In stark contrast to the political reality, the designs for the WerkBundStadt Berlin are characterized by the longing retro chic of a 19th century bourgeois residential culture.
A review worth reading in the db - deutsche bauzeitung of 1.12.2016: www.db-bauzeitung.de/...sehnsucht-statt-siedlung-eine-werkbundstadt-fuer-berlin
In May 2014, the residents of the car-free settlement GWL Terrein in Amsterdam planted two stone squares on their own initiative. The residents planted the squares themselves and also covered the costs themselves.
In this 10-minute film, the transformation was documented:
Project Info: http://sdg21.eu/db/gwl-terrein-amsterdam-westerpark
Keywords:
Car Free, Greening / climate adaptation, Movies, Movies 4 to 10 Min, News Blog Europe (without DE), News Blog Netherlands, Quarters, Settlements, Aesthetics / Architecture / Building Culture
The discussion about climate change and the growing demand for living space have increasingly brought timber construction into the focus of planners, architects and developers over the past year. After all, sustainable timber construction can make a significant contribution to climate protection and the creation of living space. The increased interest in timber construction is also reflected in the industry figures: the turnover of companies grew by 7 percent in 2019 compared to the previous year, the number of employees increased from around 68,000 to around 70,000 and the timber construction rate continued to grow in both residential (new construction) and non-residential (new construction) construction.
Holzbau Deutschland has published these and other facts, figures and forecasts on the structure of the sector, market and economic trends, the business situation and financing, as well as training and careers in the carpentry and timber construction trades in its "Situation Report Carpenters / Timber Construction 2020" published. It can be downloaded free of charge from the Association's website in the Business Administration section.
Even after Corona: Continue to drive forward climate protection
At the conclusion of the 11th Petersberg Climate Dialogue last week, German Chancellor Angela Merkel appealed that in the period after the Corona crisis, "when we launch economic stimulus packages, we should always keep climate protection firmly in mind and make it clear that we are not cutting back on climate protection, but investing in technologies that are fit for the future."
Timber construction has long been one of the sustainable technologies that can make an essential contribution to achieving climate protection goals. "Ecological, sustainable and resource-saving construction with wood must therefore continue to be the focus in residential construction as well as in redensification and gap filling in existing buildings. In order for timber construction to be recognized as an alternative on an equal footing with other construction methods, the framework conditions must be further improved and the building codes of the federal states must be adapted to the current state of the art," demanded Peter Aicher, Chairman of Holzbau Deutschland.
The current and further development in timber construction
Until the outbreak of the Corona pandemic, the mood in the timber construction industry was good. The satisfaction of carpentry and timber construction companies is also reflected in the Holzbau Deutschland business survey, in which almost 370 companies took part at the turn of the year 2019/2020. Their order backlog at the beginning of the year already averaged 17 weeks (previous year 15 weeks). The current exceptional situation in the wake of the Corona pandemic has not changed this much: According to recent surveys, most businesses are going about their work without any significant restrictions and in compliance with clearance and hygiene rules. Builders are also sticking to their construction projects. Many timber construction companies are currently benefiting from the existing high order backlog. For some of them, the workload will last until next year.
How turnover in timber construction will develop in 2020 and beyond, and what impact the Corona pandemic will have, cannot be reliably assessed at the present time. Regardless of the current situation, the timber construction industry has assumed a further 5 percent increase in sales by the beginning of March. The value is also based on the cautious confidence of the entrepreneurs from the economic survey of Holzbau Deutschland.
download pdf
Situation report carpenters / timber construction 2020
Source: PM Holzbau Deutschland from 4.5.2020
Keywords:
DE-News, Wood construction, Climate protection, New books and studies
Further decreasing investment costs for PV, wind and electric storage expected: In this regard, the Agency for Renewable Energies (AEE) publishes a new meta-analysis today. It compares the investment costs reported in 15 studies for a total of 11 energy technologies, including offshore and onshore wind energy, photovoltaics and solar thermal energy. It also presents statements on the investment costs of storage technologies and heat pumps. "The meta-analysis shows that specific costs for wind energy and photovoltaics are expected to continue to fall despite the cost reductions already achieved.
Another piece of good news for the energy transition is that investment costs for storage technologies can also be expected to fall drastically in some cases," says AEE Managing Director Philipp Vohrer, summarising the key findings of the meta-analysis.
PM AEE's costs for PV and wind continue to fall from 22 December 2016
Keywords:
Construction and operating costs, DE-News, Energy storage, Renewable, Media, New books and studies, PV, PlusEnergy house/settlement, Electricity storage, Ecology, Economics
According to Dr Axel Berg, Chairman of the Executive Board of the German Section of EUROSOLARAccording to the author, neither ambitious climate protection goals nor an increased ecological awareness are the drivers of the energy turnaround, but rather "the exponential cost degression in renewable energy technologies, the technical innovations in storage technologies and a high level of interest from the industrial sector". In his detailed, expert contribution, he names three key technologies that, in their interaction, will accelerate the energy turnaround to such an extent that it is very likely that major players from German old industry, which for decades were considered the backbone of our powerful industrial nation, will be disrupted away by new players.
The three Key technology:
1. solar energies, especially photovoltaics and wind power
2. memory
3. renewable mobility
We would have to increase research and development efforts in Germany to tinker with new battery generations and all the high-tech. We need public showcases, the conversion of public authority vehicle fleets, showcase cities like Graz and the bundling of SMEs. In the SME sector, many new players with good ideas are waiting in the wings. Subsidies in the double-digit billions flow annually, only slowing down the wrong channels of old industry (e.g. diesel...).
Conclusion
According to Berg, citizens could look forward to the disruptive developments described. Our cities would become quieter, the air cleaner, the quality of life would increase. Mobility would become smoother and much cheaper [FNB: because only a fraction of the previous cars would be needed and the external costs would be eliminated].
It will be bitter for the old world. The car companies have a lot of money and can survive by shrinking - similar to what E.on or RWE are currently trying to do by splitting up. It will be brutal for the medium-sized suppliers who specialise in engine parts such as gearboxes, carburettors, clutches or pistons that are simply no longer needed. Or the 40,000 car repair shops in Germany alone, whose main job is to service combustion engines. The later they look for new fields of business, the harder the economic and social collapses will be.
Everything is ready for the start of information technology disruption: renewable energies, storage, digitalisation and autonomous electric vehicles. By 2030, all of this could already be accomplished.
Read the full article from 7.8.2017 here:
www.energiezukunft.eu/...
Keywords:
100% EEs, Stakeholders, Construction and operating costs, Energy storage, Renewable, Climate protection, Mobility, News Blog Europe (without DE), PV, PlusEnergy house/settlement, Solar thermal, Electricity storage, Transition Town, Ecology, Economics
