PROJECT DESCRIPTION
BACKGROUND
A large part of energy use is connected to the housing sector. To reduce this energy use, efficient energy-saving measures must be implemented in housing programs. As the housing sector mainly consists of existing housing, there is a great necessity to promote “sustainable housing renovation activities”. In a European context, only minor actions have been carried out concerning these issues. There is therefore a great necessity to demonstrate sustainable housing renovation measures, and in doing so, apply results and experiences from best European practice in the field. At the same time, efforts should be made to mainstream best sustainable urban renovation practice from single pilot and demonstration projects, based on well developed methodologies and proven technical solutions.
OBJECTIVES
The overall aim of the project was to provide easy accessible information on documented solutions for sustainable ecological housing renovation. This would be achieved through the creation of a European database web site offering best practice examples, combined with general guidelines and recommendations for implemented sustainable housing renovation projects. The initial edition would provide examples from four countries: Germany, Scotland, France and Denmark, provided by the four subcontractors:ArchiMEDES, Scottish Homes, Landeshauptstadt Hannover and the Danish Centre for Urban Ecology. The database would be developed through four main tasks: 1) The technical construction of the database – function, output and design. 2) The definition, finding and registration of the best practice examples 3) The development of the guidelines 4) Production of a contact list of Suppliers and Manufactures. The project also planned to widely disseminate the database, through leaflets and participation in conferences etc.
RESULTS
The web site database : www.ecorenewal.com was finally launched, providing information on best practice from 35 projects (10 from Scotland, 8 from France, 5 from Germany and 12 from Denmark). The site is attractively designed and offers a series of easily manipulated functions. However, problems with the information base and limits on its updating and extension mean that it provides currently a rather limited tool at a European level. The projects are described in a “gallery” with pictures and through a “library” providing the key facts available on each one. Searches can be made on ecological building renovation categories (building materials, recycling, water, heating, electricity, indoor climate, daylight, waste, outdoor areas, other., or by geographical area. The database also provided a list of suppliers in the various countries. However the database also aimed to provide a dynamic instrument for extracting guidelines from the best practice examples. This was done through three listings: 1) Good Practice on Low Energy Use - a prioritized list of all projects in the database, sorted by best results on low energy use for heating, electricity or water. 2) Good Practice on Ecological Elements – a prioritized list of all ecological elements sorted by best results on pay-back time, evaluation of use of resources, architecture and living quality. 3) Listing of recommendations on ecology in renovation and town renewal from Councils in European Cities. The project stumbled on some foreseeable problems, namely difficulties over the technical creation of the website database and a more basic problem of lack of sufficient information on the good practice examples selected. Often the information available did not fit with the ambitious demands of the database, for example where general project evaluations were available which did not measure the ecological elements, or difficulties in calculating the resource consumption before and after renewal where the owners had changed or left. Delays in the program also meant that three demonstration projects which were meant to test out the recommendations from the database in Copenhagen, Glasgow and Hannover could not be completed in time and were simply registered as best practice examples. Although good dissemination material was produced it was not very widely distributed, except through the conference held in Hanover, 2000. As a result the site is not as widely used as it could be.The majority of the national partners were not able to produce linked national or regional websites, or find resources to update the site and further develop the network. However, the Danish beneficiaries have used the experience to develop a national database website and has actively used the ideas in the biggest restoration project in Europe, Byfornyelse. The project provides an interesting model, but needs further resources and development to fully realise its potential at a European level.
