2:52 min, 9.11.2014
Project Info: http://sdg21.eu/db/hundertwasserhaus-in-wien
"The raw material wood is precious. It is therefore important to use it responsibly and in a way that conserves resources," warns Peter Aicher, Chairman of Holzbau Deutschland. Even if wood is affected by environmental influences or the bark beetle, it does not represent an inferior raw material, but has almost identical properties to conventional construction timber. "If the so-called 'calamity wood' has the same structural quality in terms of load-bearing capacity as conventional sawn timber, it can be used without restrictions," explains Aicher. In addition, the wood retains its important function as a CO2 sink, regardless of external impairments.
"If the wood is used as a building material, the carbon bound in the wood remains stored there in the long term, thereby significantly reducing the burden on the environment."
The goal must be an economically and ecologically sensible and efficient use of the domestic resource. In the interests of sustainability and climate protection, regional wood resources should therefore be used optimally.
Calamity wood is of high quality and can be used without restrictions
In most cases, bark beetle infestation is irrelevant for the use of the wood as a building material. The bark beetle lays its burrows in the bast, i.e. the area between the bark (bark) and the trunk, but not in the load-bearing wood itself. In addition, the sawn timber is technically dried during further processing. During this process at the latest, any remaining populations of insect pests are reliably killed off, so that beetle-free timber processed into sawn timber is guaranteed to be beetle-free. Every piece of sawn timber - regardless of its origin - must meet the criteria of DIN standard 4074 in order to be used as load-bearing timber in a building. In some cases, the wood turns a slightly bluish colour after a bark beetle infestation. It can then be used in the non-visible area.
Environmental factors and the effects of climate change have further facilitated the mass spread of the bark beetle in the past year. In most cases, rapid felling of the affected trees is the only alternative to stop the further spread of the pest. The logs are immediately removed from the forest and stored. This results in an oversupply of so-called 'beetle wood'. The prompt further processing of the calamity wood into sawn timber is an active contribution to climate protection.
Holzbau Deutschland appeals to the public sector as well as to architects and builders to make greater use of regional calamity wood and to specify this in tenders. The use of domestic calamity wood not only supports regional value creation, but is also a sign of solidarity with regional forest owners.
Source: Holzbau Deutschland-PM from 5.3.2021
Keywords:
Building materials / Construction, Procurement, DE-News, Wood construction, Climate protection, NaWaRohs, Sustainable management, Quarters, Resource efficiency, Settlements, City, Housing
6:22 min, 14 April 2014, Ed: The Guardian
Oliver Wainwright visits the International Building Exhibition (IBA), a six-year experiment to build a zero-carbon extension to Hamburg in northern Germany. The project is home to all kinds of Passivhaus buildings, solid timber construction, the recycling of greywater, and even a building with a bubbling bio-reactive algae facade. Wainwright meets some of the key representatives of the project to examine a variety of different examples of eco architecture
Click here for full Guardian article:
www.theguardian.com/lifeandsty...
Project Info: http://sdg21.eu/db/iba-wilhelmsburg
Keywords:
DE-News, Renewable, Movies, Movies 4 to 10 Min, Wood construction, Climate protection, News Blog Hamburg, PV, Solar thermal, Housing
Dieter Janecek, Spokesperson for Industrial Policy and the Digital Economy, and Dr. Bettina Hoffmann, Spokesperson for Environmental Policy and Environmental Health, comment on today's cabinet meeting and the planned discussion of the draft German Resource Efficiency Programme III (ProgRess III):
With ProgRess III, the German government is treading water. Two resource efficiency programmes of the Federal Government could not prevent the German consumption of raw materials from continuing to rise. It is foreseeable that the third resource programme of the Federal Government will not change this situation either. ProgRess III also remains a longish hodgepodge of plans, announcements and test orders.
The majority of the measures are limited to non-binding information and advisory instruments. In addition, reference is made in some cases to ongoing processes or measures are listed which the Federal Government is obliged to take in any case, for example with regard to the implementation of EU directives. There is a lack of concrete legislative initiatives and funding programmes backed by substantial financial resources.
German industry plays a central role in the consumption of metallic raw materials worldwide. For aluminium and copper, for example, it is the third largest consumer. Germany's responsibility is correspondingly great. Unfortunately, it remains open by how much the increase in raw material consumption is to be reduced nationally and at the European level. Without a concrete reduction target, however, it is difficult to trace or verify a path.
In the past, the pure focus on raw material efficiency led to rebound effects. We therefore urgently need a genuine raw materials turnaround that leads not only to a relative but also to an absolute reduction in resource consumption. The Greens already called for a reduction in resource consumption by a factor of 10 by 2050 in their motion on a raw materials turnaround last year.
In addition, the Greens advocate the transfer of the resource efficiency programme into an action plan for the circular economy. This should include, among other things, legally anchored waste reduction targets and an extension of producer responsibility to product groups such as building materials, furniture and textiles.
Source: PM from 17.6.2020
Keywords:
Building materials / Construction, DE-News, Faktor X / ResScore, Resource efficiency, City, Environmental policy
North Rhine-Westphalia has extended the progres.nrw programme until the end of 2016. The programme complements and expands existing programmes such as the market incentive programme or KfW funding.
Subsidies are available, among other things, for domestic ventilation systems/appliances with heat recovery and solar thermal systems. For the latter, however, only if they are not required anyway in order to comply with the Renewable Heat Act in new buildings.
In the case of PV, only so-called multiplier systems are eligible for funding. These include systems on ultra-low-energy or passive houses, particularly efficient technologies or façade-integrated PV. A subsidy is available for biomass systems if they are installed in conjunction with a solar thermal system. Subsidies are also available for highly efficient decentralised CHP systems for heat and power generation with an electrical output of up to 20 kW. Special energy storage systems and systems with an extraordinary degree of innovation or multiplier effect are also eligible for funding. This is decided on a case-by-case basis.
A grant is also available for residential buildings in the passive house standard including ventilation systems and for residential buildings in the 3-litre house standard including ventilation systems, as well as for studies on energy efficiency in which there is particular interest on the part of the state. The amount of the subsidies is flat-rate. For example, 4,700 euros are available for a passive house with a ventilation system.
In 2015, a total of more than 6,000 measures were funded under the programme. Applications for funding can be submitted by private individuals as well as small and medium-sized enterprises or municipalities. A total of 10 million euros is available for the programme in 2016. Source: progres.nrw / pgl
Keywords:
Bonn, Renewable, Funding, Climate protection, News Blog NRW, PlusEnergy house/settlement
