The new administrative building of the Vorarlberg Illwerke was built in six weeks of construction primarily in wood

Outdoor natural, inside nature: the 130-meter-long Illwerke Center Montafon was built by Hermann Kaufmann almost entirely of wood finished parts.
Vandans – Outside the window unfolds with its never-ending coniferous forests and its clammy each other back rocks the rugged landscape of the Montafon. Inside the desk increases at the same time, resinous wood scent in the nose. You already smell the superlatives: The recently completed Illwerke center Montafon, short IZM, with its 10,000 square meters of floor space is currently the largest timber hybrid building in the world. So it’s at least what the client, the Vorarlberg Illwerke AG.

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“Bonapace” offers energy efficient rooms with holiday flair

Passive-House-hotel-Bonapace-1

Credit to: www.passivehouse-international.com

Torbole/Innsbruck. Spending holidays in a Passive House is now also possible in the small town of Torbole at the edge of Lake Garda, where just in time for the summer holidays, a family enterprise has opened a hotel built according to the extremely energy efficient Passive House Standard. As typical for Passive House buildings, the rooms can be heated and cooled via the air filtered in through the incredibly silent ventilation system. With their increased  level of sound proofing, triple-glazed windows provide for peaceful holidays and exceptional comfort.

A few weeks after the 1 May 2013 opening of the hotel, those involved in the project met in Torbole for the official awarding of the Passive House Certificate. “The building has been meticulously planned; all connections as well as the technology have been implemented in an exemplary way,” said Dr. Wolfgang Feist, Director of the Passive House Institute, after a tour through the new building. (more…)

Credit to: Energy Plus International

 Summer Academy  for Passive Buildings in Bulgaria and Romania_img_1  Summer Academy  for Passive Buildings in Bulgaria and Romania_img_0

Energy+ International Ltd is planning series of trainings and events in Bulgaria and Romania to promote the most energy efficient standard – the Passive House Standard. The Summer Academy for Passive Buildings will start on May 13th in Sofia Bulgaria with a 7 day training “Certified Passive House Designer” CEPH for international professionals. Guest lecturer will be the Passive House designer from Denmark arch. Anders Sonnichsen who is well known to the Bulgarian architectural community as a member of the panel of judges for the Passive House design competition in Lozen, Bulgaria. (more…)

 

Credit to : www.passivehouseconference.org

Photo: © Passive House Institute (Germany) The Muhmann family won a short stay in a Passive House in Großschönau (Austria).

Photo: © Passive House Institute (Germany) The Muhmann family won a short stay in a Passive House in Großschönau (Austria).

Darmstadt, 15.1.2013. Those wishing to experience the advantages of Passive House buildings first hand can avail themselves of the opportunity to do so in April in a competition taking place at the International Passive House Conference in Frankfurt am Main. Correct answers to some simple Passive House questions combined with a bit of luck can win you a short stay in a particularly efficient accommodation in Vienna, near the River Rhine or at the foot of the Alps. The winners of last year’s competition confirm that it’s worth your while! (more…)

Credit to: BAU 2013

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Photo: © BAU 2013: Even more international, more professional, more innovative

  • Exhibitors delighted: “the BAU trade fair where you need to be is”.
  • With over 235,000 visitors was the record level of 2011 again reached.
  • For the first time more than 60,000 international visitors.
  • Top architects such as Daniel Libeskind and Christoph Ingenhoven confirm the importance of the BAU as the leading architects fail.

BAU, the world’s leading trade fair for architecture, materials, systems, more international, and become finer than ever and even more professional. On this denominator can bring six successful days, the No. 1 platform in the industry again with the venues enthusiastic exhibitors and visitors have brought.  (more…)

Source: http://pubs.acs.org/

By Bethany Halford

TEMPLE OF NANOSCIENCE Rome’s Dio Padre Misericordioso Church, also known as the Jubilee Church, retains its bright white color because of nanostructured titanium dioxide. Liao Yusheng 

TEMPLE OF NANOSCIENCE Rome’s Dio  Padre Misericordioso Church, also known as the Jubilee Church, retains  its bright white color because of nanostructured titanium dioxide.

With its soaring concrete sails reaching high into the sky, the Dio Padre Misericordioso Church, just east of central Rome, beckons religious and architectural devotees alike. The structure is also something of a temple to nanoscience—for it retains its bright white hue thanks to the presence of nanostructured titanium dioxide particles embedded within the cement binder that was used to make its concrete walls.

Completed in 2003, the church, also known as the Jubilee Church, is a flagship when it comes to the use of nanotechnology in construction. But there are more humble examples, too. Whether it’s in steel, concrete, or windows, nanotechnology is finding a growing number of applications in the construction industry, where it promises to make structures that last for centuries and look as clean as the day they were built.

One only has to look at the Jubilee Church to see why it is the foremost example of what nanotechnology has to offer the construction industry. It was designed by Richard Meier, an American architect with a reputation for creating bright white structures that he wants to stay that way. So far, the concrete shows no signs of darkening. Italcementi, the company that supplied the material for the church, checks it each year for signs that its white color is still as bright as the day it was cast.

Nanostructured TiO2 particles theoretically will keep the concrete white forever, even in smoggy Rome, says Luigi Cassar, one of the material’s inventors. Titanium dioxide, known for its snowy white hue, is used as a pigment in paint and food coloring. But it has self-cleaning properties as well. When ultraviolet light strikes the anatase form of TiO2, it excites the material so that it becomes a catalyst for oxidizing organic grime. (more…)

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Multilingual sustainable construction glossary

The beginning of this year’s EU Sustainable Energy Week (EUSEW) was marked by the launch conference of the multilingual version of the Common Language ‘sustainable construction glossary’. The multilingual version of this project was formally introduced on 11 April, at the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC), in partnership with the Architects Council of Europe (ACE) and the European Concrete Platform (ECP).

EESC President Staffan Nilsson launched the glossary. The conference was also attended by the director of the ACE, Adrian Joyce and Bernd Wolschner, president of the ECP. Vice President of the EESC Anna Maria Darmanin also participated in the conference, and the event was hosted by EESC TEN Section President Stéphane Buffetaut. There were discussions involving contributions from many experts in the field of sustainable construction, including non-governmental and national representatives, supplemented by senior officials from the European Commission. (more…)