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Energy
EnergyProcedia
Procedia115 (2017) 000–000
00 (2017) 423–430
www.elsevier.com/locate/procedia
International Conference – Alternative and Renewable Energy Quest, AREQ 2017, 1-3 February
International Conference – Alternative and2017,
Renewable
Spain Energy Quest, AREQ 2017, 1-3 February
2017, Spain
The Renewable Energy City within the City.
The15th
The Renewable Energy City
International Symposium within
on District theand
Heating City.
Cooling
The Climate Change Oriented Urban Design – Szczecin Green
The Climate Change Oriented Urban Design – Szczecin Green
Island
Assessing the feasibility of using the heat demand-outdoor
Island
temperature function for a long-term district heat demand forecast
ZbigniewaW. Paszkowski, Jakub I. Golebiewski*c
I. Andrića,b,c*,Zbigniew
A. Pina ,W. Ferrãoa, J. Fournier
P. Paszkowski, Jakub bI.., Golebiewski*
B. Lacarrière , O. Le Correc
a
Prof. SC. PhD Eng. Of Architecture,West Pomeranian University of Technology, ul. Zolnierska 50, 71-210 Szczecin, Poland
a a
Prof.
b SC. PhD Eng. Of Architecture,West Pomeranian University of Technology, ul. Zolnierska 50, 71-210 Szczecin, Poland
IN+ CenterPhDforEng. Of Architecture,West
Innovation, Technology andPomeranian University
Policy Research of Technology,
- Instituto ul. Zolnierska
Superior Técnico, 50, 71-210
Av. Rovisco Pais Szczecin, Poland
1, 1049-001 Lisbon, Portugal
b
PhD Eng. Of Architecture,West
b
Pomeranian
Veolia Recherche University
& Innovation, of Technology,
291 Avenue ul. Zolnierska
Dreyfous Daniel, 78520 50, 71-210
Limay, Szczecin, Poland
France
c
Département Systèmes Énergétiques et Environnement - IMT Atlantique, 4 rue Alfred Kastler, 44300 Nantes, France

Abstract
Abstract
Abstract energy consumption both at the building scale and the city scale is now a major challenge to civilization. Climate
Minimizing
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require us to consumption
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at the building
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effective 21-strapid
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andcentury.
integrated
through Nowhere
smart
the heat
are these
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Due play
to the being
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changed in outconditions
more immediately
minimalization
climate of and
energy than renovation
in the and
consumption
building energy
CO 2sector. Urban
production.
policies, heat Newmanagement
demand approaches and integrated
in sustainable
in the future smart
urban
could decrease,
development
and play
architectural
prolonging the crucial role
planning
investment in be
arereturn
to minimalization
introduced. An
period. of important
energy consumption
link in this and CO2can
process production. New approaches
be new approach in sustainable
to settlements, that are urban
using
and
Thearchitectural
new main scopeplanning
technologies offocused areontoisenergy
this paper be
to introduced. An important
self-sufficiency
assess the feasibility and
of link
using in
thethis
green process
footprint.
heat demand can– be
The new approach
concept
outdoor design toofsettlements,
temperature forthat
Green Islands
function are
heat using
area
demandin
new technologies
Szczecin/Poland focused by
developed onUrbicon
energy Authors’
self-sufficiency and Studio
Architecture green is footprint.
a good The concept
example of such design of Green Islands area in
approach.
forecast. The district of Alvalade, located in Lisbon (Portugal), was used as a case study. The district is consisted of 665
Szczecin/Poland developed by Urbicon Authors’ Architecture Studio is a good example of such approach.
buildings that vary in both construction period and typology. Three weather scenarios (low, medium, high) and three district
©renovation
2017 The Authors. Published
scenariosPublished by Elsevier
were developed Ltd. intermediate, deep). To estimate the error, obtained heat demand values were
(shallow,
©
© 2017
2017 The
The Authors.
Authors. Published by by Elsevier
Elsevier B.V.
Ltd. committee of AREQ 2017.
Peer-review
Peer-review under
compared with
under responsibility
results
responsibility of
from a dynamic the organizing
heat demand
of the organizing model, previously
committee of AREQ 2017. developed and validated by the authors.
Peer-review under responsibility of the organizing committee of AREQ 2017.
The results showed that when only weather change is considered, the margin of error could be acceptable for some applications
Keywords:carbon-neutral economy; climate change; eco-design; eco-corridor; energu self-sufficiency; sustainable urban development;
(the error in annual demand was lower than 20% for all weather scenarios considered). However, after introducing renovation
Keywords:carbon-neutral economy; climate change; eco-design; eco-corridor; energu self-sufficiency; sustainable urban development;
scenarios, the error value increased up to 59.5% (depending on the weather and renovation scenarios combination considered).
The value of slope coefficient increased on average within the range of 3.8% up to 8% per decade, that corresponds to the
decrease in the number of heating hours of 22-139h during the heating season (depending on the combination of weather and
renovation scenarios considered). On the other hand, function intercept increased for 7.8-12.7% per decade (depending on the
coupled scenarios). The values suggested could be used to modify the function parameters for the scenarios considered, and
improve the accuracy of heat demand estimations.
* Corresponding author: Zbigniew W. Paszkowski, phone: +48 601704454
* E-mail
© Corresponding
2017 The author:Published
Authors. Zbigniew W.byPaszkowski, phone: +48 601704454
Elsevier Ltd.
address:prof.paszkowski@gmail.com
E-mail address:prof.paszkowski@gmail.com
Corresponding
Peer-review author:
under Jakub I. Golebiewski,
responsibility phone: +48
of the Scientific 692400944
Committee of The 15th International Symposium on District Heating and
Corresponding
E-mail
Cooling. author: Jakub I. Golebiewski, phone: +48 692400944
address:ji.golebiewski@gmail.com
E-mail address:ji.golebiewski@gmail.com
1876-6102© 2017demand;
Keywords: Heat The Authors. Published
Forecast; by change
Climate Elsevier Ltd.
1876-6102©under
Peer-review 2017 responsibility
The Authors. Published by Elsevier
of the organizing Ltd. of AREQ 2017.
committee
Peer-review under responsibility of the organizing committee of AREQ 2017.

