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05.03.2013
15:35 Uhr
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Focus on Norway – BREEAM NOR Government legislation has led the drive for greater sustainability in Norwegian building stock, but market demands are now taking over as the main driving force in non-residential buildings. Tenants and developers want the higher environmental standards that will increase customer satisfaction, protect the environment and improve business. BREEAM NOR has been the main catalyst for this. The use of BREEAM NOR has become mandatory in the development of non-residential buildings. This is extraordinary when you consider that the scheme was only introduced to the market a year ago. There are now 68 projects registered for BREEAM certification. Taking bespoke and unregistered projects into account, we estimate that BREEAM is being used in more than 150 ongoing developments. All high profile commercial projects in Norway are making use of BREEAM NOR or BREEAM Bespoke, with office buildings currently being the most BREEAM-focused building sector. Industry support BREEAM NOR is owned by the Norwegian Green Building Council (NGBC), which has a membership of 190 market leaders who represent the whole supply chain. The building and real estate sectors are supportive of BREEAM NOR and the Green Building Council in a way that gives the sector a strong and positive relationship with the Norwegian parliament and government officials. Adapted for Norway The scheme has been adapted to meet the particular needs of Norwegian practice, standards and regulations, but retains the core standards that ensure BREEAM NOR is equivalent to all other BREEAM schemes. As such it acts as the national reference for building sustainability, while still representing the world’s leading building sustainability assessment scheme. As with other Nordic countries, Norway has very strict controls on emissions and hazardous substances and a policy of mandatory transparency with regards to these issues. A BREEAM NOR certificate authoritatively demonstrates that the building has complied with these controls. This in turn helps to ensure the health and wellbeing of building occupiers, and the prevention of pollution throughout the building’s life cycle. Battery of Europe Norway is a low carbon society. The energy used in real estate, for example, is sourced mainly from hydroelectric power, with heat from district heating. BREEAM NOR is supporting Norway’s drive to be ‘the battery of Europe’, by encouraging developers to be energy efficient and to make use of new renewable energy sources. This allows us to make our hydroelectric power available to consumers outside of the country. An alliance (of developers, architects, suppliers and environmental experts) called ‘Powerhouse’ is setting a standard for designing commercial buildings that are energy positive – they produce more renewable energy than is consumed during the production of building materials, construction, operation and ultimate disposal of the buildings’ components. BREEAM NOR will provide an overall environmental standard for Powerhouse. Existing buildings and large developments In addition to BREEAM NOR which focuses on new construction, NGBC introduced BREEAM NOR In-Use in 2012. This helps building managers to reduce the running costs and improve the environmental performance of existing buildings. BREEAM Communities, which helps planner and developers to improve and measure the sustainability of large-scale developments, is also being adapted to Norwegian conditions.
Powerhouse in Trondheim, aiming for the highest standards of BREEAM NOR. Developer: Entra Eiendom AS. Architect: Snøhetta.
Østensjøveien 27, Oslo was listed as one of the 100 most sustainable projects at the Rio Conference. Aiming for high BREEAM NOR standard, due in 2013. Developer: NCC Property Development AS. Architect: Henning Larsen Architects.