NRW relies on sustainable building transition: AKNW summer festival inspires!

NRW relies on sustainable building transition: AKNW summer festival inspires!

Cologne was buzzing at the AKNW summer festival on July 3rd, where around 650 chamber members and guests from politics, business and associations gathered in the former canteen of a large fabric manufacturer. There was both celebration and serious discussion here: What does the future of the built environment in North Rhine-Westphalia look like? Ernst Uhing, President of the North Rhine-Westphalia Chamber of Architects (AKNW), made it unmistakably clear that the climate-friendly and functional design of our living and working spaces must be the top priority. The importance of the existing building stock is increasingly coming into focus, as AKNW reports that Uhing impressively demonstrated.

With a building stock of around 9.3 million units, NRW is a real heavyweight. Uhing brought the urgent “vintage car regulation” into play, which would make it possible to sustainably preserve and sensibly develop existing buildings. “The technical requirements of the year of construction should apply to renovations, not today's ideal standards,” he advocated for protecting old structures instead of simply demolishing them in favor of new ideals.

Sustainability and energy efficiency

The topic of sustainability was also a central topic of discussion at the summer festival. Gabriele Willems, Managing Director of the Construction and Property Management NRW (BLB NRW), emphasized that increasing environmental protection requirements not only represent challenges, but also opportunities for the renovation of the existing property. With an annual construction volume of over one billion euros and 4,100 buildings in its portfolio, BLB NRW shows that serious efforts are being made towards sustainable buildings.

Not to be forgotten is the role of energy efficiency, which is extremely important in terms of the entire life cycle of a building. Energy4Climate makes it clear that sustainable construction aims to minimize energy and resource consumption in order to only reduce environmental impact. Gray energy, which is used for the production, transport and disposal of a building, already accounts for over 50% of the emissions of an energy-efficient new building.

The role of certification

Another building block in the discussion about sustainability was the certification system of the German Sustainable Building Council (DGNB). This certification system allows the comparable assessment of sustainability features of such structures. It takes into account numerous uses, including residential and commercial buildings, hotels and mixtures of different usage elements. The evaluation takes place in different quality levels from platinum to gold and silver to bronze.

With a federal investment package that entails additional tasks, those responsible in North Rhine-Westphalia have raised awareness of the development of the inventory. State Secretary Daniel Sieveke emphasized that it is important to anchor this awareness among the population and in the construction industry. In a constantly changing economic and social environment, it means being flexible and future-oriented.

The exciting discussions at the AKNW summer festival showed that the construction and real estate sector in North Rhine-Westphalia is on the right track. With a perfect interplay of old and new building structures, the region will continue to position itself as a model region for sustainable building and living in the future.