Bioregional's story
Bioregional are an environmental consultancy, charity and social enterprise that works with communities around the world to tackle the climate and ecological emergency. After working with partners to create BedZED in Sutton in 2002 –the UK's first large-scale, mixed-use sustainable community – we partnered with Crest Nicholson and BioRegional Quintain to develop a sustainable and commercially successful apartment block in Brighton.
One Brighton is a development of 172 apartments plus offices, a community space, and a café in two multi-storey blocks located alongside Brighton's main train station. The project was completed in 2007 and was the first development of its kind to be built with no private car parking space, to promote sustainable transport. Despite the development being completed at the height of the recession, it both turned a profit and provided 54 affordable new homes in one of the most expensive housing markets outside of the capital. It clearly demonstrated that a project could be both sustainable and commercially viable.
The development was shaped by our ten One Planet Living principles – a framework that covers all aspects of social, environmental, and economic sustainability – and designed with architects Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios. It was built by Denne under a design-and-build contract.
One Brighton is built to high sustainability standards, from (what was then) the greenest concrete frame in the UK to triple glazed windows. The building is highly insulated to deliver impressive energy efficiency with electricity sourced through the development's own green energy provider – One Brighton Energy Services. It is warmed by a biomass boiler with a gas backup supply and features mini rooftop allotments.
Independent assessment has shown that One Brighton is outperforming local resale benchmarks, and the development emits 67% less carbon than comparable housing stock in the UK.
Useful learnings from Bioregional
Use our "One Planet Living" framework – The framework is free for anyone to use under licence and includes goals and guidance for lots of different types and scales of project. Developers can also make their project a "One Planet Living" development by publishing an action plan that outlines how they will reach the goals outlined in the framework. There is lots of detailed information available around this on our website: https://www.bioregional.com/one-planet-living
Involve all the stakeholders in the design process – It's important to get everyone involved at a community level and understand their needs and goals. It really needs to be a very consultative and bottom-up process.
Ask us for advice – Bioregional provides consultancy and advisory services whether you need help drafting your action plans or technical support. If you are planning a new development, you can reach out for expertise and insights.
Bioregional's metrics
Energy savings
Ongoing development performance
Carbon emissions
