How to bring building culture and architectural quality to the clients of the Green Savings program

The Czech Chamber of Architects (ČKA) organized a conference titled Architects and Green Savings on June 14, 2010, in collaboration with the State Environmental Fund (SFŽP) at the National Technical Library (NTK) in Prague-Dejvice. The title of the event corresponds to the name of a publication that both institutions plan to release for designers and clients of the program in October of this year. Architects are aware of the necessity for energy-efficient management and agree on supporting low-energy and passive new buildings, professional insulation of panel buildings, and a qualified approach to the renovation of existing buildings. The conference presented, as planned in the publication, suitable foreign and Czech examples of quality construction solutions and also highlighted potential risks in the design and implementation of energy-saving projects. The Green Savings program is not understood by architects merely as a means to cover a house with insulation and to replace windows but should help enhance the aesthetic quality of the building and contribute to the creation of a quality environment.

THE CZECH REPUBLIC WAS NOT PREPARED FOR ENERGY SAVINGS. AWARENESS IS LACKING
The aim of the Green Savings program, which has been running in the Czech Republic since 2009 and ends in 2012, is to ensure the implementation of measures leading to energy savings and the use of renewable energy sources in family and apartment houses. Since July 19, 2010, applications for subsidies for projects related to schools, hospitals, retirement homes, and other public buildings have been accepted. SFŽP organizes a number of events for professionals and clients of the program, but the conference at NTK titled Architects and Green Savings was primarily focused on the quality of architecture that should result from the use of program subsidies.
The Czech Republic acquired funding for the Green Savings program by selling so-called emission credits from the Kyoto Protocol on reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The total expected allocation for the program is up to 25 billion crowns. This is a very large sum of money that is being gradually distributed among individual applications (6.5 billion CZK has already been used). As a professional organization established by law, the Czech Chamber of Architects is therefore interested in ensuring that financial resources for building modifications and new constructions are used effectively.
SFŽP recognizes that neither designers, clients, nor officials were adequately prepared for the Green Savings program. The funds appeared like a bolt from the blue. Unfortunately, the Czech Republic has never paid sufficient attention to the issue of energy savings, and so it suddenly finds itself at the beginning of a significant systemic change. When preparing the program, it was assumed, as stated by SFŽP director Petr Štěpánek, that: "Projects would be processed by experienced professionals with years of experience in designing energy-efficient buildings. Unfortunately, there are very few of such professionals, and often the decision about insulating a house is made by inexperienced designers or even just laypeople representing a housing cooperative." All construction partners should undergo education, not just because of the Green Savings program. According to Pavel Nejedlý, head of the public support department of the Czech Ministry of the Environment, more than 23,000 applications for support from the program are currently being processed.

LOW-ENERGY BUILDINGS ARE MORE COMMON ABROAD
At the conference, they managed to invite two leading foreign architects specializing in low-energy and passive buildings - Martin Treberspurga from Austria and Olaf Reiter from Germany. In their presentations, they showcased several realizations of passive houses that, unlike in the Czech Republic, are becoming a standard in Western Europe. In German-speaking countries, there are more than 25,000 such buildings.
Reiter's buildings consume ten times less energy than a typical house; usually, the higher costs of low-energy or passive houses are recouped by the investor within five years. "We always calculate the construction costs and the operating costs of the building. We strive for intelligent construction, meaning houses where people feel good," says Reiter. While presenting a passive apartment building in Dresden, the architect did not hesitate to place three buckets in the hall, symbolizing the consumption of 25 liters of heating oil per square meter per year for a conventional building compared to a single PET bottle for a passive house. He also provided detailed information on possible heating systems in projects for passive kindergartens in Heidenau and Döbeln.
Martin Treberspurg is a specialist in solar architecture, so he talked about the well-known complex of passive houses SolarCity in Linz. In this city, there are dozens of other good examples of new and renovated existing buildings that meet the low-energy standard, many of which Treberspurg spoke about. In Austria, construction is often subsidized by municipalities, and favorable loans are also provided for buyers of this type of housing - as was the case with the passive house on Vorgartenstrasse in Vienna. He followed up on his predecessor by emphasizing the need to visually convince residents of savings on heating (in front of the Vienna new building, he had 175 barrels and 15 barrels symbolizing the annual consumption of heating oil for various types of houses). In addition to residential buildings, he also drew attention to his projects for a tourist club in Hochschwab and a pavilion for the 2010 Olympic Games.
Unfortunately, in the Czech Green Savings program, there are minimal applications for subsidies for the construction of passive houses. Most concern facade insulation and the installation of plastic windows.

