Not far from the Millennium Dome in Greenwich, London, Sainsbury’s new “green” supermarket has opened its doors – conceived as a model ecological scheme for the second-largest trading concern in Britain. A fifth of the area designated for fresh produce is reserved for biologically cultivated wares. Thanks to the overall architectural concept, the energy needs for the present scheme are only half those of a comparable supermarket in a conventional form of construction. The aims of the architects are already evident externally. Large solar panels and wind turbines supply the energy for lighting the extensive company advertising signs. The curved south face is divided by the broad, glazed main entrance. The solid walls enclosing the supermarket are masked in the entrance area by untreated oak boarding. Along the adjoining facade areas, earth was banked up to a height of five metres and planted. This natural form of insulation protects the building against wind and extremes of heat and cold, thereby helping to ensure constant temperatures internally. Almost nothing is wasted. Ninety per cent of the energy given off by the refrigeration plant is recovered and used to warm the floor of the sales area. Rainwater from the roof is channelled to a pond on the north side and serves to water the plants, while waste food from the shop is sent to be composted and is later used as a natural fertilizer.