The Schweighofer Prize rewards innovative ideas, technologies, products and services along the entire value chain with the aim of increasing the competitiveness of the European forestry and timber industry.
The Schweighofer Prize has been awarded every two years since 2003 and is endowed with a total amount of € 300,000 before taxes. The Schweighofer Prize is divided into a main prize and several innovation prizes.
All natural persons and groups of persons, irrespective of their age, level of education or employment status, who have performed a service in accordance with the tender conditions are eligible to participate. Organisations may also submit entries. However, the main focus should be on people who have already achieved great things for the European forestry and timber industry or who are currently developing innovative solutions.
The Federal City of Bonn has successfully applied to participate in the pilot project "Globally Sustainable Municipality in NRW". The project is organised by the state working group AGENDA 21 NRW e.V. in cooperation with the Service Agency Communities in One World / Engagement Global. Bonn is one of 16 municipalities in NRW taking part in the project. The aim of the project is to develop a municipal sustainability strategy in the context of the new UN Sustainable Development Goals of Agenda 2030 by autumn 2017.
In September 2015, the United Nations adopted the 2030 Agenda, the first globally applicable Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The new development agenda heralds a change of perspective in international cooperation. It affects countries of the Global South and the Global North in equal measure. For the countries of the Global North, the main question is what can be done here to promote sustainable development worldwide.
Further information: Verena Schwarte, Office for International Affairs and Global Sustainability of the City of Bonn, phone: 0228- 77 67 31, e-mail: verena.schwarte@bonn.de
Since February 2017, the houses of Chiemgauer Holzhaus have been awarded the RAL quality mark GZ 425. The solid wood houses achieve a GWP (Global Warming Potential) value of less than zero in their carbon footprint. This was tested by the "Gütegemeinschaft CO2 neutrale Bauwerke in Holz e.V.".
Taking into account all the necessary materials, such as concrete foundation, roof tiles, glass windows, etc., this means in the case of a solid wood house with approx. 150 m² of living space an CO2 reduction capacity of approx. 23,000 kg!
By comparison, a conventionally built house with bricks and otherwise the same conditions pollutes the environment with 24,000 kg of CO2. (Source: www.chiemgauer-holzhaus.de/
Certification of CO2 neutral solid wood buildings
Every building generates a verifiable "Global Warming Potential" (GWP) during the production of the building materials and during construction, which is primarily caused by the energy consumption during production. The aim of the new quality association is to certify solid timber buildings whose manufacturing energy balance has a GWP value of less than zero. This means that a manufactured solid wood building is at least CO2 neutral, or even has a CO2-reducing effect. For this purpose, the "German Institute for Quality Assurance and Labelling" (RAL) approved the "Quality Mark CO2 Reducing Wooden Structures" in 2015, which is awarded by the "Quality Association CO2 Neutral Structures in Wood". The quality mark has a modular structure and currently includes Part A of the EPDs as a component and basis. As soon as further European-recognised and standardised product indicators are available up to the disposal of a material, the quality mark will be extended with the same criteria in order to ensure a holistic view.
The basis of the "Quality mark for CO2-reducing timber structures" is timber from sustainable forestry. The more wood is used in construction and the more trees are replanted accordingly, the greater the CO2 reduction in our climate, both in the short and long term. The prerequisite for the award of the quality mark is the calculation and documentation of the EPDs as well as external monitoring according to the strict criteria of RAL.
INFOS:
Quality Association for CO2-neutral Buildings in Wood e.V., Munich
Internet: www.wood-co2.eu
Isabella Marboe (ed.) Bauen für die Gemeinschaft in Wien Neue gemeinschaftliche Formen des Zusammenlebens. Edition Detail 2021, 144 pages, de/eng, Euro 39.90
Review by Roman Schaurhofer, Vienna
Overview
The book "Building for the Community in Vienna" was published in 2021 by Isabella Marboe at Verlag Detail. All texts were printed in German and English in the book. In addition to an interview conducted by Marboe with Ulrike Schartner and Alexander Hagner, Robert Temel has his say in an expert article.
All in all, the book deals with 20 building projects in the Austrian capital Vienna and offers insight into the respective planning as well as the organisational and structural realisation of those very communities.
Content
At the beginning, Isabella Marboe looks back at historically relevant and significant events surrounding Viennese housing, community in everyday life and housing, and participatory building. The editor then highlights the importance and significance of the architect Ottokar Uhl and his work. Especially the projects "Living with Children" and "B.R.O.T." are mentioned and described as positive examples. In addition, Marboe goes into more detail about the historical developments surrounding the "Sargfabrik" and "MISS Sargfabrik" projects. Isabella Marboe is committed to a communal and socially solidary as well as responsible coexistence.
