EDITORIAL Alex Smith, Editor Email: asmith@cibsejournal.com Twitter: @alexsmith68 Wuhans wonder A nyone sceptical about Chinas intention to tackle carbon emissions could be persuaded otherwise by the recent flowering of the extraordinary central tower at the Wuhan New Energy Institute in central China. The Chinese government hopes that up to 20,000 students and researchers working there on renewable and new energy technologies, will create a new generation of engineers who can help decarbonise Chinas built environment. What is encouraging is that the client went for a passive-first design, and only fitted renewables where they were of genuine benefit. The visual reference to a Calla lily may be a bit too explicit for some Western architectural tastes, but form truly follows function in this design as the overhang of the roof in the funnel-like structure provides shading for the glass faades, reducing the need for cooling, and the angle of the roof slope is optimised for PV performance. Even the flowers protuding stamen forms part of the buildings ventilation strategy. From Wuhan to Walgreens the American retail giant has vowed to improve the performance of its huge estate and has completed its first store with net zero energy aspirations. The Cyclone Energy Group designed the services strategy and its CEO Benjamin Skelton has described, in detail, the challenges of designing the low-energy building near Chicago. With more than 8,200 stores in America, Walgreens potential to slash carbon is immense, and its willingness to share building data is to be applauded. Skeltons paper on the store Its not easy being green was named the most significant contribution to the art and science of building services engineering at the 2014 Technical Symposium. Thankfully, the feature is as insightful and entertaining as Skeltons presentation in Dublin. The Woodland Trust HQ was another landmark low-energy building covered in the Journal (Trees of Knowledge, October 2014). In the post-occupancy evaluation, Bill Bordass and his co-authors revealed how easy it was to lose sight of the energy used by ITC equipment. An in-depth article by Tim Small explains how designers can help avoid unexpected energy loads in the computer room and at the desktop. As Robbie Burns almost said: The best laid plans of mice and microchips often go astray. "