“The Library is a celebration of the big beneficial footprint of building developments. I hope you enjoy the wonderful examples being introduced in this Library and I encourage everybody to send their best achievements. There is great diversity among buildings globally, so it is unfair to rank them against each other. Instead of ranking, our aim is to accelerate the number of actively beneficial structures by celebrating the outstanding Cradle to Cradle inspired elements.”
-Michael Braungart
The success of Cradle to Cradle (C2C) has sparked demands in the marketplace for an affordable, convenient, quality-assured mechanism to celebrate and validate C2C inspired elements in buildings. These elements go beyond green or sustainability to add value for stakeholders. Green building certifications are important but tend to focus in minimizing negative impacts rather than supporting beneficial footprints that add value. Due to the costs of those processes only a few thousand out of millions of new buildings were awarded green or sustainable certifications over the past decades. Newer mechanisms, such as the „living buildings challenge“ borrow from Cradle to Cradle and are directed more at beneficial aspects, but still require a certification process. The Library is not a certification, but a complementary step beyond those approaches to let many stakeholders in buildings celebrate the added value of a big beneficial footprint. All projects presented here are flagship projects and serve as inspiration for all those who want to contribute to a positive footprint in the building sector.
Below you can find an overview of the latest Cradle to Cradle inspired projects
Mobil Wood is a carpenter’s factory with 70 employees, specialized in the ecological fitting out of shops and solutions to develop bulk food. The offices cover approximately 300 sqm.
VINCI’s new head office in Nanterre, l’archipel, brings together nearly 3,500 Group employees and is a showcase for environmental performance and quality of life at work.
Terrabùndo is a flagship project dedicated to supporting companies towards the circular economy. It will mainly be open to entrepreneurs in the region.
The Hamburg Umweltinstitut- Zentrum für soziale und ökologische Technik e.V. (Hamburg Environmental Institute – Center for Social and Ecological Technology) is an independent, non-profit association recognized as particularly worthy of support for the scientific treatment of environmental issues.
With the support of individuals, institutions, universities, government agencies and companies at home and abroad we develop practicable solutions.
Globally relevant environmental problems require environmentally and socially compatible solution concepts.
The HUI is working as a team of enthusiastic experts, supporting the Cradle to Cradle design concept and its philosophy.
We are looking forward to your project. Contact us if you want your project to inspire others.
