In Focus: Ecopia

The first of a three part series: Ecopia - Intelligent Building, Sustainable Living

Climate change, natural disasters, the rising price of raw materials: Our earth is changing, and that means we have to change the way we live. The goal is securing progress and prosperity without hurting the planet. As a result, sustainability has become a key concept in the 21st century, particularly when it comes to designing buildings and cities. Today, more than half of the world’s population lives in urban centers.

These cities are the source of many of the earth’s environmental problems, and they produce huge quantities of greenhouse gases and waste. That begs urgent questions: How can we stop this trend? Where are pioneering living concepts, “intelligent” workspaces and new forms of cohabitation being developed? How can we build housing in harmony with nature? How can mankind live more sustainably?

Architects and engineers from around the world are up to the challenge. They’re building environmentally-sustainable football stadiums in Brazil, satellite cities in China and clay schools in Burkina Faso. In the first three parts of the documentary series ECOPIA, we show you their visionary projects.

IN PART 1: Eco-Cities

Hamburg’s HafenCity and Tianjin’s Eco-city in China were conceived as model cities for sustainable, environment-friendly building. In northern Germany, ten new housing developments are taking shape on Europe’s largest inner-city construction site, designed to create a vibrant urban atmosphere on the old Elbe River waterfront. The Tianjin Eco-city in eastern China, on the other hand, is going up on virgin land. This satellite city is seen as a test for cutting urban Chinese energy consumption.