As the urgency of the climate crisis continues to grow, climate-friendly elements are increasingly becoming a prominent feature of urban development projects. One of the latest cities poised to experience future-proof urban planning is the post-industrial port city of Sunderland, located in the north of England.
As part of an eco-friendly masterplan designed by FaulknerBrowns Architects and Proctor & Matthews Architects, Sunderland will soon welcome a huge riverside regeneration project that will transform a 33.2-hectare site on both sides of the River Wear into the country’s first carbon-neutral urban quarter.
With a mission to “reinvent the heart of Sunderland,” the masterplan design will create 1,000 new energy-efficient homes in four mixed-use residential neighborhoods for a community of 2,500 people.
Each neighborhood will have its own distinct character and will feature a mix of three housing types inspired by local and regional antecedents. More than 1 million square feet of modern offices in a new central business district will also provide up to 10,000 new jobs.
Among the cultural highlights are a state-of-the-art library and community hub, as well as a new arts center to be housed within a renovated fire station that’s more than a century old. On top of it all, the masterplan will promote renewables and smart energy networks to will help it achieve carbon neutrality.
