WORLD nZEB FORUM 2017
Nearly Zero Energy Buildings (nZEB) will be mandatory in the EU by 2020 : the WORLD nZEB FORUM held in Ireland last November brought together experts in the field from Europe and the US, defending what is considered "a paradigm shift in how we design, build and operate the spaces where we live and work".
The opening talk by Housing Minister Eoghan Murphy described the scale of collective efforts to be made, followed by Scott Foster (Director, Sustainable Energy Division at the United Nations) who described the UN's global energy efficiency framework. New-build and retro-fit were addressed, exemplified by several high-profile projects. Amongst the most inspiring were those shown by Cirian O'Conner (State Architect, Office of Public Works, Ireland), infused with deep bonding with context, landscape, nature and light. Also noted was a comprehensive talk describing the European roadmap to nZEB given by Jens Laustsen (Coordinator of the European Performance Buildings Directive). Sabine Leribaux presented architectassoc's work, from AEROPOLIS to ELIA to HD54, describing how sustainable awareness nourishes their thinking.