As Green Building becomes the norm, the demand for innovative and sustainable construction solutions grows. The latest perspectives, new design strategies and cutting edge examples from international and regional speakers will be presented at the ninth annual Green Building Conference, which takes place on 24 and 25 June 2015 during the annual Sustainability Week at the CSIR International Convention Centre in Pretoria.
Buildings are a major contributor of greenhouse gas emissions and therefore a more sustainable built environment is needed. The Green Building Conference, which takes place at this year’s Sustainability Week, will focus on these issues as citizens have a responsibility to minimise electricity usage, with demand exceeding supply in both commercial and residential areas. The latest best practice will be shared by renowned practitioners around the globe at this thought-provoking conference.
“The world’s population could reach almost 10 billion by 2050. Most people will live in cities. To accommodate an additional 3 billion people, we’ll need to build the equivalent of one new city, that can support one million people, every five days between now and 2050,” says Professor Barbara Norman, Foundation Chair of Urban and Regional Planning at the University of Canberra. Norman will present extensive insights into building resilient and healthy cities for the 21st century at the Green Building Conference.
Co-founder architect of UNITYDESIGN Inc and researcher at Tokyo University, Tomohiko Amemiya will discuss how to improve urban living in high density residential areas. Amemiya will share insights gained from his work on the award-winning Slum Housing Project, Megacity Skeleton, in Jakarta, Indonesia.
Kenneth Stucke, Director of Environment Response Architecture (ERA Architects) will present two green building case studies of energy, water and waste efficiency. Stucke will discuss the value of climate, geology, geography and ecology as a resource with which architecture synthesizes to produce built form.
Joan-Maria Garcia-Girona, Vice-President and Head of Business Center South Africa and Sub-Sahara at BASF, one of the sponsors of the Green Building Conference, says, “We at BASF define sustainability as a balance between economic success and social and environmental responsibility. Sustainability is at the core of our business with global standards implemented across all value chains, and we’ll be showcasing our innovative solutions that drive sustainability at the Green Building Conference during Sustainability Week 2015.”
The Green Building Conference will also offer breakaway sessions with practical learning and knowledge sharing opportunities. Retrofitting of buildings for energy efficiency, smart metering and feed in tariffs for roof top solar panels, water efficiency for buildings and landscaping, modular building designed for deconstruction and reuse or recycling, smart mobility interfacing with the built environment and sustainable infrastructure are just some of the riveting sessions to provide the foundation for green buildings.
“South Africa is now seeing a strong move to sustainable development. We at Lafarge have always played a leadership role in the industry and promoted cooperation in sustainable development. Green building in the broadest sense of sustainable development is an integral part of all aspects of our business strategy, and that is why we attach such importance to and are pleased to be a major sponsor of the Green Building Conference 2015,” says Felix Motsiri, National Mineral and Sustainability Manager at Lafarge South Africa.
Living sustainably is a cross-cutting issue that requires knowledge sharing across sectors; from water, to transport, mining and building. The Green Building Conference, sponsored by Lafarge and BASF, forms part of the larger alive2green hosted Sustainability Week which runs from 23 to 28 June 2015.
Sustainability Week, hosted by the City of Tshwane, offers a variety of conferences and seminars at the CSIR ICC from 23 to 25 June 2015. The Youth and Green Economy event will take place on 26 June 2015 at Tshwane University of Technology and the Green Home Fair will mark the end of Sustainability Week on 27 and 28 June 2015 at Brooklyn Mall. For more information on Sustainability Week, visit www.sustainabilityweek.co.za.
Source: Leading Architecture
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