Sustainability in construction - this is one of the topics at Energiforum 2024, where the focus will be on UN17 Village in Ørestaden. Here on Amager, a corner plot next to Amagerfælled is the framework for a test laboratory in housing construction. Here, the 17 global goals will be incorporated into the construction. The reason why it makes sense to focus on housing is obvious.
- Real estate accounts for 40 percent of the world's CO2 emissions, so it makes good sense here, explains Marie Kjærsgaard Knudsen, project director at the developer NREP.
But it is by no means just about reducing CO2 emissions.
- It is also about health, biodiversity, water consumption. We had 300 ideas, which we assessed based on, for example, whether it is innovative and scalable, explains Marie Kjærsgaard Knudsen and turns her attention to an initiative:
- All water from the roofs is collected in tanks in a basement, and this has reduced water consumption by 60 percent. The idea is that it should be holistically sustainable.
There has been great development within sustainability
But it has not only been a determining factor for the developer, because the partners have been a large part of the process. One of them is Peter Hedegaard from Saint-Gobain, and he has noticed a development.
- I joined in 2020, and during that time there has been a very big development in the way people think about sustainability, he says.
Marketing director at Sweco Architects, Mia Scheel, also draws an important lesson from the process.
- We have succeeded in creating a test laboratory, and we are sharing our experiences in a white book. All participants here have taken chances, she says.
The project has also been challenged by the fact that material prices have been increasing during the period, as four out of the five buildings are made of wood.
The building regulations are not suitable for sustainable construction
Sustainable construction also means that recycled materials are used, and the current legislation is not adapted to this development.
- There is a lot about the building regulations that is not suitable for sustainable construction, says another of the partners, Poul-Erik Olsen from the construction company CG Jensen.
The prices for renting the apartments in the sustainable building are on market terms. This also means, among other things, that the craftsmen have received collective bargaining wages, and the apartments are smaller than normal. On the other hand, the tenants have more outdoor space than usual, and satisfaction is high.
- You feel like you get a lot for your money. It's a senior building, which means 40 plus. The middle-aged ladies I talk to are very satisfied, says Mia Scheel, who is also responsible for showing UN17 Village:
- We actually get the most interest from abroad, I've shown it to groups from Germany, Singapore and Japan. The Japanese, for example, want to see in detail how the individual global goals have been
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