A state-of-the-art government funded "ecological building" was completed yesterday in Minhang District. Officials hope it will act as a model for architects to design environmentally friendly residential housing projects.
The four-story house, which received more than 12 million yuan (US$1.45 million) from the Shanghai Science and Technology Commission, is one of the city's most important high-tech projects this year, officials said.
"It's a sample building that collects dozens of advanced environmental building technologies," Zhu Weifeng, a professor of Shanghai Research Institute of Building Sciences involved in the project, said yesterday at a news conference.
He said the house uses about half of the energy that normal buildings consume.
The house holds 10 major environmental technologies including solar energy, natural ventilation technology and water recycling.
The new solar energy equipment, used extensively in the house, enables it to stay warm in winter and cool in summer.
Wang Ruzhu, a solar energy expert at Shanghai Jiao Tong University, said: "The floors in the house are equipped with solar-powered water-running pipes which effectively adjust interior temperatures."
Researchers said the building will be used as a model construction for architects. Zhu said the concepts in the building can be adapted to larger scale projects.
"Hopefully designers will take the techniques in the building and apply it to new housing projects," Zhu said.