1876-6102 © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.


Peer-review under responsibility of the Scientific Committee of The 15th International Symposium on District Heating and Cooling.
1876-6102 © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.
Peer-review under responsibility of the organizing committee of AREQ 2017.
10.1016/j.egypro.2017.05.039
424 Zbigniew W. Paszkowski et al. / Energy Procedia 115 (2017) 423–430
2 Zbigniew W. Paszkowski, Jakub I. Golebiewski / Energy Procedia00 (2017) 000–000

1. Introduction

Energy is one of the crucial determinants of the development of cities in the future. The C40 Cities Climate
Leadership Group of pioneering megacities points out that because cities account for two thirds of the world’s energy
consumption and 70 % of global C02 emissions, they will necessarily be the engines of the green economy (C40 2012)
and can play a key role as purchasers of locally produced power, thereby opening up the energy market [1].
Environmentally progressive urban design and building practice are currently described using a variety of different
tags: “green design”, “ecological design”, “eco-city”, “eco-planning”, “environmental planning” or “sustainable
design”. The intention of the design is to eliminate negative environmental impact completely through skillful,
sensitive and technologically advanced design. The architectural manifestations require renewable resources, and
connect people with the natural environment. The practice includes aspects like energy consumption for heating,
cooling and lighting, but also things like mobility planning and green spaces, social structures within the building,
grey energy and so forth. In addition to concern for the tradition; aesthetics of massing, proportion, scale, texture,
shadow and light. The facility design team needs to be concerned with long term costs: environmental, economic and
human ones. All in all sustainable design is more of a philosophy of a building than perspective of building style. We
can say now that: “The Form Follows Energy” (and not so much “the Function” as Louis Henry Sullivan used to say).
The challenge of modern architecture is to optimize the form of the building in terms of making it self-sufficient in
energy supply or near “zero–energy” in energy needs.
The widening globalization, rapid technological development, increasing resource scarcity and climate change are
set to place intense pressures on national economies in the 21-st century. Nowhere are these challenges being played
out more immediately than in the energy sector, which is being fundamentally transformed because of decarburization
requirements and by the emergence of new technologies.

2. Reshaping urban spaces within the city

UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has noted the relationship between components of the built
environment and climate change, reporting that global GHG emissions have grown largely as a result of the following
sectors: energy supply, transportation, industry, land use and forestry, agriculture, and buildings [2]. Strategies that
aim to reduce atmospheric CO2 include decreased use of motor vehicles, increased energy efficiency in buildings, and
reduced deforestation [3]. Based on these strategies, the current study focuses on three built environmental
components: transportation, buildings, and land use (including forestry and agriculture).
About 75% of power generated globally is consumed in cities [4]. Generating city-integrated energy at the site of
energy use could substantially contribute to the environmental, economic, and social aspects of urban sustainability.
Four characteristic advantages of such distributed energy systems include the ability to (i) offer low to zero carbon
emissions, (ii) offset capital-intensive investments for network upgrades, (iii) impart local energy independence and
network security, and (iv) motivate social capital and cohesion [5].

