A better world in 2030 is to be achieved with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations. To ensure that these are seen and heard, Marc Buckley is campaigning as an advocate for the SDGs. In this second part of the interview, we talk about the status quo, green washing, the role of the building sector and where the journey is headed.
End poverty, protect the climate, equality, leaving no one behind. The content of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) sounds just right, but how do you get there? Many have racked their brains over this, including Marc Buckley. He has been appointed by the UN as an advocate for the SDGs. In this first of a two-part interview he talks about his role and how the SDGs are really to be understood.
Replicable solutions for sustainable and climate-friendly construction worldwide – projects that adhere to such principles are honoured by the international Green Solutions Awards. This year’s award ceremony took place on November 10 at the 26th Climate Change Conference in Glasgow, Scotland. Among the jury members was Thomas Kraubitz, Director and Head of Sustainability in Europe at Buro Happold, and a member of the DGNB board of directors. We spoke to Mr Kraubitz about recent developments in the industry worldwide and current trends in the area of sustainable building.
Bruno Sauer, CEO of the Green Building Council España, summarises in an interview the introduction of the DGNB System in Spain, talks about special conditions of the Spanish real estate market, the challenges of 2020 and explains why solutions in the building sector must be pan-European.
The way we plan and operate our buildings offers enormous potential for saving climate-damaging CO2 emissions. However, to fully exploit this potential, it is important to take an honest, systematic look at our own consumption. DGNB member CSMM – architecture matters has implemented exactly this for its own company. Timo Brehme, founder and managing partner, reports on the motivations, experiences and insights.
Networking – a buzzword that nowadays hardly any student or young professional can avoid. At the same time, many wonder whether it is worthwhile to get involved while still at university and whether they have a place between experienced professionals. We spoke with Kasimir Forth on this topic. The Managing Director of the Leonhard Obermeyer Center in Munich got in touch with the DGNB and its network when he was a student himself and continued to participate ever since. His answer: Absolutely!
The vocational school centre GPES in the north of Stuttgart reached the DGNB highest standard platinum. Eight years later, Thomas Stöckle, head of the “New and extended buildings” department at the school administration office of the state capital Stuttgart, looks back in an interview, talks about the special features of school buildings, the opportunities and challenges of certification and explains what pupils and teachers particularly appreciate.
Very few could claim to have influenced German sustainable building developments in Germany as much as Prof. Alexander Rudolphi. To the DGNB, he has been an initiator, founding member and president in one – from the very start. His was reappointed to his post in 2019. We spoke to Rudolphi at the Expo Real trade show in Munich, took a snapshot together and looked beyond the horizon.
The number of buildings that have been constructed in China in the last 15 years equals the total number of buildings that already exist in Europe. Construction volumes remain high and the demand for certifiably better buildings is growing. And this is where the German Sustainable Building Council (DGNB) certification system comes into play, serving as a quality standard for projects reflecting Made in Germany levels of sustainability.
“Systems that limit planners’ creativity and design freedom are fundamentally wrong and ineffectual,” says Thomas Auer, Professor for Building Technology and Climate Responsive Design at TU Munich and Managing Director of Transsolar Energietechnik. In our blog interview, he discusses the differences between international certification systems for buildings and the special role played by the German Sustainable Building Council (DGNB), also reflecting on the responsibilities architects and engineers will face as a result of necessary changes in the environment we build around ourselves.
With a market share of over 80 per cent for new commercial properties and more than 60 per cent of the overall market, the German Sustainable Building Council (DGNB) is the undisputed market leader in the German commercial property segment, well ahead of other certification systems. This was the conclusion of the latest market report issued by BNP Paribas Real Estate – Market Focus: Green Buildings 2017. Hermann Horster, Head of Sustainability at BNP Paribas Real Estate, answered our questions about the role played by certified buildings in the investment market, also covering a variety of other issues.
The effect of light, or to be precise, of daylight, on our well-being cannot be denied. When the sun shines, we feel happier and more energetic. When it’s grey outside, our mood tends to swing in the other direction – facts that should also be kept in mind when planning natural light in buildings.
The DGNB System has been applied in China for some years now and the first projects have already been certified. During BAU Congress China, taking place in July 2016 in Beijing, we talked with two experts that have practical experience in applying the DGNB System on the Chinese market. Their conclusion: The DGNB System is very well received and fits perfectly to the needs of the Chinese market.
Hardly anything makes such a difference to a city’s skyline as the architecture of its buildings. They are more than just a means to an end, more than just four walls that create space for all the things we need to get done. Buildings foster communication; their design can forge identities and make important contributions to a culture. One edifice that unites these qualities in spectacular fashion is the 50Hertz Netzquartier building in Berlin.