In Robert Temel's contribution, after a historical classification of Austrian pioneer and follow-up projects, there is also a brief description of organisational and ownership models. This is followed by an outline of the emergence of building communities and their possibilities for acquiring a building plot, as well as a comparison of several models implemented in Vienna.
In an interview, Ulrike Schartner and Alexander Hagner from gaupenraub+/- explained the many challenges that arise when creating quality housing for homeless people and at the same time show approaches to dealing with problems of this kind.
After the essays and the interview, there is a more detailed examination of the individual projects. A brief description, accompanied by key figures and background information, provides insights into the planning and implementation of the respective community ideas. In addition, illustrations and detailed plans (often in the form of floor plans) give the reader a better understanding of the structure and function of the respective project. In addition to individual buildings, row houses, multi-storey residential buildings and neighbourhood houses that stand out from their surroundings were also selected.
Criticism
The social and socially solidary approach of the project examples stands out in a clearly positive way. Each of the projects features people-oriented planning and high-quality implementation geared to the wishes of the residents, without losing sight of the demand for high-quality architecture. Although the communal and participatory character is clearly in the foreground as a unifying element, the individual projects cannot be denied their uniqueness and individuality in approach.
The detailed information, underpinned by pictorial representations, enables the reader to place the projects conceptually and contextually in their respective environment. With the overview and detailed descriptions of the sample projects, the editor Isabella Marboe offers a solid basis with carefully researched project examples for professional discourse and a more intensive examination of the topic of building communities.
February 2021, Hardcover, 23 x 30 cm, German / English
However, the regulatory framework remains unsuitable for the widespread market deployment of energy storage systems.
The industry figures published annually by BVES show a fundamentally positive development in retrospect for 2020 and in the forecast for 2021. Across all technologies and segments, sales in the energy storage industry grew by over 10 percent to EUR 7.1 billion in 2020.
The growth drivers are the trends towards system integration, flexible sector coupling and electromobility, particularly in the household and commercial sectors. 300,000 home storage units alone are now installed in households and ensure a secure self-supply of green energy in the electricity, heating and mobility sectors. 300,000 home storage units provide 2.3 GWh of green electricity, enough for the annual washing of more than 20,000 households or to drive an e-car around the world more than 170 times.
Urban Windelen, Federal Managing Director BVES: "An addition of over 100,000 home storage units alone in one year is a great result. And at the same time a clear signal that citizens in households, commerce and industry increasingly want to rely on storage technologies to make their energy supply secure, green and cost-efficient. Politicians should finally listen to this signal and provide the highly innovative German storage industry with a suitable framework for its products. Relying solely on grid expansion and squeezing people into an outdated energy system will not be enough for a successful energy transition."
While the household segment was able to grow disproportionately in the Corona year 2020, the industrial and commercial storage segment suffered a decline of around 20 percent due to the pandemic. Germany also continues to evade the international trend towards the increased use of large-scale storage in the system infrastructure. This market segment is stagnating at a low level. The trend towards hydrogen solutions finds a difficult environment in Germany, so that market applications on an industrial scale cannot (yet) establish themselves. In contrast, thermal storage systems are developing well and are increasingly being used in industry in particular, contributing to decarbonisation.
Overall, the industry expects a significant recovery of the storage market in the industrial segment in 2021. The drivers here are flexible sector coupling in the direction of heat, the trend towards electromobility with clever charging solutions including storage, and self-supply solutions with green electricity to green hydrogen.
"Without energy storage, the energy transition is missing something. This is becoming increasingly obvious. Technically, the industry can do pretty much anything. Various technologies for all sectors and all applications are ready and operational. Now all that needs to be done is to finally release the regulatory brakes. Especially if we want to secure and support the domestic technical excellence and high value creation of the industry in Germany and Europe." says Urban Windelen.
The BVES industry figures 2021 are available via this link available.
The occasion for the publication is the international conference ENERGY STORAGE SYSTEMS 2021, organized by BVES in cooperation with Energy Storage Europe and EUROSOLAR e.V.. The two-day online conference ENERGY STORAGE SYSTEMS 2021 will feature parallel discussion panels and workshops on current trends in the storage industry.
Source: PM of the Bundesverband Energiespeicher from
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