2.1. Creating new “Eco-Space” in city centers.

In many cities around the world we are presently witnessing the growth of, and interest in, a range of micro and
macro-spatial urban practices that are reshaping urban spaces. But how can have these processes influence the urban
planning and urban environment? What kind of spaces can be created within the existing cities? Crucially, it is also
to answer: what are the possibilities and limitations in urban transformation of city centers? We can answer that
weaknesses of modern cities can be turned into the positive challenges. The heritage of 19th century industrialization
era and post war revolution in development of automotive road infrastructure caused many negative changes in cities
spatial structure. Nowadays we have to find solution how to redevelop brownfields and over-scaled road systems in a
way that they correspond to challenges of sustainability. Many positive examples on this issue has already been
implemented in the cities. Unused railway infrastructure or demolished overpasses open new possibilities of
development in communication corridors, crossing the downtowns. The infrastructure which has so far generated so
far noise, pollution and division of urban space, can be transformed into positive components of the cities - green
Zbigniew W. Paszkowski et al. / Energy Procedia 115 (2017) 423–430 425
Zbigniew W. Paszkowski, Jakub I. Golebiewski / Energy Procedia00 (2017) 000–000 3

infrastructure, which positively affects surrounding areas. The examples of this kind of intervention can be found in
different regions around the world.
The High Line Park in New York, built on a former railway overpass, became a symbol of improving access to
recreation areas in densely populated and urbanized Manhattan District. The park which is stretched to a length
exceeding 2 km has implemented better quality of working and living environment in the neighborhood [6].As a result
the great opportunity for the walking mobility and recreation in the city downtown has been created (Fig. 1a). The
other example can be given from South Korea, where city authorities of Seoul, have decided to demolish a highway,
built in the 70's over the river Cheonggyecheon. With the elimination of the overpasses the drying river was hydrated,
in order to rebuild the ecosystem. As result the number of animals and plant species which are living there increased
and the average temperature of neighborhoods decreased more than 3 degrees Celsius. Removing a busy highway
resulted also in the increasing popularity of public transportation and noticeable decrease of air pollution [7]. The
recovered space of waterfronts, which has been transformed into parks, became popular meeting places for locals,
opening up new opportunities for social interaction. (Fig. 1b)

Fig. 1. (a) The High Line Par in New York City (USA); source: https://www.timeout.com/newyork/parks/highline ; (b) The revitalization of the
Cheonggyecheon riverfronts in Seoul (South Korea); source: https://pl.pinterest.com/pin/323274079478968478/.

Both examples represents opportunities of transforming devalued traffic infrastructure in the city centres to the
creation of public “Eco-Spaces”. These projects not only result in improved quality of the environment but also
generate positive changes in spatial, social and economic sense by significantly improving living conditions. Such
interventions are also possible in a larger scale. Brownfields located along the rivers in many European, American
and Asian cities are giving opportunities to built new ecological “green spaces” interwoven into the city structure. In
Chinese city of Ningbo Eco-Corridor has been created by a transformation of former agricultural plain that had been
taken over by industry into a big park. The development included services for the 3.3km long, 101 hectare wide area,
where ecological strategies of hydrology, vegetation and topography have been implemented. The project represents
sustainable ecological approach by treating and recycling surface run-off water, harvesting solar energy, and reducing
the urban heat-island effect. Besides that it is providing recreational, educational and cultural facilities for the Ningbo
Eastern New City area (Fig. 2a)
Returning to life polluted rivers and exploring their potential is also a challenge for large American cities. For
most of the Chicago’s history, the river has been an important link in the industrial development.In the process of
carrying away waste water, the river has been neglected and abused. At the beginning of the 21st century the
technological changes made possible to reclaim the river as an recreational resource in order to improve the quality of
life for Chicago citizens. The framework for the revitalization of the Chicago River was provided by the Chicago
River Corridor Development Plan[8]. The aim of the plan is to create the more green and more sustainable city, by
investments in river purification, new public spaces and green areas on the waterfronts (Fig 2b). Due to the better
quality of public spaces and environment an increasing number of activities of inhabitants on the waterfronts are
426 Zbigniew W. Paszkowski et al. / Energy Procedia 115 (2017) 423–430
4 Zbigniew W. Paszkowski, Jakub I. Golebiewski / Energy Procedia00 (2017) 000–000

expected. This project shows that the public “Eco-Spaces” can play a key role in changing human habits. Nowadays
it’s important to encourage people to spend time actively in their direct living environment, what makes them healthier
and open to social interaction.

