Building of the week: zero carbon McDonalds

This week McDonalds completed what they’re calling a “new global flagship”, their first zero carbon “restaurant”. Located near Disneyland in Florida, it’s the first net zero fast food outlet in the United States, and it will serve as a test bed for future McDonalds sites.

The low carbon footprint of the building is achieved by generating all its annual energy needs on site, thanks to a large solar canopy that will produce an estimated 600,000 kilowatt hours of electricity a year. A further 70,00...