The Swiss planning associations’ “Baukultur climate campaign” aims to show that net zero can go hand in hand with high-quality Baukultur.
Switzerland is particularly affected by climate change. This is not the only reason why it has set itself the goal of reducing its greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050. An initiative has now set itself the goal of communicating that net zero can go hand in hand with high-quality building culture. Swiss planning associations founded the “Baukultur climate campaign”. The BSA, BSLA, SIA, EspaceSuisse, the Swiss Heritage Society and the Monument Preservation Society have taken a clear stance on nine points in the initiative.
As an Alpine country, Switzerland is particularly affected by climate change. This is shown by temperature measurements that have been carried out since 1864: The average temperature in the country has risen by 1.9 degrees Celsius since measurements began a good 150 years ago. This is twice as fast as the global increase over the same period, which is 0.9 degrees Celsius.
Why is Switzerland affected more than average? On the one hand, it is because Switzerland is already characterized by a continental climate. As a landlocked country without access to the sea, there is no large body of water to cool Switzerland. On the other hand, the country is located in the mid-latitudes of the northern hemisphere. The areas north of the equator warm up more than those to the south. For Switzerland, this means dry summers, severe weather events, winters with little snow and significantly more hot days, especially in urban areas. The extent cannot be predicted exactly, but one thing is clear – it depends on the amount of greenhouse gas emissions in the coming decades.
This is where Swiss politics came in when Environment Minister and Federal Councillor Simonetta Sommaruga presented Switzerland’s new climate strategy. The aim of the strategy was to show how the country can reduceCO2 emissions and greenhouse gas pollution to net zero by 2050. Net zero means that a company or country eliminates all emissions as far as possible. The last few percent can ultimately be offset by carbon capture and storage (instead of emittingCO2 into the atmosphere, it is stored and permanently sequestered) and negative emissions technologies (the retrieval of greenhouse gases from the atmosphere). The bottom line is that Switzerland no longer emits any greenhouse gases – it comes out of the equation with a net zero.
Baukultur climate campaign supports net zero target
The Federal Council believes that achieving net zero by 2050 is feasible. Although the building sector currently accounts for a quarter of Switzerland’s greenhouse gas emissions, it is also responsible for 40 percent of the country’s energy budget. However, emissions in the transport, industry and building sectors in particular could be reduced by 90 percent by 2050. To this end, the federal government and cantons are promoting the energy-efficient renovation of buildings as well as investments in renewable energies, the use of waste heat and the optimization of building technology.
To support the goal of net zero by 2050, numerous players in Swiss building culture have now joined forces, from cultural heritage to architecture, landscape architecture and spatial planning. To be more precise: the associations BSA, BSLA, SIA, EspaceSuisse, Heimatschutz and Denkmalpflege. Together, they founded the “Building Culture Climate Initiative”, which aims to show how net zero can be achieved while preserving Swiss building culture. On its website, the initiative writes that “climate measures must be implemented with a high level of Baukultur. Investments and transformations must be future-proof, sustainable and of high Baukultur quality.”
Protected properties can also be renovated according to net zero points
This is how the Baukultur climate campaign describes the starting position. It also clearly defines its position, which it breaks down into nine points:
First and foremost is building culture. This should be high, i.e. holistically high quality in terms of design, sustainability and social aspects. Because, as the initiative makes clear in point two, net zero can also become a reality with a high level of building culture. The combination of consistency, sufficiency and efficiency should ensure this. Thirdly, the requirement for high Baukultur quality also applies to energy measures on existing buildings. Architectural quality can be achieved without reducing, complicating or increasing the cost of energy-efficient refurbishment.
The fourth point relates to reconciling the preservation of cultural heritage with climate goals. Energy efficiency measures are also possible on properties worthy of protection and can be aligned with climate targets. Protected objects are also net-zero capable. According to the initiative, “protected buildings are an inspiration for sustainability in practice. They deserve respect and tailor-made solutions. There is a lot of potential in the careful integration of new and existing architectural quality.” Fifthly, the Baukultur climate campaign also aims to ban fossil fuels from the building sector. However, the balance sheet also includes gray energy and resource conservation. This goes hand in hand with point six: the principle of the circular economy should become the rule and be based on the five Rs (refuse, reduce, reuse, repair, recycle). This also includes implementing fewer and smaller projects, using more durable products, planning more durable constructions and reusing building components.
Building culture climate campaign to network and position Switzerland
The seventh point is aimed at open spaces: Climate-adapted settlement development with sufficient open spaces and trees should go hand in hand with ventilation, cold air flows and intelligent water use. In short: green and blue infrastructure should be coordinated. For this to work, the initiative also calls for existing funding instruments to integrate a high level of building culture as an element for climate protection and biodiversity. Positive incentives would promote the achievement of climate targets with a high level of Baukultur. Last but not least, the Baukultur Climate Initiative has set itself the task of collecting scientific work and findings as well as relevant initiatives and making them tangible. It sees itself as a platform that networks and positions Switzerland within an international framework. At the same time, it aims to promote the development of expertise and advice, communicate good solutions and take economic requirements into account.
The core team of the Baukultur Climate Campaign consists of Stefan Kunz (Managing Director of the Swiss Heritage Society), Claudia Schwalfenberg (Head of Policy, responsible for Baukultur at the Swiss Society of Engineers and Architects SIA), Peter Wullschleger (Managing Director of the Swiss Association of Landscape Architects BSLA), Barbara Franzen (Managing Director of the Conference of Swiss Heritage Conservators KSD), Claudia Moll (Co-President BSLA) and Adrian Altenburger (Vice President SIA).
You can join the Baukultur climate campaign as a supporter here.
