The Most Sustainable Shopping Centre in the World
The “World’s most sustainable” shopping centre sounds like no mean feat in building ingenuity, but it’s a task that Frasers Property Australia have not shied away from. With the help of a name you might have heard before, the multi-faceted Joost Bakker; sustainability pioneering florist-cum-designer, they plan to create the world’s first self-sustaining shopping centre that will be completely waste-free.
Bakker, who combines art, food and ecology to create sustainable project builds which contribute zero-waste and lower to no carbon footprints, aims to impact attitudes towards ecology with his ambitious eco-projects. And excitingly, this Burwood Brickworks venture may well be his biggest project to date. With his earlier projects, Silo, later Brothl, Greenhouse, and a self-built self-sustaining home, this project seems like the natural progression for his talents. The 12,700 square foot building aims to be made of 90% recycled materials and will feature dozens of solar panels on the 2000 square foot rooftop, that will power the building via its embedded electricity network. The roof space will also sport a large urban farm, restaurant and communal activity centre; where customers can enjoy homegrown (or store-grown, if you will) produce in leafy relaxation.
With the average Australian family producing 100,000 litres of greywater every year, enough to grow 40 tons of tomatoes and 60 tons of potatoes, it’s any wonder what the average shopping centre produces. And this shopping centre will utilise all this usually wasted water, along with any other organic waste produced by the building, growing thirsty veggies like cucumbers. It will also be home to lemongrass, and other herbs that reflect the surrounding area’s large South-East Asian and Chinese community, as well as 55–60 other types of seasonal plants. They will also use all recycled coffee grounds from to cultivate mushrooms. This wealth of vegetation will supply the rooftop restaurant, amongst other local food and beverage outlets.
Frasers is currently seeking passionate, environmentally minded businesses to take on the tenancy and operate this enviable location, and they and Bakker expect the centre to open around 18 months from now.
Written by Bria Horne
image by :
https://living-future.org.au/portfolio-item/burwood-brickworks/
