05.08.20
HS2’s Birmingham Curzon Street station: 55% carbon reduction
The HS2 project, Curzon Street station, which has been designed by a team in Birmingham, is hoped to reduce carbon emissions by an unprecedented 55% and achieve net zero carbon emissions from controlled energy consumption and use a variety of technologies to produce energy from renewable sources.
Through advanced design, there are over forty opportunities for carbon reduction, resulting in a reduction in the station’s lifetime emissions by over 87,000 tonnes of Co2 equivalent, that’s the same as removing the emissions of over 10,000 houses, or the equivalent of travelling 500 million kilometres in your car.
The station is predicted to achieve net zero carbon emissions from energy consumed to operate building integrated systems, like heating, cooling and lighting through dipping energy demand and consumption, for example by using LED lighting, and generating low carbon energy through 2,855m2 of solar panels on the platform canopies and Ground Source Heat Pumps.
The new station will also develop a formerly deprived area of land into a new green public realm in the heart of Birmingham city centre to serve future generations.
The HS2 Curzon Street team, with WSP as lead consultant, Grimshaws as building architect, and Grants Associates as landscape and public realm lead, have been working for over two years to achieve an impressive architectural design that also minimises impacts on the environment, while creating opportunities for businesses and communities alike.
Tim Danson, WSP’s Environment and Sustainability Lead for Curzon Street station said: “The sustainability credentials for Curzon Street station are significant, not least the pathway we have developed to achieve an unprecedented 55% carbon emissions reduction over the 120-year lifecycle (for a scheme of this scale and nature).
“Addressing carbon in the built environment is an important way in which the UK will transition to a net zero society by 2050, and we’re pleased this station will be net zero in operation. HS2 and the delivery team have set the bar very high when it comes to sustainability.
“Responding to HS2’s socio-environmental ambitions, our multi-discipline team was responsible for weaving a thread of future-ready sustainability throughout the design. Over 40 delivery partners have been involved in the design, collaborating to develop the scheme across technological, carbon, climate, biodiversity, community and materials themes.”
HS2’s Environment Manager for Curzon Street station, Hannah Leggatt, said: “Using renewable technologies and lean design, Curzon Street station will be a shining example of how HS2 is helping the UK to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050.
“Working with our supply chain, HS2 is pushing the boundaries of innovations in carbon reduction and leading the way in developing the green infrastructure of the future.”
Image: HS2