Digging Deep

The new V&A Dundee utilises geothermal energy drawn from boreholes that extend 200 metres below the surface, the faade of the Oasia Hotel in Singapore is to be covered by 21 species of creepers and vines, and Meli Hotels International has announced its intention to eliminate all single-use plastics in its properties within a year.

- Steve Hill

WOW FACTOR

The spectacular new Dhs376 million V&A Dundee, designed by award-winning Japanese architect Kengo Kuma, utilises geothermal energy drawn from 30 boreholes that extend 200 metres deep below ground.

The 8000-square metre building opened last month and has already been compared to Frank Gehry’s Guggenheim in Bilbao for the way in which it has created the wow factor.

There are no straight external walls; two-and-a-half thousand pre-cast rough stone panels, each weighing up to 3000 kilograms and spanning up to four metres, create the appearance of a Scottish cliffface.

The V&A’s first outpost outside London, and Scotland’s first design museum, the V&A Dundee will feature 1650 square metres of gallery space with exhibits, including a 15th century Book of Hours and a 13.5-metre-long oak panelled room designed by the celebrated Charles Rennie Mackintosh.

But equal care has been paid to identifying the most appropriate form of renewable energy for the museum.

The use of wind turbines, solar panels, photovoltaic cells, biomass and river source heat pumps were all analysed before geothermal was identified as the most appropriate option for heating and cooling the building, supplemented by air source heat pumps on the roof.

These provide direct renewable energy for V&A Dundee, with 800,000 kilowatt hours per annum of heating and 500,000 kWh/annum of cooling.

Around 500,000 people are expected to visit V&A Dundee in its first year.

TOP GEAR

Season 5 of the ABB FIA Formula E Championship gets underway in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on 15 December, when a new Batmobile-esque all-electric racing car will hit the track in anger for the first time.