Sustainability
Environmental considerations and initiatives are naturally integrated in SLA’s design process when establishing new landscape amenities and attractions. Negative effects on the environment are reduced as much as possible and the natural and human made contexts are always taken into consideration.
Nature plays a significant role in the general practice of SLA. By incorporating a high frequency of natural elements in our creative solutions, and by constantly producing new experiences of nature, we increase the attention on the environment and its values. We present images of a world where progressive solutions integrate nature and bring it into play.
In Bjørvika New Urban Spaces we are focusing on environmental and faunal considerations. In other projects the manufacturing and life span of materials are in focus, often through the use of sustainable paving or by the choice of plantation which does not require any special maintenance or a high consumption of natural resources. Collecting and reusing greywater is favourable in many projects. For instance the water from the fountains in the Urban Garden in Nørresundby is collected and circulated in a closed system which minimizes waste.
Lighting is another area where sustainable thinking can have a major effect on the consumption of natural resources. SLA is engaged in developing energy-efficient LED-lighting and solar panel lighting. In other projects we focus on social or cultural sustainability such as in Frederiksberg New Urban Spaces where cultural identity and social exchange has been the basis of the new design of the area.
SLA strives to develop an environmental control system for each project following the standards of “Green Building” published by the Danish Building Research Institute. Environmental resource management is always part of our consultancy as the basis of the execution of an environmental plan which ensures that the objectives of the programme are met. The client always plays an active role in the dialogue on the control of natural resource expenditure in all phases of the project.
In 2008 SLA joint Global Compact, the voluntary corporate citizenship initiative of United Nations.
Video: Let's Not Talk About Aesthetics
