STADTBILD UND ENERGIE

One of the biggest, so far unsolved, challenges facing current urban development is the question of how the energy balance of the buildings in our towns and cities can be optimised and adapted to comply with the new German energy conservation legislation due in 2012 without destroying the traditional urban forms cherished by the majority of people. Methods currently popular involve wrapping the existing building fabric in layers of insulation that are often produced from oil-based materials. However, in terms of ecology, aesthetics, economics and social and political responsibility, these are not convincing answers. A fundamentally different approach is needed. The aim must be to use long-lasting materials – whose production, maintenance and disposal present a favourable energy balance over the long-term – for energy efficiency upgrades to existing buildings and at the same time preserve or optimise the quality of urban situations. It is completely ridiculous that, for example, national legislation could force timber-frame buildings to disappear behind insulating materials that need replacing after just a few years anyway. The research work assumes that to achieve a sustainable solution, the energy efficiency issues must be treated together with urban planning issues in order to avoid reductionistic mistakes such as the traffic planning that dominated urban planning in the 1960s.

Verlag Kettler 2014 / ISBN 978-3-86206-390-1, Christoph Mäckler, Michael Kaune, Markus Motz (eds.)