EQS-News: Brick Award 24: How architecture contributes to a sustainable future

EQS-News: Wienerberger AG / Key word(s): Miscellaneous
   Brick Award 24: How architecture contributes to a sustainable future

   07.06.2024 / 11:00 CET/CEST
   The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

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   Brick Award 24: How architecture contributes to a sustainable future

     • International experts in architecture discussed solutions for
       sustainable and affordable construction at Brick Award event
     • Resource management, more attractive public spaces and shared
       infrastructure as key components for more sustainable and affordable
       construction

    

   Vienna, 7 June, 2024 – Following the award ceremony of this year’s Brick
   Award, an international biannual prize for innovation and excellence in
   brick architecture created by wienerberger in 2004, a panel discussion
   between international pioneers in architecture took place. Under the motto
   “Building Tomorrow: Balancing Sustainability and Affordability in
   Architecture”, wienerberger CEO Heimo Scheuch sat down with Brick Award
   winner Tom McGlynn, nominee Renske van der Stoep, and jury member Ingrid
   van der Heijden, as well as Jens Linnet, speaker at the Brick Award
   symposium later that day.

   Acknowledging that the ecological transformation is the defining challenge
   of our time, Heimo Scheuch pointed out: “In order to achieve a sustainable
   future for coming generations, we must reach the goals lined out in the
   European Green Deal, chief among them climate neutrality until 2050.
   Architects are in a unique position to support this transition. The
   construction sector accounts for over one third of all energy use and
   almost 40 percent of CO2 emissions. These emissions can be brought down by
   innovative construction methods, as pioneering architects around the globe
   continue to demonstrate. Because outstanding architects are, at their
   core, master problem-solvers.”

   Re-use and better cities for sustainable housing

   Jens Linnet, Brick Award symposium speaker and co-founder of the Danish
   design studio BOGL, added: “By being more aware of the entire production
   chain and the materials we choose for our projects, we can reduce costs
   and create more sustainable projects while still prioritizing quality and
   function.” He explained that in their construction projects, BOGL focuses
   on using pre-existing natural assets such as trees and on reusing or
   upcycling materials. Jens Linnet also emphasized that public spaces need
   to change in order to allow people to reduce the size and environmental
   footprint of their housing: “We need to be braver within city planning and
   mobility and create attractive cities so that we are willing to live in
   smaller homes.”

   The positive impact of reusing buildings was also underscored by Ingrid
   van der Heijden, founding partner of CIVIC Architects in Amsterdam and
   part of this year’s Brick Award jury: “By prioritizing the reuse of
   buildings over demolition, materials and the embodied carbon they contain
   are kept in use for longer. It’s a sustainable and common strategy in both
   heritage and retrofitted buildings”, said Ingrid van der Heijden. She
   promoted an “approach that radically embraces the existing”.

   Her compatriot Renske van der Stoep, nominee for this year’s award and
   founder of the Dutch studio Roffaa, added that in her experience, a key
   factor for implementing new concepts in construction is open communication
   with the people who will occupy the buildings. ”We are now increasingly
   working directly with the end users, where we establish a client
   association. This allows us to make much more targeted sustainable
   choices, the process becomes more compact, and the project more
   affordable.” This point was also taken up by Tom McGlynn of this year’s
   winning studio Níall McLaughlin Architects from the United Kingdom, who
   said: “Architects must learn to listen before talking. We can learn from
   locals to better understand what is needed for a particular place,
   culture, climate and community, both in design and construction terms.”

   Affordable construction through material management and shared
   infrastructure

   Apart from sustainability, the discussion also moved towards the challenge
   of creating affordable spaces, which has only gotten more urgent as the
   cost of living increased around the world during the last two years. “In
   general, I see this as a crucial task for today’s architects. The demand
   for affordable housing is increasing significantly, and this is becoming
   an essential social question of our time. We must be able to create
   comfortable, healthy, and affordable spaces for people around the globe.
   It is the foundation for coming generations to build a future for
   themselves”, said Heimo Scheuch.

   Ingrid van der Heijden added: “Architects have an important role as a
   connector in the process of linking affordability to sustainability while
   maintaining high ambitions on quality”, pointing out in particular the
   local sourcing of materials to lower construction costs. Renske van der
   Stoep also emphasized the importance of “managing materials better” and
   designing construction projects based on their availability.

   Tom McGlynn proposed that economies of scale could help make housing more
   affordable. In the case of construction, that could mean building bigger
   infrastructure that can be used by several inhabitants at once. “For
   example, implementing ground source heating across a housing development
   is much more feasible than for a single family home”, said McGlynn.

   These and other innovative solutions require a certain mindset, added Jens
   Linnet. “Creating innovative and sustainable designs often means working
   with projects and solutions that have not been seen before”, meaning that
   both clients and architects needed to be “brave”. However, he underscored
   the great opportunities that lie in this shift towards new ways of
   thinking and designing: “I believe that if we succeed in doing this, we
   are heading for a better future all together.”

   wienerberger
   wienerberger is a leading international provider of innovative, ecological
   solutions for the entire building envelope, in the fields of new buildings
   and renovations, as well as infrastructure in water and energy management.
   With more than 20,000 employees worldwide, wienerberger's solutions enable
   energy-efficient, healthy, climate-friendly, and affordable living.
   wienerberger is the world’s largest producer of bricks and the market
   leader in clay roof tiles in Europe as well as concrete pavers in Eastern
   Europe. In pipe systems (ceramic and plastic pipes), the company is one of
   the leading suppliers in Europe. By acquiring Meridian Brick, wienerberger
   further strengthened its position as a leading supplier of facade products
   in North America. With its more than 200 production sites, wienerberger
   generated revenues of approx. € 4.2 billion and an operating EBITDA of €
   811 million in 2023.
    
   For further information, please contact:
   Claudia Hajdinyak, Head of Corporate Communications Wienerberger AG
   t +43 664 828 31 83 | claudia.hajdinyak@wienerberger.com

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   07.06.2024 CET/CEST This Corporate News was distributed by EQS Group AG.
   www.eqs.com

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   Language:    English
   Company:     Wienerberger AG
                Wienerbergerplatz 1
                1100 Wien
                Austria
   Phone:       +43 1 60 192-0
   Fax:         +43 1 60 192-10159
   E-mail:      investor@wienerberger.com
   Internet:    www.wienerberger.com
   ISIN:        AT0000831706
   Listed:      Vienna Stock Exchange (Official Market)
   EQS News ID: 1918881


    
   End of News EQS News Service


   1918881  07.06.2024 CET/CEST

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