BedZED was VERY interesting. I haven't got all the back story on the development; rumors are rife about over budget and not great urban design, but the two-story home that I saw was very beautiful. Helen and her partner are very happy one month into their ownership.The development is very serious about zero-emissions. We were there on a cold day and once you were inside you couldn't tell it was cold outside and they hadn't turned on the heat since they had moved in. The details in the houses are great; neat and modern wood window frames and some concrete walls. The glass on the southern side would have given me pause but as was pointed out repeatedly, south facing doesn't necessarily mean hot here in the UK. I will withhold agreement until I visit in July!
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While the theory of a zero-emissions sounds interesting, how practical are the systems they have incorporated? Maybe it is just the pictures, but the development seems a bit gray, although the wind cowls do provide a spark of color. When you see it, is it a place that draws you to want to live there? Making it attractive is one of those things that will make people other than environmentalists want to live there. Maybe it's just the brick I'm not used to. Are all the systems zero-emissions, or is there just an agreement to be as close to zero emission (don't use heat unless you are a popsicle kind of thing) as possible? Great, I'm questioned myself into researching it now. I'll let you know.
a, it looks grey because its London in January, not becase of the development - for London in January its actually quite bright. In side the houses its especially light filled becasue of the solar design. Wouldn't work in Miami! Actually goes against everything I think since I'm tropical girl like you - that's why I want to go back in July and check it out when its really hot (you know, 80-85 degrees F)
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