Mar 2, 2010
Green Mission at the Home Fair
Today at 1:00 p.m., the doors of the 49th Home Fair officially opened. The Home Fair is the largest such event in Slovenia and also the Fair of the longest tradition at the Ljubljana Exhibition and Convention Centre. Under the common motto of Let’s build together!, 599 companies from 30 countries present themselves on approximately 20,000 square metres of exhibition surfaces. The event was officially opened by Zoran Janković, the Mayor of the city of Ljubljana, at the opening the new Green Mission prize was also awarded to the company Kovinoplastika Lož d.d. for the universal window sash Unisash Arx View.
In his speech, Zoran Janković made reference to the Fair’s motto Let’s build together! in the spirit of sustainable and environmentally friendly development and emphasised that the city of Ljubljana applied for the European Green Capital since it includes 50 percent of green areas. Already last year, the City Hall opened 25 hectares of new park, for this year another 20 are planned, among them a park with a playground next to Zupančičeva jama, i.e. behind the Ljubljana Exhibition and Convention Centre. The City Hall has also approved the plans for a parking house with a large events hall in the immediate vicinity, which could considerably alleviate the problems of lack of space of the Ljubljana Exhibition and Convention Centre.
Friderik Knez, Head of the Department of Building Physics of the Slovenian National Building and Civil Engineering Institute, spoke on behalf of the profession. He pointed out the importance of sustainable civil engineering, since this is primarily a concept of construction, which considers and respects nature and society; i.e., the energy efficiency of buildings. It is important to note with regards to the above that reconstruction of buildings offers incomparably greater potential of decreasing energy consumption when compared with new construction. Other issues to consider are renewable energy sources, impact of product or building on the environment during the time of its manufacture, impact of the product on environmental parameters and, last but not least, the impact of the product on society as such, also added Knez.
17 companies submitted applications for the Green Mission prize, which is awarded for an energy efficient and an environmentally friendly product by the Ljubljana Exhibition and Convention Centre in cooperation with the Furniture and Wood Processing Association of the Chamber of Industry and Commerce of Slovenia. The 4-member expert jury, under the leadership of its President, Friderik Knez, expert from the field of building physics, selected as the product, which is environmentally friendly throughout its entire lifecycle – from natural resources, manufacture and use of product to its decomposition, the
Unisash Arx View window
, manufactured by
Kovinoplastika Lož d.d.
»This represents an entirely new concept of builders’ joinery, it is a
universal window sash with optimised properties with regards to environmental requirements. The obvious properties, such as low heat transfer and high energy efficiency, go without saying. However, the Unisash Arx View concept represents also a concept of a larger clear opening than usual. In addition to increased exploitation of solar energy, this results also in increased natural lighting of interior and consequently less energy consumption for illumination of spaces. The concept also facilitates savings in terms of material and energy during the manufacture phase. In addition to the above - and this is very important - non-energy related technical properties, such as sound insulation and break-in protection, are also improved, while the design itself already plans for integration of elements for recovery of solar energy, i.e. PV modules and shades. The sash is designed to facilitate complete automation of the window, which is not longer a novelty today, more of a necessity. The final touch is added by design properties, among which the hidden fittings and the overall appearance of the window are emphasised.
The product as such includes the use of various materials: wood, PVC, aluminium, glass. Its special distinction is the option of various combinations of the window frame, constructed from various materials, with the use of the same window sash. It is a technologically highly complex product with high added value.
Unisash Arx View is also a product, the potential of which by far exceeds the Slovenian frameworks and for which we may anticipate that we will be proud to say internationally, that the first prototype was publically presented right here at the Home Fair 2010. The potential is indicated also by the fact that its development was co-financed by European funds, from the LIFE programme. The prize is certainly awarded to the right recipient,” also stated the jury’s explanation.
This year’s accompanying programme, prepared in cooperation among the Furniture and Wood Processing Association of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Slovenia, the Building and Civil Engineering Institute ZRMK and the Section of Slovenian manufacturers of prefabricated houses, this year especially emphasises the guidelines of sustainable civil construction. In the right wing of the foyer of Kupola hall (A), free counselling on the efficient use of energy and renewable energy resources is offered to visitors each day from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 a.m. The importance of development of low-carbon technologies, new challenges in the field of energy efficient construction, promotion of wood construction from the viewpoint of sustainable development, etc. will be the subjects of talks given by lecturers operating within the framework of the Association on Wednesday, 3 March 2010.
The Fair is open from Tuesday, 2 March, to 6 March 2010, daily 9:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m., on Sunday, 7 March 2010, from 9:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
www.home-fair.si