Fig. 2. (a) The “Eco-Corridor” in Ningbo (China); source: http://www.swagroup.com/projects/ningbo-east-new-town-eco-corridor/ ; (b) The
green corridor of Chicago River (USA); source: https://nextcity.org/daily/entry/chicago-river-planning-neighborhood-rec-center.

2.2. Minimize the consumption of energy in urban space.

Reduction of the energy consumption is now one of the major challenges in transformation processes of modern
cities. It can be done according to many different strategies. The task of reduction of the energy consumption can be
solved in three ways:

 By minimizing the energy consumption by construction and maintenance of buildings,


 By developing and applying systems based on renewable sources of energy,
 By optimizing the urban development of cities.

The first trend is based mainly on development of low-energy buildings constructions with external walls of high
insulation coefficient, optimizing the architectural form, and using materials well protecting against the losses of
energy. Here the notion of “passive-house” appears, meaning a house which uses very little energy for heating. Passive
houses are mainly one-family houses. There are not many examples of multi-family passive houses in Poland. The
cost of construction of multi-family passive house is much higher than the building a “traditional” one. This fact does
not encourage developers to apply the “passive-house” technology. Energy consumption can also be reduced by
minimizing the mechanical ventilation and cooling in buildings. These issue have a particular importance in office
buildings. Natural ventilation combined with reduction of solar radiation and overheating are an important alternative.
In a example of office building situated in the Poznan Old Town (Poland) those issues have been solved inter alia by
creating gardens on the roofs and green terraces. The vegetation is an excellent insulator and improves the
microclimate in densely populated downtown area. The green roof is limiting also the amount of rain water discharged
straight into sewage system. As an alternative to the air conditioning system in the office space, the ventilating
windows in the facade have been installed. When the windows are open the mechanical ventilation is automatically
switched off, and allows natural ventilation to cool the interiors. The facade of the building is also designed in a
responsible manner. The balanced ratio of openings to the solid walls, helps in reducing the risk of heat loss in winter
and overheating in the summer period (Fig. 3a).
The second trend is based on development of different devices to acquire energy from renewable sources, mainly:
sun energy, wind energy, kinetic energy of flowing water, thermal energy of the air, underground water resources and
the earth itself. We witness the continuous development of methods to acquire energy from renewable sources.
Zbigniew W. Paszkowski et al. / Energy Procedia 115 (2017) 423–430 427
Zbigniew W. Paszkowski, Jakub I. Golebiewski / Energy Procedia00 (2017) 000–000 5

However new innovative solutions can always be found in this sector, the concept of a “zero-energy” building, a
“thermos-like-building”, seems to reach its limit. Further steps to minimize the consumption of energy would have to
bring us to the situation when a building could produce more usable energy than it consumes. Is it possible? Of course,
it is. The excess of energy produced by sun collectors or by thermal pumps should be accumulated and sent further to
other users where it will be needed or stored for less energy-efficient times. Storing and sending energy produced
individually is however still a kind of technological and legal barrier. An excellent example of the individual energy
production, storage and transmission may be found on Wilhelmsburg Island in Hamburg. In BIQ residential building
the innovative technology of bioreactor placed in the facade have been used for the first time in the world [9]. The
glass panels with microalgae, are used there in the process of energy production. Microalgae are tiny plants, not larger
than bacteria whose growth under the appropriate conditions is very fast. The main factor in the growth of algae is
carbon dioxide which is supplied to the glass façade panels. Under the influence of solar radiation, photosynthesis
occurs in this case and the algae reproduce themselves. In the final phase of each cycle algae are transferred in the
form of a thick paste, which is used to produce biogas, and generate clean energy. (Fig. 3b).

