The Slovak Green Building Council and publishing house Eurostav recently held the council’s fifth annual conference, “Sustainability in Architecture and Construction.” This international conference is Slovakia’s most significant event focused on sustainability in construction. The conference’s theme was, “Sustainability does not limit, but challenges architects and designers.”
The conference was focused on key issues and trends related to sustainable buildings and construction. It provided a space for companies and individuals involved in or interested in the development of sustainable architecture and construction, as well as for the international exchange of experience. It was aimed particularity at the development and management of sustainable buildings.
The conference was patronised by the Chairman of the National Council of the Slovak Republic and by the Ministry of Transport, Construction and Regional Development of the Slovak Republic.
The conference was divided into three blocks:
In first block, Luciano Lazzari, Italian architect and president of the Architects´ Council of Europe (ACE), spoke about the role of architects in responding to the challenges of today´s changing world. Ingrid Konrad, the city architect of Bratislava introduced its opinion on Bratislava´s challenges. Michiel van der Vight from Dutch company Except presented integrated and stimulating sustainable construction.
In the second block, Czech architect Dalibor Borák spoke about the design of large buildings in line with the principles of sustainability and energy efficiency. The key note speaker, Austrian architect Dietmar Eberle, presented on which typologies are and will be significant from a future perspective in his lecture, “The Future of Past.”
In the third block regarding technological innovations, Doris Wirth from Blue Waters Environmental Consultants presented the current state of sustainable construction in Austria, and Georgi Georgiev from Fraunhofere Institute for Building Physics spoke about cattail (typha) as a building material. Slovak architect Miroslav Marko presented on the first passive residential house, the Zelené atrium. Peter Dzurko from Schneider Electric gave a lecture about innovative solutions for energy saving in buildings.
