What happens in a conservative led government to green building projects?
1. They don’t get built?
2. Funding is removed?
3. Award winning green structures get torn down?
The Answer? 3. Award winning green buildings get torn down!
I am in shock over the article I found about a Sainsbury’s getting torn down:
Sainsbury’s announced last year that it would be leaving the store in favour of a new larger supermarket nearby designed by Unit Architects.
It has now emerged that the old store, which won several green awards, is set to be demolished to make way for an IKEA outlet.
Writing in BD, Hinkin said the decision made him “mad as hell” and questioned the sustainability of knocking down a building after just 14 years.
Sainsbury’s is understood to have sold the site on the basis that it cannot be let to another food retailer, reducing the likelihood of finding another tenant.
Building performance consultant Doug King was lead engineer on the project. He said the decision to knock it down “defies belief” and is a “tremendous shame”.
“IKEA has described this as a sustainable development but it involves knocking down a building built to minimise the impact of retail operations,” he said. “These property owners make headline claims about sustainability but this demonstrates that they really don’t get what sustainability is. This really exposes the ‘emperor’s clothes’ of the sustainable property sector.”
Campaign launched to save Eco supermarket – The Green Building Press
