In the "Buildings" section, the winner was determined almost unanimously - the AIST statuette ("Architecture, Innovation, Construction, Technologies") was received by the Polygon architectural bureau for the "Active House" project. And, probably, this is the most anticipated victory of the festival, because there were no other works in the competition that were as fully consistent with the theme and mission of the "Green Project". "Active House" is the first and so far the only truly energy efficient building in Russia, built exclusively from environmentally friendly materials.
This house is 230 sq.m. built in the Naro-Fominsk district of the Moscow region as a demonstration model designed to prove that energy efficient technologies are quite applicable in our latitudes. In the plan, the cottage is an elongated rectangle, with its long side oriented along the west-east axis, and the offset slope of its roof, cut through by numerous dormer windows, faces south. Each window is equipped with sun shades (awnings) that automatically open to increase lighting and solar heating, or close to prevent overheating on hot days, and solar panels are placed between them. Maximum comfort in the home is achieved through a "hybrid" ventilation system and a fully automated microclimate control system.
Another unconditional plus of the "Active House" is that it is adapted to the specific climatic conditions of the Moscow region and is built from ecological materials: its frame is made of pine and was assembled right on the construction site, and the facades are finished with ash and cedar. In December, a family with three children is to settle in the house for six months - thus the "Active House" will be tested in real conditions. By the way, the festival jury also noted Velux for the implementation of this project (an award in the "ECO development" nomination).
In the "Projects" section, almost the only foreign project in this nomination was recognized as the best - the "Energy +" house, developed by Werner Sobek Stuttgart. It must be said that the famous engineer Werner Sobek was also the main star of the Green Project last year, but then the victory of his bureau seemed more justified, and this year there were enough Russian projects worthy of the award in the nomination.
Like the "Active House" in the Moscow Region, "Energia +" is also not housing designed to step into the masses, but so far only a prototype. The building, which is planned to be built in Berlin, should become a "showcase" of the combined innovative technologies in construction and transport. The project is being implemented under the motto “My home is my gas station” - according to the idea of its authors, the excess energy generated by the building with autonomous energy production will be stored in high-power batteries and consumed to recharge the electric vehicle. Externally, the house really resembles a showcase - its main facade is completely glazed and will "work" as a kind of interactive screen that will inform passers-by about the house, and drivers - about the level of available charge.
Another foreign project won the Conceptual Projects nomination. The architecture studio Michele Piccini won the festival prize for the "Multi Tematic Park" project, which is planned to be implemented between Florence and Prato. Earlier, agriculture was intensively developed in this mountainous area, but then the farmers turned into urban residents, and the gigantic territory was left abandoned. Piccini's team has come up with functions that can breathe new life into it and at the same time develop it as a completely sustainable project.
Several festival prizes were awarded to student projects. Thus, Anna Nagornaya's household waste processing complex (South Ural State University) was recognized as the best "Conceptual Project". The plant was designed for Chelyabinsk - a city with a terrible ecology, for which the problem of waste disposal and recycling is, alas, one of the key ones. It is supposed to be built on the territory of the city dump, which covers an area of 11 hectares. The architect disguises the complex itself as a structure with a very active tectonics, similar to the relief of the Ural Mountains, over which a "green" camouflage is thrown, which allows to harmonize as much as possible the space on which mountains of debris rise today.
And in the nomination "Industrial design" won "ECO bag" N. Ivanova and "Green kitchen" A. Khitrova (MGHPA named after SG Stroganov, department of industrial design). The ECO bag is a smart and simple alternative to a plastic bag, not only in terms of materials, but also in terms of functionality. In fact, this is a single canvas with two mesh inserts, which with the help of Velcro can be turned into a bag of different shapes and sizes.
The author of "Green Kitchen", in turn, combined a garbage container and a mini-bed in a single structure. The resulting unit is capable of not only processing organic waste, but also using it as fertilizer.
In addition, the festival jury awarded the leading manufacturers in the field of environmentally friendly building and finishing materials in the “ECOproducts” nomination. One of the winners of the "Green Project 2011" in this nomination was LLC "KNAUF GIPS Kuban" - the prize was awarded "For the production of high-tech, hygienic and environmentally friendly plaster-based finishing materials."
With Archi.ru, the General Manager of the Knauf Group for Russia and the CIS, Gerd Lenga, shared his opinion on exactly what tasks Russia should solve in order to successfully implement the principles of sustainable architecture. “Firstly, it is necessary to build a conviction in society about the necessity and importance of following the principles of green building,” says Mr. Leng. - Secondly, to introduce a system of certification of construction objects for compliance with sustainable construction standards. Thanks to the Sochi Olympics, these standards are gradually being introduced into Russian practice, but so far these are only the first steps. And thirdly, builders must be able to implement the principles underlying the concept of "green" construction, in other words, they must have access to materials and technologies that comply with the principles of sustainable development."