Fig. 3. (a) “Za Bramka” Office Building in Poznan (Poland); source: http://ultra-architects.pl/aktualnosci/ ; (b) The “green” façade in BIQ
residential building in Hamburg (Germany); source: https://www.photoyourspace.com/biq-algae-house-iba-hamburg/

In order to preserve the already existing nature resource and to create new biologically active terrains within city
territories, especially those ones which are located in degraded post-industrial areas, the next important element of
shaping the urban environment for the future is needed. The idea to bring into building space a bioactive vegetation
having a form of vertical gardens or green terraces and roofs is nothing new, but the way they can be arranged and
kept, specifically in the context of fitting solar panels to the façades, is something that needs complex approach to
architectural form and function. The possibility to cultivate vegetables, fruits, herbs or flowers in vertical gardens will
be a valuable solution in the projects of the future dwelling architecture. Because of growing urban areas it will be
harder and harder for city inhabitants to cultivate gardens existing now as allotments. Also the tendency to use so
called “healthy food” will favour the possibility to use greenhouse, balcony and terrace cultivations in multi-family
buildings.
How the installations, which acquire energy from renewable sources are composed and integrated with the forms
of contemporary architecture is a matter of new approaches and aesthetics. It can be easily noticed that most of the
architects are not eager to integrate any devices like photovoltaic panels or wind turbines on the buildings during the
planning process. Therefore most often these devices are installed after completion of the building and are quite far
away from being integrated with the architecture of the building. This disintegration of devices for acquiring energy
from renewable sources in one-family houses with their architecture are not having in reality a strong impact on the
urban aesthetic. There are however new attempts for a stronger formal integration. Tesla has announced 2016
production of photovoltaic roofing tile which should perfectly match and exchange the traditional ceramic or stone
tiles. The multi-family buildings context in city centres exemplifies this problem in quite a larger scale. The design of
428 Zbigniew W. Paszkowski et al. / Energy Procedia 115 (2017) 423–430
6 Zbigniew W. Paszkowski, Jakub I. Golebiewski / Energy Procedia00 (2017) 000–000

both architectural and urban scale of multi-family buildings needs adjustments in order to fit to the placement of solar
or photovoltaic panels and wind turbines in optimized locations and of proper size. The arrangements of such a
locations should be considered in a complex way, taking into account the priorities of solar panels inclination angle,
avoid mutual shading and ensure the highest standards of dwelling functions for inhabitants on the other side. The
volumes and shapes of buildings should also meet the conditions resulting from the minimalization of the heat
emission from the building. A ball form of the building would be probably the most optimal form, but the difficulties
to build it make us stop thinking about. It is also to consider, that in spite of energetic priorities, we should not omit
the important aspect of high quality of housing architecture and it’s environment.

2.3. Optimizing the urban development

Another important factor is the optimization of the urban development by introduction of new cities into the existing
ones – on the brownfield areas or unused waterfronts. In the developed cities there is a key difference between the
European and US traditions. In the European cities there is a history of strategic planning and the structured control
of the land development process from the national to the local level, with clear priorities, responsibilities and controls.
This strong planning environment has allowed cities to retain much of their historic structures and suburbanization
processes has also been widely controlled [11]. This has in turn meant that public transport has had a stronger role to
play. In the US, much of the local zoning regulations restrict density levels and the mixing of land uses, and this
presents a significant barrier to compact the urban development (TRB,2009). The potential for higher density
developments in the US is highest in new and replacement developments in the inner suburbs and at locations near to
good quality highway and public transport interchanges. The local concerns over congestion, local taxes and property
values take precedence over the wider issues relating to housing affordability and climate change.
The physiographic conditions of a building site can clearly indicate the best possibilities of the energy use from
renewable sources. For example, too densely developed city centres with polluted air are not good to apply there
devices to acquire either solar nor wind energy. The situation is different in the case of hilly locations or high buildings
where the air move can be used more often in order to get the energy from the wind power. Locations near the flowing
waters of rivers can be also interesting in this aspect, due to the possibility of using the kinetic force of a river (micro-
hydro-power plant), or using water as a source of heat for thermal pumps. These issues were addressed in the project
of Green Islands in Szczecin [12].

