Ensuring Sustainability in Brownfield Revitalisation as PDF

The assessment by the test team concluded that GPR
does not cover all the aspects of the superior
Conclusion
environmental profile used in Tilburg. However, the
from the
constructional characteristics and equipment
Trial Run
standards of a building can be examined clearly and
uniformly with the program whether or not they
conform to the environmental profile. This can be done
at the beginning of the planning phase so that it is possible to incorporate
the requirements of the environmental profile in the planning and
construction process of a building visibly as well as at an early stage and at
all levels. The program developer states that GPR is integrated in the
approval process in many Dutch municipalities so that no further
examinations or evidence in the covered topics are required for the
process of approval and authorisation to build. The program thus allows
the examination method to be simplified and offers a concise external
presentation with the ‘star categories’.
In Germany, the examination of a large part of the information requested
by GPR is carried out in the approval process and acceptance procedure of
construction work on the basis of laws and ordinances, the stipulations of
the development plan and local building regulations. The data needed are
available in Germany in a similar manner, but not systematically acquired
and registered. Energy-saving certificates pursuant to EnEV, for example,
are to be issued within building permits; consumption data are recorded in
the special planning stages (electrical, heating, sanitary); and the quality of
material is regulated by standards and quality marks. These data would
have to be combined if the GPR tool were to be used in Germany. The data
could also be collected within a superior environmental profile. A simplified
qualification or appraisal would then be possible using a uniform data sheet.
The special qualities of the GPR tool lie in its ease of use and the concise
presentation of the appraisal results. This could involve a prominent external
presentation (‘effectiveness in advertising’), helping to achieve superior
environmental standards in the public domain and make them relevant for
business (a five-star building sells better than a one-star building).
For an application in Germany, however, the stipulations and standards
should be adapted as well as the software extended to appraise buildings
with mixed uses and more complex geometries (different types of roof,
differing heights of a building). A comparison with alternative solutions [e.g.
Passive House Planning Package (Passivhaus-Projektierungspaket,
Darmstadt)] should be made within an economic, technical and financial
review.
Modern Offices in Stuttgart
36