The British architectural firm Architype has secured planning permission for its Norwich Enterprise Centre, slated to begin operations in 2015.
The building has met the highest Passivhaus and Breeam standards and will be located on the University of East Anglia campus. Its designers have emphasized how important it was to reach "outstanding" status for both standards since Passivhaus mainly deals with energy, while Breeam is more wholistic, akin to LEED in the U.S.
The academic and research building's features include solar heating, mechanical ventilation with heat recovery, triple-glazed windows and a timber and straw frame.
Dubbed the "greenest building in the U.K.", it will house a research Centre for the Built Environment, which will test sustainable building methods and promote them to small businesses, as well as startups in the low-carbon sector.
