18.10.2024

glasstec 2024 in Düsseldorf: WE ARE GLASS

Building design

Glass

From October 22 to 25, the international who’s who of the glass industry will once again meet at the biennial glasstec in Düsseldorf. The programme of the world’s leading trade fair for glass is packed with exhibition highlights and exclusive sessions revolving around the three hot topics of the circular economy, digital technologies and decarbonization.

From October 22 to 25, the international who’s who of the glass industry will once again meet at the biennial glasstec in Düsseldorf. The program of the world’s leading trade fair for all things glassGlassis a transparent, brittle material produced by heating sand, lime and other ingredients. It is often used in architecture to create windows, doors, showers and other decorative elements. Glass is durable, strong and versatile, and can be produced in a variety of colors and textures…. is packed with exhibition highlights and exclusive sessions centred around three hot topics: circular economy, digital technologies and decarbonizationDecarbonization: This trade magazine focuses on the topic of reducing carbon dioxide emissions, particularly in the industrial and transport sectors, to combat global warming and accelerate the transition to renewable energy and carbon-free technologies.

glasstec, the world’s leading biennial exhibition on glassGlassis a transparent, brittle material made by heating sand, lime and other ingredients. It is often used in architecture to create windows, doors, showers and other decorative elements. Glass is durable, strong and versatile, and can be produced in different colors and textures…. opens its doors soon and promises to be another outstanding event for professionals and interested parties from all over the world. From October 22 to 25, the most important international manufacturers, experts and innovators in the glass industry will meet in Düsseldorf to discuss the latest developments in glass production, processing and reuse. This year, the world’s leading trade fair for glass will be held under the motto “We are glass” and will focus on the three most pressing topics relating to glass with the main topics “Digital technologies, circular economy and decarbonizationDecarbonization: This trade magazine deals with the topic of reducing carbon dioxide emissions, especially in the industrial and transport sectors, in order to combat global warming and accelerate the transition to renewable energies and carbon-free technologies.“. From intelligent glass solutions to sustainable production processes and state-of-the-art processing techniques – the trade fair covers the entire spectrum of the industry and is therefore an absolute must-attend event for anyone involved or interested in glass.

Around 1,100 exhibitors have already registered for the upcoming glasstec. The central hub of the trade fair will be the glasstec conference, where a top-class line-up of international experts will present and discuss current challenges and opportunities on three stages. In addition to the “architecture forum”, where internationally renowned architecture firms will provide in-depth insights into their work with the building material glassGlassis a transparent, brittle material that is produced by heating sand, lime and other ingredients. It is often used in architecture to create windows, doors, showers and other decorative elements. Glass is durable, strong and versatile, and can be produced in different colors and textures…. and the glass melting pot, where innovative research ideas and projects are presented, CircuClarity One is an event not to be missed. The idea for the event was born at glasstec 2022 and offers the opportunity to discuss the recyclability of glass – after all, the circular economy is one of the most important topics for the future of the glass industry, because circularity is not just a popular buzzword, but an essential building block for a sustainable construction industry.

CircuClarity One will feature various sessions moderated by none other than the two initiators Dr. Lisa Rammig and Prof. Dr. Linda Hildebrand. In addition, the “CircuClarity Award” will be presented for the first time at glasstec 2024. Combining circularity and good design is one of the aims of the event, which will be flanked by first-class academic lectures and specialist sessions. The sessions on October 22 are centered around the topics “Secondary Resources” and “Design for Disassembly and Product Development”. On October 23, a keynote speech by Anna Braune from the DGNB will be followed by “Material Recovery Systems and Energy” and “Data and Communication”.

Another focal point and highlight of the glasstec 2024 program is glass technology live (gtl), headed by Prof. Dr. Ulrich Knaack. Fascinating product developments and innovations will be on show at gtl – close enough to touch. And in the literal sense, because hands-on experience is allowed and encouraged. The engineering firm Eckersley O’Callaghan, for example, will be presenting a spectacular glass pavilion made of curved and laminated thin glass. Also on show will be windows,an opening in the wall of a building that allows light, air and a view to the outside. There are different types of windows, which can vary in size, shape and material. The window is an essential part of building architecture and has both functional and aesthetic significance. It is a… that can display visual content by means of an integrated LCD film and is not only suitable for presentation, but also for an innovative type of sun protection. Fotoverbundglas Marl will be presenting its new “LamiPress”, which can be used to produce laminates that were previously technically impossible.

Glass technology live is organized in cooperation with the Technical Universities of Darmstadt, Delft, Dresden and Bochum and is aimed not only at architects, researchers and engineers, but also at all interested visitors to the event. The topic of circularity is also highly relevant at gtl, as glassGlassis a transparent, brittle material that is produced by heating sand, lime and other ingredients. It is often used in architecture to create windows, doors, showers and other decorative elements. Glass is durable, strong and versatile, and can be produced in different colors and textures…. a material that is fully recyclable. In addition, against the backdrop of advancing climate change, the property of glass as a heat barrier is becoming increasingly important. This property is particularly essential for fully glazed high points in densely populated inner cities, as is the avoidance of glare.
For architects who work with glass, but also for those who are generally interested in the subject and are looking for inspiration, glasstec, which takes place every two years, is an absolute must. No other trade fair brings together such concentrated international expertise and innovative strength in one place as the world’s leading trade fair for glass.

Get your tickets for glasstec 2024 here!