3. The Green Islands Project in Szczecin within the Odra-River public Eco-Space case study

The city of Szczecin is cut by the Odra River valley into two main parts. The Odra Valley creates an “Odra-River
Eco-Corridor” composed of several islands and half islands on the river (Fig. 4a). The islands Kepa Parnicka and
Wyspa Zielona in Szczecin are subject of the Green Islands Project (Fig. 4b). Both islands are located in the
geographical center of Szczecin, between the inner city on the left bank of the river and the port and residential areas
on the right bank [10]. They are offering great opportunities for establishment of “a new city within the city”, an
Waterfront Eco-City with a strong feature of a design focused on a new art of energy saving. This project can also
become a symbol of the transformation from post-industrial city into a smart city. The location of new development
on the islands certifies strong eco-positive values - not only the possibility of obtaining energy from natural sources
(for example like using strong west winds in the valley of Odra river). The use of the islands for a new development
can significantly contribute to reduction of the suburbanization process. That means reduction of individual car
transport and repress of energy-intensive transport infrastructure development. Examples of many European cities
gave evidence that the redevelopment of the inner-city brownfields can contribute to the important sustainability of
the urban development.
The Green Islands project [12] concerns the development of a part of the “Odra-River Eco-Corridor” an area
covering the former Porta Odra river shipyard located on Kepa Parnicka and Wyspa Zielona (Green Island – this is
where the name of the project comes from). In the local spatial plan this area was allotted to dense downtown buildings
with possibly high edifices in some parts of it. Numerous studies, researches and variant concept plans had been made
earlier. The structure of the plan took into account the ideas of WEST 8, a Dutch firm from Rotterdam, and of FORM
Architekter from Denmark, as well as analyses carried out by many urban designers from Szczecin including the
Zbigniew W. Paszkowski et al. / Energy Procedia 115 (2017) 423–430 429
Zbigniew W. Paszkowski, Jakub I. Golebiewski / Energy Procedia00 (2017) 000–000 7

authors of this paper. The Master Plan for this area was passed when the crisis began so the Irish developer who was
to develop the whole area of Odra islands could not realized his aims. Perhaps the delay in developing this area will
help to find some better, more interesting solutions. The area itself is very valuable. It is located in the centre of the
city, excellently connected with the core of the city both visually and functionally, but first of all it is attractive due to
the vicinity of water: the main flow of the Odra River and Przekop Parnicki Canal. This is why the area needs special
projects, more future orientated, looking far ahead of “crisis inertia”, being something more than just a superficial
solution of really difficult and complex tasks in developing the essential parts of the town.

Fig. 4. (a) Miedzyodrze area in Szczecin, frame shows the area of four river islands in Inner City; source: Author’s drawing ; (b) The four river
islands and the location of Green Islands Project; source: Author’s drawing.

The main assumption of the Green Islands project (Fig. 5a, 5b) is to create due to island location and topographic
possibilities a downtown habitat of autonomic, energetically self-sufficient structure by use of the renewable of energy
sources. The analysis indicates that it will be possible to apply in the housing complex highly efficient void solar
panels, photovoltaic panels and thermal pumps that use heat of the waters around the islands. In the south the area
borders with Landscape Park of the Lower Odra which, through the Polish-German border, joins with National Park
in Germany. Thus the Green Islands project is a kind of city limit adjacent to the abundant nature of the Odra-River
Delta region.
The housing complex will be composed of multi-family houses sited in the existing high vegetation, which is
planned to be preserved, and among several storey buildings where apartments will be mixed with different services
and multilevel car parks. Underground car park cannot be built due to high level of the ground water and the threat of
flood. The dwelling towers will have vertical gardens which besides practical values will emphasize the pro-ecological
character of this part of the city.
The post-industrial area of the river shipyard has an amorphous structure of dispersed objects – one of them, a
slipway for barges is protected as a historic monument. The project takes in account to preserve “witnesses” of the
industrial past of this area, and to make the most of waterside location creating a marina for inland floating units as
well as piers and boulevards for mooring and promenading.
430 Zbigniew W. Paszkowski et al. / Energy Procedia 115 (2017) 423–430
8 Zbigniew W. Paszkowski, Jakub I. Golebiewski / Energy Procedia00 (2017) 000–000

Fig. 5. (a) The Green Island Project in Szczecin – visualization; source: Author’s archive; (b) The master plan of a development; source:
Author’s archive.

4. Conclusions

In order to achieve the sustainability in the urban energy system, a profound rethinking of our infrastructure and
information systems as well as urban planning principles will be required. The issues of critical social and
environmental justice are to be considered as well. We pose here a number of immediate opportunities to “green” the
process of urban and energetic evolution. We impose research questions for smart refinement of sustainable cities,
both theoretically as in practical sense. We recommend to analyze experimental and practical solutions in order to
reach sustainability goals, especially in the question of “zero-energy” architecture, accompanied by a new suite of
data-intensive metrics on which planning decisions in different scales and range are to be based. Climate change issues
will have influence on many life conditions. Those, which can affect the urban life and development seems to be
crucial. In order to understand how to deal with those changes larger education should be implemented.

References

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