Two DCN experts have been selected to participate in the process to update the technical Urban Development guide for Spain of this prestigious sustainability certification.
DCN considers it essential that all aspects of Madrid Nuevo Norte adhere to the highest sustainability standards.
Two sustainability experts from Distrito Castellana Norte were invited to join the 50-member expert group in Spain that worked with BREEAM to develop the new technical manual “BREEAM ES Urbanismo 2020”.
The updated manual provides urban development professionals and institutions guidelines on how to implement in their projects the sustainability standards upheld by BREEAM. This document will be fully adapted to the Spanish language, regulations and building practices.
The launch of this guide is scheduled in the forthcoming weeks, following an intense process of scientific review, coordinated through the international tool known as BREEAM Communities.BREEAM explained that it seeks to boost demand for a more sustainable urban development, providing a comprehensive environmental sustainability certification that is internationally accepted. A tool to help developers and planners to improve, measure and certify the sustainability of their urban development proposals independently. “Sustainability goes far beyond the building itself and living amongst buildings. BREEAM urban planning is a tool for dialogue between all stakeholders to build a community”, they explained.
DCN has co-operated in the critical review to ensure that all documents are adapted to the requirements and specific features of large-scale projects such as Madrid Nuevo Norte. “We sought to bring the perspective of a project like Madrid Nuevo Norte to help successful adaptation of the document to urban development procedures”, said Ricardo Corrales and Javier Dorao, DCN’s Innovation Co-ordinator and Sustainability Co-ordinator, respectively. Given the size, deadlines and characteristics of Spain’s urban development legislation, these types of projects are subject to specific constraints that are not applied to smaller projects.
DCN’s participation has focused on bringing the manual in line with the reality of Spanish urban development. Urban development projects require lengthy, complicated formalities. Furthermore, certain aspects, such as the level of detail needed during planning, are dealt with differently in each country’s regulatory framework. Accordingly, DCN has focused on reviewing whether the hard evidence necessary to demonstrate compliance with the sustainability goals outlined in the manual meet the Spanish planning requirements more effectively than in the previous version.
For DCN, all aspects of Madrid Nuevo Norte must be characterised by the highest sustainability standards. To that end, the company works with leading sustainability certification bodies in the construction sector, as is the case of BREEAM ES, to develop a “BREEAM-proof” project that would qualify for the highest ratings throughout its entire life cycle.