16.11.2024

Affordable housing alliance launched

Building design

Goals of the Ampel coalition: 400,000 new apartments per year, 100,000 of which are publicly subsidized. (Photo: Di on Unsplash)

The Alliance for Affordable Housing, with around 50 participants, met for the 1st Alliance Summit on April 27, 2022.

“A new departure in building, housing and urban development policy” is the motto of the coalition agreement between the traffic light parties. The words are now to be followed by action. An affordable housing alliance with around 50 participants met for the first alliance summit on April 27, 2022.

In a fair society, everyone should be able to afford a home. However, this is far from being the case everywhere in Germany. One thing is certain: more affordable and climate-friendly housing is needed. The coalition government has set itself ambitious targets to achieve this: 400,000 new homes are to be built every year. Of these, 100,000 apartments are to be publicly subsidized.

This intention is set out in the coalition agreement. The “Alliance for Affordable Housing”, which is based at the new Federal Ministry of Housing, Urban Development and Building (BMWSB), was set up to implement the ambitious targets. Together with the alliance, the ministry states that it wants to “initiate a construction, investment and innovation offensive in Germany”.

The Alliance for Affordable Housing began its workon April 27, 2022. It consists of 35 permanent members, including representatives of the federal states, municipal umbrella organizations, housing and construction industry associations and civil society organizations. Specialist guests are also regularly invited to provide advice. Support from the Bundestag is provided by twelve permanent, advisory guests from the parliamentary groups of the governing coalition.

The kick-off meeting took place at the EUREF Campus in Berlin-Schöneberg. High-ranking representatives of all governing parties, the federal states of Baden-Württemberg, North Rhine-Westphalia, Hamburg and Hesse, municipal umbrella organizations, industry and business associations as well as civil society and churches took part.

Affordable Housing Alliance: kick-off event in April 2022

The first Alliance summit was convened by Federal Building Minister Klara Geywitz (SPD) and consisted of the minister and top representatives of the associations. Prior to this, there were Alliance working rounds with the various Alliance members. They worked out the goals and content, the working structures and the timetable for the alliance process.

There was also a lot of criticism. For example, the umbrella organization of the German housing industry described the government’s housing targets as “illusory”. According to GdW President Axel Gedaschko, material bottlenecks, exploding energy costs, supply chain problems, rising interest rates and the uncertainty surrounding new construction subsidies from 2023 are combining to prevent the construction of affordable housing.

Minister Geywitz told dpa ahead of the meeting: “It’s about getting through a big hole: we have a huge need for housing in Germany, especially affordable housing. […] We also need the support of the construction industry, which needs to significantly expand its capacities but is under pressure due to rising construction costs and material shortages.”

According to Geywitz, almost 800,000 apartments in Germany have currently been approved but not yet built. Obstacles to planning are one reason for the slow progress.

Densification as a strategy

A draft of the final declaration of the Alliance for Affordable Housing shows that new housing is to be created primarily in conurbations. In this context, densification of existing housing plays a much greater role than new buildings or new construction areas.Filling gaps between buildings, adding storeys to houses and converting commercial buildings into apartments offer opportunities to densify German cities in an efficient and climate-friendly way.

However, according to the German Construction Industry Association, the ambitious targets do not match reality. The war in Ukraine and the ongoing consequences of the coronavirus pandemic are causing material shortages, price increases and significantly higher energy prices. As a result, certain projects have to be prioritized.

There is also criticism from politicians: Jan-Marco Luczak, the CDU/CSU housing expert, criticized the lack of solutions proposed by the alliance and noted that valuable time could be lost through theoretical debates.

Caren Lay from the left-wing parliamentary group, on the other hand, criticized the fact that many expensive luxury and owner-occupied apartments would be built, which would not be able to solve the problem of affordable housing. Instead, she suggested that only social housing should be built in inner cities with a tight housing market from now on.

A new entrepreneurial spirit?

The leading association of the real estate industry, the German Property Federation (ZIA), called for a new entrepreneurial spirit at the kick-off meeting of the Alliance for Affordable Housing. According to President Dr. Andreas Mattner, this should serve as a response to the accumulation of the pandemic, Ukraine and climate crisis.

“Construction costs have exploded to an unprecedented extent, construction companies are barely able to keep to their contracts, interest rates are skyrocketing, subsidies are being cut and efficiency requirements are set to increase. And all of this with a need not just for 400,000 new apartments per year, but – due to the admission of hundreds of thousands of refugees – for 500,000 to 600,000 apartments. It is no longer possible without bold cuts: We need a regulatory freeze and the suspension of time-consuming approval procedures. The commendably swift extension for refugee buildings is a very good first step. Next, we need a banking summit to find measures to counter the rise in interest rates and a materials and supply chain summit. The real estate industry must be able to participate in these crucial decisions,” says Mattner.

“Furthermore, we need a degressive depreciation as well as serial and modular construction that is not only talked about, but also implemented across the board. The challenges seem almost impossible to solve – but crises also present an opportunity for change and we all have a duty to push for this,” he added.

20.11.2024

Industry news, Trick

A house for contemporary art

Building design

Almost 50 years ago, the then still very young publisher Gerhard Steidl had the idea of building an exhibition house for contemporary art in Göttingen, the city of his birth. Now the Kunsthaus Göttingen is being realized Gerhard Steidl creates book art at the highest level. His aim – whether fashion, art or literature – is to bring the ideas of artists […]