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China's Greenest Building
A showcase for energy efficiency and sustainable design breaks new ground in the heart of Beijing.
Water use
The roof garden is not only a very pleasant place to be, but its vegetation keeps the building cooler in summer and warmer in winter than a conventional roof-saving heating and cooling costs as well as greenhouse gas emissions. The vegetated roof also helps manage rainwater flow. Nearly 80 percent of the rainwater that falls on the building is captured in cisterns and reused for irrigation. In addition, the building's pavement at ground level is made of permeable material, which allows much of the rainwater to soak into the soil rather than running off into drainpipes and sometimes flooding the neighborhood.
last revised 1/4/2007
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