Conference of Construction Ministers promotes timber construction
Published
Nationwide, construction with wood for buildings up to the high-rise limit is to be made easier and the Model Building Code (MBO) adapted accordingly. This was adopted by the Construction Ministers' Conference (BMK) at the end of the two-day conference in Norderstedt. In addition to climate-friendly construction with a focus on wood, the topic of "affordable housing" was also on the agenda.
Four and a half years after the legal equality of timber construction in the LBO Baden-Württemberg and almost half a year after Bremen, the sixth federal state to break out of the broad phalanx of "timber construction obstructionists", the realisation is now maturing throughout Germany that timber is a particularly environmentally friendly and climate-compatible building material that can be used to solve a wide range of construction tasks well and cost-effectively.
To date, over 500 neighbourhoods have applied for funding for energy-related neighbourhood concepts. A new brochure and a travelling exhibition present practical examples and recommendations for implementation.
The KfW Urban Energy Efficiency Programme was launched in autumn 2011. In the meantime, a wide range of experience has been gained in the development and implementation of strategies for energy-efficient neighbourhoods. The Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety invited participants to Berlin in June 2016 to take stock. A report on this and downloads are available under the links:
The tender "City of the Future - On the Way to Plus-Energy Quarters". builds on previous experiences from the research programme specific focal points and R&D services. All actors who deal with research and development issues related to buildings, neighbourhoods and cities and who want to meet the new challenges of digitalisation in the building sector, the realisation of plus-energy neighbourhoods and the development of innovative urban greening technologies can submit proposals.
Within the framework of "City of the Future", the following are available for the 7th call for proposals around € 8.3 million available. The tender runs until 30.01.2020.
The guiding themes of the "City of the Future" are:
Sustainable energy system
Reduction of climate impact
Increasing competitiveness
However, factors such as liveable city, attractive business location or green space design must also be taken into account.
The subsidies are divided into 3 Tendering priorities with the following subtopics:
Tender focus 1 - Digital planning, construction and operation
1.1 Digital planning, construction process and operations management
1.2 Digital (construction) data management and data acquisition
1.3 Intelligent technologies and usage scenarios
1.4 Innovation Lab "Digital Planning, Building and Operating
Tender focus 2 - On the way to a Plus-Energy-Quarter
2.1 Technological developments on the way to the Plus Energy Quarter
2.2 System integration and combination on the way to a Plus-Energy-Quarter
2.3 Demonstration buildings and quarters
2.4 Innovation laboratory "Promoting interoperability in the smart energy system".
3.1 Reducing urban heat islands and summer overheating
3.2 Multifunctional Wall, Roof and Facade Systems for Greening
3.3 Application and impact of innovative urban greening technologies
Making life in the neighbourhood more ecologically, socially, economically and culturally sustainable together with the residents; that is the aim of "Real-world laboratory 131: KIT finds the city" at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT). In Karlsruhe's Oststadt district, researchers in this laboratory are looking for ways to reduce CO2 emissions, conserve resources, strengthen neighbourhoods and improve the health of people in the district. The project has now been honoured twice by the German Council for Sustainable Development (RNE).
"The special thing about this project is that we work directly with the people living and working on the ground at eye level and can therefore not only incorporate specific local knowledge and think ahead. Rather, this makes it possible to take action for sustainable development," says Alexandra Quint from the project team at the Institute for Technology Assessment and Systems Analysis (ITAS). Ways to make neighbourhoods more pedestrian-friendly are being researched, as are new methods for energy-efficient building refurbishment, and services for sustainable living and sustainable mobility behaviour are being developed. The researchers' work is highly interdisciplinary: "Architects, philosophers, landscape planners, cultural scientists, environmental scientists and geoecologists work together in this team," says the urban geographer.
This is not just research, but also very practical work: "For example, there is a newly developed energy concept for increasing the proportion of renewable energies in existing buildings or initiatives for slowing down our increasingly hectic everyday lives," reports Dr Oliver Parodi, Head of Reallabor 131. In the "Beds and Bees" project, citizens and scientists have jointly designed a snack bed with herbs, fruit and vegetables in public spaces and set up a hive as a home for bees. Quint explains that this not only serves to raise environmental and nutritional awareness, but above all to build community. All of this is done in co-operation with civil society groups, the city administration, associations, businesses and, above all, the local citizens who regularly take part.
A series of events also provides approaches and ideas for alternative consumer behaviour. Parodi mentions plant swaps, clothes swap parties and a regular repair café. "Reallabor 131 is designed as a platform for participation and has a strong networking character." The project's own "Future Space for Sustainability and Science", a former shop, combines the characteristics of a neighbourhood office, a science shop and a community centre and is now a popular meeting point, event and educational venue.
According to Quint, the concept is attracting worldwide interest: "The laboratory is a model, is designed to be transferable and has so far been researched by scientists from the Netherlands, Spain and Australia, with requests for cooperation coming from Mexico, Russia, Switzerland, the USA, Estonia, Portugal and Spain."
Honoured as a transformation project
The German Council for Sustainable Development (RNE), which advises the German government on sustainability issues, has now honoured the Reallabor twice: with the "Project Sustainability 2017" seal of quality and as one of four "transformation projects" nationwide. With this seal, the RNE recognises initiatives from society that make a special contribution to sustainable development in Germany and the world. Around 240 projects applied for the award. According to the jury, the transformation projects honoured have particularly great potential to make the world more sustainable. The awards were presented at the end of May at the RNE's annual conference in Berlin.
The website provides information on all the activities of the real-world laboratory: www.quartierzukunft.de
The associations and organisations involved in the Building Alliance (Graphic: NABU)
The energy transition in the building sector has stalled. Less and less is being invested in energy-efficient refurbishment and the Paris climate protection targets are in jeopardy. The reason for this is inadequate advice and the uncertainty of many consumers on the one hand, as well as inadequate government regulations and poorly managed subsidies on the other. For almost two years now, the Building Alliance, an association of environmental and consumer organisations with energy consultants, tradesmen, trade unions, the building industry, architects' associations and the construction industry, has been positioning itself against this. Under the leadership of the Nature and Biodiversity Conservation Union (NABU), numerous natureplus members such as BUND, BAUM e.V. and IG Bau are also working together in favour of more climate protection in the building sector.
In a recent statement, the Building Alliance calls on a new German government to "make the neglected third of the energy transition in the building sector an integral part of an integrated climate protection and energy policy". So far, politicians have "missed the opportunity to make energy-efficient building refurbishment the largest value creation and value retention programme in Germany and thus a real job engine for the domestic economy", criticises Jörg-Andreas Krüger, Deputy Federal Managing Director of NABU. Residential and non-residential buildings must now be addressed more strongly and more specifically than before by the three pillars of "information and advice", "support" and "demand".
A "lack of prioritisation and reliability" has unsettled investors, homeowners, tradespeople and businesses. In order to create reliability, "more transparency is needed in the assessment of buildings" through a standardised, optimised energy performance certificate. In addition, "high-quality, quality-assured advice from trained experts" in accordance with national standards is needed. Politicians must "set the course for reliable and permanent funding for high-quality consulting services and refurbishment measures". The refurbishment costs should be "shared equally between the state, landlords and tenants". At the same time, however, "new, market-based incentives are needed to mobilise additional investment and provide smart incentives", concludes NABU.
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