BUILDING OPERATION ACCOUNTS FOR 38% OF ENERGY CONSUMPTION
The manual Architects and Green Savings was introduced by its expert guarantor Petr Všetečka. Members of the editorial board of the manual spoke about individual chapters. Throughout the day, a discussion led by architect Dalibor Borák took place.
On the insulation of panel houses, in which 31% of Czechs live, spoke specialist in low-energy buildings Aleš Brotánek. According to him, panel houses have the greatest potential to become passive houses. This can be achieved through a comprehensive and properly executed "envelope" of the house. Moreover, there could also be a fundamental shift in aesthetic appearance. Achieving low-energy standards is not very complicated even when renovating existing buildings. In this chapter of the manual, presented by architect Pavel Kecek, the entire process of project preparation and implementation of the existing building was explained. In the case of buildings with cultural value, which architect Jan Solař from the National Heritage Institute spoke about, the same approach cannot be taken as with other objects. It is necessary to respect the existing quality of architecture, and heritage professionals will continue to strive for its protection. "It is not possible to blindly cover monuments with polystyrene," claims Solař, who also recommends refurbishing existing windows and refraining from replacing them with plastic ones. He also referred to the importance of monuments as declared in the joint statement of NPÚ, ČKA, and SFŽP from 2009. Olaf Reiter added to the discussion about living in historically valuable buildings: "To achieve the standard of living required in the 21st century, which has sufficient light and heat, we cannot preserve buildings in a state of suspension. It is necessary to utilize new technologies in old houses, which can also help us save."
All attendees agreed that whether it is a new building or a renovation, the designer should always combine quality architecture with the client's demands. Hopefully, at least the forthcoming publications will raise their weak awareness about construction. As was mentioned during the discussion: "Investors could devote themselves to construction with at least the same intensity as they are interested in a new type of mobile phone."

WHAT ARCHITECTS CAN DO
Clients who have decided to use subsidies from the Green Savings program need to attach a developed project to their application. Only then, when a specialist has processed the project for them, can they choose a construction contractor, products, fill out the application for support, and submit all documents and forms to SFŽP.
Such a specialist can be an authorized architect, who is capable of advising the client on whether their planned measures are likely to meet the program's conditions; he is also authorized to develop the project according to the program's requirements (drawings, technical report), an expert assessment (including thermal-technical calculations), and assist in filling out the cover sheet of technical parameters. These documents are a necessary part of the application for a grant. The aim of ČKA is that the search for energy-saving measures proceeds according to good projects and results in quality architecture.

MANUAL - POSITIVE EXAMPLES AND RISKS OF CONSTRUCTION
The manual Architects and Green Savings is expected to be published at the end of October 2010. ČKA realizes that there is a lack of information on the part of clients of the Green Savings program and on the part of designers, and the forthcoming manual should at least partly cover this gap. In addition to examples of quality Czech and foreign studios and realizations, it will also summarize the risks associated with design and construction (hygienic defects, technical defects, issues during a change of client, etc.). There will be no shortage of information on the operation of energy systems for heating, cooling, ventilation, lighting, and hot water preparation.
The publication will be divided into four sections, excluding the introductory summary chapter. Thus: energy savings in passive house new builds; existing buildings; panel houses; and the final chapter will be dedicated to buildings with cultural-historical value. The guarantors of individual chapters are architects Josef Horný, Aleš Brotánek, Pavel Kecek, Jan Bárta, and Jan Solař. The expert guarantor of the two hundred-page publication and editor is Petr Všetečka. The manual will be available in a print run of 10,000 copies and will also be downloadable on the internet.
However, the content of the manual does not relate only to the Green Savings program. Since it will summarize in detail the measures leading to energy savings, it should become a useful guide in the coming years, when the management of energy and the use of renewable sources will continue to be an urgent problem. After all, this is evidenced by the current wording of the European Directive on the Energy Performance of Buildings (EPDB), approved on May 19, 2010. The directive seeks to achieve a significant change in the approach to dealing with new constructions as well as buildings already in operation. According to it, new buildings in all EU countries must exhibit nearly zero energy consumption starting in 2020.