Winning Entry of Finland's Low2No Competition: c_life

On September 1, Bustler reported that the proposal “c_life – City as living factory of ecology” by British/German/Italian team ARUP/Sauerbruch Hutton/Experientia/Galley Eco Capital was selected as the first prize winner of the sustainable development design competition Low2No. This Finish-organized competition invited teams from around the world to submit concepts for an energy- and innovation block in Jätkäsaari, Helsinki.

The c_life proposal is based around the concept of the ‘Climate Neutral District’: “A low carbon building cannot be made into a no carbon building without addressing larger scale issues such as energy infrastructure and mobility that cannot be solved within a single block. By pooling the resources of like‐minded neighbors, large scale investments could be made in renewable energy projects to offset carbon emissions. A district approach would also make low carbon initiatives more effective.”

The extract from the c_life opening statement explains the team’s development approach:

In 1990, Finland became the first country in the world to establish a carbon tax. Now, 20 years later, SITRA and Finland will demonstrate to the world a bold solution for cities and how they can address climate change.

Our vision is to join SITRA on this journey of design and delight that will demonstrate and ultimately diffuse the ideas, policies, technologies, strategies and economic frameworks that conceive the City as a Living Factory of Ecology.

c_life (City as Living Factory of Ecology) is a real time and real space demonstration of how to live, work, play and learn, producing innovation that benefits people, the environment and the economy.

c_life is a living factory of ecology where SITRA will attract Start Ups and Companies by creating a stimulating environment for entrepreneurship, where prototyping of built environment policies, technologies and services can be showcased.

c_life is a carbon negative initiative. People living in c_life will see their carbon footprint reduced by 38% in 2012 and by 44% in 2037, compared to living elsewhere in Helsinki. An offsite wind farm, funded by the development, will offset the remainder of the carbon, making c_life carbon negative by 2022.
c_life’s 50 ideas to reduce carbon emissions will enable people to understand choices about their energy, transport, food and consumer goods to impact their carbon and ecological footprints in a transparent, engaging, fun and cost effective way.

c_life is the first to benefit from the Climate Neutral District, a governance and economic framework that ensures a cost effective and holistic delivery of Jatkäsaari, as a carbon negative proposition. This proposal ensures that individuals, communities and companies investing in it will share the resulting financial and environmental benefits in a timely and concrete manner. This will strongly contribute to make c_life and Jätkäsaari replicable, vibrant and a resilient carbon negative community, where businesses want to be and people want to live.

Following are the concept summaries of the other four finalists:

Rebuilding 2.0: REX/Croxton Collaborative/NOW (New York, USA) – Transsolar Energietechnik – Magnusson Klemencic Associates – Bureau Bas Smets – 2x4 – Arup New York – Front – Jonathan Rose Companies

Cradle of Innovation: WSP Group (London, UK) – Heatherwick Studios – B&M Architects – JK MM Architects – Space Syntax – Helsinki University – AA Palmberg Ltd – Pekka Himanen – Pauli Aalto‐Setälä

Low Carbon‐High Urban: Peter Rose & Partners (Boston, USA) – Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates – Guy Nordenson and Associates – Matthias Schuler, Transsolar Climate Engineering – Mobility in Chain – ARO Architectural Research Office

ReciproCity: Bjarke Ingels Group, BIG (Copenhagen, Denmark) – Vahanen – ARUP Foresight Innovation – Transsolar Energietechnik – Anttinen Oiva Arkkitehdit AoA – Masu Planning – Passiivitalo.fi – Pasi Mäenpää – Mikko Jalas