24.10.2024

Natural stone wins

Building design

submitted for heavily used rooms. Photo: Tama66/Unsplash

The German Natural Stone Association presents a study on the sustainability of various floor coverings in public, heavily used spaces. Advertorial Article Parallax Article

The German Natural Stone Association presents a study on the sustainability of various floor coverings in public, heavily used areas.

Every year, 350 million square meters of new floor coverings are laid in Germany. In view of this enormous figure, it is only natural that their ecological footprint should also be examined. The German Natural Stone Association (Deutscher Naturwerkstein-Verband e.V.) has now presented such a study on the sustainability of various floor coverings in public, heavily used spaces. It was carried out by the Institute for Materials in Construction at the University of Stuttgart on the basis of environmental product declarations (EPD) from building material manufacturers.

Their result: “A comparison of all floor coverings showed that coverings made of natural stone have a significantly lower overall environmental impact through production, installation and use than large ceramics, carpet, PVC, laminate and parquet.” In figures, this means that the greenhouse effect (GWP), which is expressed in kilograms of CO₂ equivalent, was found to be more than 20 times higher for carpet compared to natural stone slabs. Natural stone also performs significantly better than large ceramics. Its GWP value is 10.9, while that of large ceramics is almost 70.

The reasons for these values lie in the nature of the stone. It does not have to be produced, only quarried, it does not contain any harmful substances and the by-products of its quarrying can be used in a variety of ways. Unsurprisingly, using local STEIN has less of an impact on the environment than transporting it from China, for example.

However, the study not only took into account the carbon dioxide impact on the environment during the production, transportation and installation of the floor coverings, but also the costs over a period of 50 years. This applies to the useful life of stone flooring. Carpet needs to be replaced after ten years, PVC and laminate after 20 years and parquet after 40 years. The costs for purchase, cleaning, renovation, replacement and disposal are roughly the same for natural stone slabs, ceramic tiles and concrete blocks. Only laminate and parquet are more expensive. Carpet, on the other hand, costs only half as much, even though it has to be replaced several times.

The study will be presented at the DNV stand at the BAU trade fair in Munich (January 14-19, 2019). It costs 10 euros.
Orders can beplaced at: www.natursteinverband.de

05.11.2024

Project

Landscape in closed rooms

Building design

Landscape, Plants

Exhibitions on landscape and landscape architecture – an untapped potential? In her master’s thesis “Exhibiting landscape. On the transfer of landscape to the interior”, Fanny Brandauer examines the relevance of the “exhibition” medium for landscape architecture. At Regine Keller’s Chair of Landscape Architecture and Public Space at the Technical University of Munich, she analyzes the extent to which landscape and landscape architecture can be translated into exhibitions […]

16.01.2025

Long Night of Museums in Hamburg goes digital this time

Building design

General

Last Saturday, the digital Long Night of Museums took place in Hamburg for the first time. The event exceeded all the organizers’ expectations. Many contributions were produced by the museums themselves and new The Long Night of Museums was a digital experience in Hamburg last weekend due to the coronavirus pandemic. From the comfort of their own homes, visitors were able to […]

Last Saturday, the digital Long Night of Museums took place in Hamburg for the first time. The event exceeded all the organizers’ expectations. Many contributions were produced by the museums themselves and new ones

A virtual tour of the Maritime Museum in Hamburg with Damián Morán Dauchez. Photo: Maritime Museum, Hamburg

The Long Night of Museums in Hamburg could be experienced digitally last weekend due to the coronavirus pandemic. From home, visitors were able to take part in virtual tours, guided tours, musical experiences and live broadcasts in 38 museums via Facebook and YouTube. The Museumsdienst Hamburg proudly announced that over 10,000 people had taken advantage of the offer. A total of 74,000 people were reached via Facebook, a further 23,000 visits were made to the event website and almost 3,700 viewers watched the live broadcasts from six participating museums.

For example, visitors to the Museum of Medical History were able to look back from the coronavirus era to the cholera era. At the FC St. Pauli Museum, curators guided them through the Millerntor and the new permanent exhibition. In the composers’ quarter, the keys of Johannes Brahms’ piano resounded. And at the Neuengamme Concentration Camp Memorial, a live stream took them on a search for clues on the site. “The high level of commitment shown by Hamburg’s museums and the great response from participants to the digital broadcast of the Long Night of Museums in Hamburg far exceeded our expectations,” said a delighted Vera Neukirchen, Head of the Hamburg Museum Service. “Digital formats will be a valuable addition in the future.”

Originally, almost 900 events were planned for the Long Night of Museums in Hamburg’s 60 or so museums. They had to be canceled due to the spread of the coronavirus. But the organizers are full of praise: “We are thrilled by the creativity, determination and passion of the museum staff, who are creating digital access to our city’s natural science, history, music and art collections even during the necessary museum closures,” Vera Neukirchen continued. Incidentally, anyone who missed the live streams can watch them again and again on the museums’ websites.