We are delighted to announce that our masterplanning project in the market town of Sherford, east of Plymouth has been nominated for a 2011 Katerva Award. A pinnacle of global sustainability; The Katerva Awards recognise those with innovative ideas to accelerate them further into worldwide use.  They are described as a new kind of open source “Nobel Prize” for sustainability in its inaugural year.

We were appointed as a Masterplanner by the developer Red Tree LLP following an Enquiry by Design workshop in south Devon. The aim was to design the basis for a new community which will work together with the current community to the immediate east of Plymouth. When complete, it will have up to 5,500 new homes, four schools, employment opportunities along with many new shops and a high street. All of these will be planned over a layout which will reflect the varying topography of the site. It has been structured as a series of walkable neighbourhoods where residents will only ever be a 5 minute walk from any daily shopping needs, thus reducing the overall carbon footprint.

The open space strategy alongside it, will allow for 207 hectares of green space among the neighbourhoods. On the south side of the site within the valley, a Sustainable Drainage System (SuDS) will be in place to take advantage of the green network where consequently, a series of balancing ponds will be created.

Having already received a BRE (Building research Establishment) Exemplar rating, the masterplan sets new standards for sustainability in terms of resource efficiency, increased used of renewables and public transportation provision in a sustainable urban form. A town code has also been produced which seeks to ensure quality delivery of urbanism and architecture grounded in local tradition with ecological principles.

“We are delighted to be in the running for a Katerva award alongside other projects such as NASA’s first space station on earth and Boeing’s aircraft with significantly reduced emissions” stated our Chief Executive Hank Dittmar. “It shows we, at the Princes Foundation, are at the forefront in paving the way for a sustainable future across the globe”.

Katerva like us, are a UK – Registered Charity organisation. Their aim is to accelerate bold and innovative ideas to a global scale in a necessary step to living on a sustainable planet.

The Katerva awards are an annual event where the nominees are analysed through a scrupulous series of reviewing processes involving hundreds of individuals over six filtering phases and twelve stages of review.

The finalists and winners will be announced on the 7^th December at the Lincoln Centre in New York.

For more information about our nomination, please visit http://katerva.org/nominees/a-model-eco-friendly-commuter-town/

For more information about the Katerva Awards, please visit http://katerva.org

Other nominations included:

Boeing, GE and Georgia Tech

Nominated for their collaboration in creating an aircraft that can reduce emissions by 70% and total energy use by 55%.

http://katerva.org/nominees/revolutionizing-the-future-of-air-travel/

NASA and William McDonough + Partners

Nominated for NASA’s first Space Station on earth which will constitute of a highly intelligent research centre which will lead the way in sustainable urban design.
http://katerva.org/nominees/nasa-first-space-station-on-earth/

Dr. Eero Paloheimo and Eriksson Architects Ltd

Nominated for an innovative eco city in China; Mentougou EcoValley.

http://katerva.org/nominees/an-innovative-eco-city-in-china/

EBay’s WorldofGood.Com

Nominated for its fair trading and sustainability, creating a positive impact on the world of online shopping.

http://katerva.org/nominees/socially-eco-responsible-marketplace/

The CNN Freedom Project
Nominated for its project to end modern day slavery by highlighting stories and creating global awareness.
http://katerva.org/nominees/a-project-to-end-modern-day-slavery/