hong Kong designed a green residential development project named “Green Veins” to enter the Green Residential Development Design Competition under the ‘BEC Low-carbon Home’ 2011-2012 Programme (LCH), organised by Business Environment Council (BEC). Their concept for low-carbon living won them the honour of the Platinum Award. Professor John Chai, Chairman of BEC, presented cash prizes and certificates to them at the award presentation ceremony held today at Grand Harbour Kowloon. Ms Samantha Yu, Deputy Head of Agile Property Holdings Limited, key sponsor of the LCH Programme, announced that a two-month internship would be offered to these students, giving them the opportunity to learn outside the classroom.

The BEC LCH Programme is a unique education and engagement programme tailor made for tertiary students who are studying courses in urban planning and design, architecture, landscape architecture, engineering, surveying, building services, real estate, construction and environmental management. One of the key components of the LCH Programme is the Green Residential Development Design Competition, which encourages students to recognise the different aspects in environmental sustainability. The programme demonstrates that sustainability elements such as spatial planning, eco-development, energy efficiency, etc are to be integrated into land use and transportation infrastructure planning to improve the environments of communities.

About 30 teams from various tertiary institutions participate in the competition by submitting a master plan and a green residential development design proposal. On 28 April, eight shortlisted teams presented their proposals on their ideal low-carbon home design to the panel of expert judges who rated their works on such criteria as creativity, carbon reduction, feasibility, and integration between human activity needs and the environment.

A Green Community Inspired by Veins

The brains behind the “Green Veins” project are five Year 2 students of Associate of Science in Architectural Studies (AScAS), City University of Hong Kong: Mak Wai Lok, Ip Kwok Wai, Chu Tin Lok Charlotte, Tse To Ming, and Hung Siu Chau. Their design is inspired by the veins of leaves, with transportation systems and buildings built in a vein-like network. Having over 85% of green coverage, the design is characterised by a green hub which provides recreational space for residents and helps reduce summer heat. Orientation of houses are carefully planned to capture maximum natural sunlight and ventilation. Green devices such as wind turbine and water wheel etc are also employed to generate electricity for the development.

At the ceremony, Prof John Chai talked with the winning students to share their thoughts on low-carbon living and how they integrate sustainability elements into their design.

The Competition presented 6 awards, with trophies, certificates and cash prizes given out to the winning teams:

Platinum Award - Green Veins (City University)
Gold Award - Home Sweet Home (HKU)
Silver Award - Unison (HKUST)
Innovation Award - Green Delivers (HKUST)
Feasibility Award - Home Sweet Home (HKU)
‘I Like’ Award - Green-Maker (IVE – Chai Wan)

In his welcome message, Prof John Chai said, “BEC aims to promote the concept and knowledge of sustainability amongst the younger generation. We are glad to see so much creativity in the students’ works. They have surely applied what they have learned through the programme activities into their projects. Our society needs improvements in environmental sustainability, and more innovative environmental technologies need to be developed to make this happen. We hope that young people will work towards this goal and pave the way for a better future and a low-carbon community.”

Ms Samantha Yu remarked, “Agile is pleased to have the opportunity to work with BEC in this student engagement programme, and directly help students enrich their knowledge in China’s property development and environmental trend by arranging site visits and management sharing sessions for them. We are particularly pleased to see that students are able to use their new knowledge in the innovative yet practical proposals they have submitted. Sustainable development is a global concern, and Agile, as a leading property developer in China, is dedicated to introducing green elements in its projects, as well as advocating green education. This year marks the 20th anniversary of our Group. With our rich experience and strong belief in “Benefiting from Society, Giving Back to Society”, Agile will continue our effort in promoting sustainable development in Hong Kong and the Mainland, so as to contribute to a better living environment.”

About the ‘BEC Low-carbon Home’ 2011-2012 Programme

The ‘BEC Low-carbon Home’ 2011-2012 Programme is a unique education and engagement programme organized by the Business Environment Council. It encompasses a project design competition, tailor made for tertiary students who are studying courses in urban planning and design, architecture, landscape architecture, engineering, surveying, building services, real estate, construction and environmental management. It aims to promote the concept and principles of low carbon housing design and offers the students an opportunity to learn from industry leaders and practitioners on green residential development. The full programme consists of 8 key modules comprising school talks, a special panel discussion session, professional seminars, site visits, experiential learning trip, design competition, green tips and a voting game on facebook, and internship opportunities in Mainland China.