Research
ABC Disposal (Assessment of Buildings and Constructions - Disposal)
The ecological performance of building materials at the end of buildings’ life cycle should be assessed already in the planning phase. For that reason mass balances are produced
basing on demolition scenarios. The processes for disposal are assessed quantitatively and qualitatively. The results shall be adopted in the building assessment tool Total Quality
Building and on demonstration projects of the programme Building of Tomorrow.
Information: Hildegund Mötzl
TQB (Total Quality Building)
The building assessment method TQ is to be extended (new working title: TQB). To date, it can be used to assess residential buildings. The aim of the project is the assessment of non-residential buildings with TQB too. Furthermore the system is to be aligned with the leading international and national building assessment systems. Finally new European and Austrian indicators are to be integrated. Promoted by ZIT, the technology agency of the city of Vienna.
Information: Tobias Waltjen and Maria Fellner
Passive house refurbishment building elements catalogue
Analysis of "Haus der Zukunft" ("House of the Future") research reports in connection with building refurbishment with structural, building physics and building ecology additions. The passive house refurbishment building elements catalogue integrates two valuable resources that are already available into one new, practically oriented planning tool:
• A larger number of "Haus der Zukunft"-promoted projects that deal with structural tasks in refurbishment, and
• The IBO "Details for Passive Houses" which show typical cross sections and connection details (for new buildings) with building physics description and calculation as well as ecological calculation and assessment. Promoted by Haus der Zukunft, BMVIT.
Information: Tobias Waltjen
Online reference for ecologically assessed building structures suitable for passive houses
The typical cross sections of the IBO passive house building elements, published as a book, are to be entered into a tried-and-tested web database system and published online. The contents are to be made available for information, training and easy upgrading. The building platform baubook was selected for realisation (www.baubook.info/PHBTK/). Promoted by Haus der Zukunft, BMVIT. Information: Tobias Waltjen
LCC information system for more CO2 savings by linking energy-relevant building data
Development of an LCC (Life Cycle Cost) information system under the project management of the Austrian Energy Agency on the basis of existing modules such as the energy pass database ZEUS and the extensive building assessment system Total Quality Building Assessment (TQB). The collection, processing and making available of energy-relevant data is supposed to achieve the following goals: creating a database for the description of the quality of existing buildings; quality control energy pass and planning of user-oriented measures by means of collecting consumption data; interlinking with existing modules for a simple LCC analysis. This is a fundamental contribution to an efficient identification of CO2 saving potentials – especially in existing buildings.
Information: Maria Fellner
New real estate standards
Further development of real estate assessment methods for the differentiation of sustainable buildings in the results of value determination, client: Klima- and Energiefonds in the framework of the programme line “Energy of the Future“, project management: Austrian Energy Agency; collaboration in method development, selection of real estate and value determination for selected properties.
Information: Maria Fellner
NENA
Network Enterprise Alps (Enhancing Sustainable Development, Competitiveness and Innovation through SME and Cluster Cooperation)
collaboration in the development of criteria for sustainable (municipal) buildings
Interreg IIIb project commissioned by telesis.
Sustainability and comfort with the Klima.Komfort.Haus
Research project in the framework of the programme line "House of the Future" of the bm:vit, commissioned by the property developer Familienhilfe.
Information: Bernhard Lipp
Development of klima:aktiv criteria
Development of klima:aktiv criteria for service industry buildings and selling space (ecological aspects) as subcontractor of the Vorarlberg Energy Institute.
Information: Maria Fellner
Modular solid timber construction for passive houses
Energy of the Future project “modular solid timber construction for passive houses“
Project manager: DI Heinz Geza Ambrozy, civil engineer for structural engineering
Project partners: IBO GmbH (ecological assessment and building physics), DI Dr. Wilhelm Luggin, consulting engineer for civil engineering (statics), DI Selim Erol (EDP).
Information: Thomas Zelger
Refurbishment of Vienna Forest villa from the “Gründerzeit” period
Refurbishment of a Vienna Forest villa from the “Gründerzeit” period according to the passive house standard with the use of active and passive solar technology in the framework of a promoted housing construction project, work package passive house windows. Information: Thomas Zelger
klimaHaus/casaclima
Further development of criteria in the field of ecology for klimaHaus/casaclima, Autonomous Province of Bozen, Department for Air and Noise.
Information: Thomas Zelger
Sustainable and solid - upgrade of the OI3 index with the useful life of building materials and building elements
The simplified quantitative ecological assessment for buildings, the eco-index 3 (OI3), derived from TQ, was integrated in the housing construction promotion programmes of several Austrian provinces in the past years. Now data about practical experience are available and the following upgrades of the OI3 are planned in the course of the combination of them with the results of the research project in hand: further development of OI3 to OI4; extending of the balance limits of the buildings; implementation of the useful life; analysis and implementation of further results from the other projects. As a result of the widespread application of the OI3 concept even today, it is to be expected that the upgrades will also be taken over by the current OI3 users (housing construction promotion, klima:aktiv haus, TQB, IBO ÖKOPASS) all over Austria.
Information: Bernhard Lipp
Sustainable and solid – useful life of building materials
The objective of the proposed project is the definition of the useful life of building materials in dependence upon the characteristics of functional unit, building element structure, building element connections, extraordinary events (water pipe bursts, floods, earthquakes, fires, change of use of building) on the basis of available indices and statistical analyses.
baubook Professionell (formerly IXBAU)
A database for the search for building products. Tool for the sustainable layout of invitations to tender and quality assurance in the construction business. ixbau.at offers its users a product assessment which makes the effects on the environment and on people’s health transparent. Furthermore it makes available plenty of practically relevant product information. The objective is to optimise the selection of building materials and chemicals in order to reduce the load on the environment, processing firms and users to the necessary minimum.
In November 2008 the internet databases öbox and ixbau have merged into baubook, the biggest internet portal in German language for ecological and energy efficient construction and refurbishment.
Information: Steffen Brühl
Eco-efficient decision criteria for civil engineering – construction methods of special civil engineering
Eco-efficient decision-making aids for civil engineering – construction methods of special civil engineering is a project of the working group “ÖkoKauf Wien – working group civil engineering”. The objective of the project is the preparation of performance criteria and lists of criteria regarding green construction methods in civil engineering and the analysis and assessment of these. The project is divided up in 6 modules, and the IBO is responsible for the module 5 “Ecological Assessment”. The theoretic basis (module 3, TU Vienna: Institute of Construction Management and Economics, Institute of Foundation Engineering and Soil Mechanics) and the practical basis (module 4, ÖVBB – Austrian Society for Concrete and Construction Technology) serve as knowledge base. The subject area soil with its partial subject soil as building material, recycling und reuse (module 2, BRV – Austrian Association for the Recycling of Building Materials) also have to be considered for the ecological analysis of building methods and auxiliary building methods and to be discussed in detail.
Information: Hildegund Mötzl
Community centre of Ludesch, Vorarlberg
The planning and construction management for the community centre of Ludesch comprises the selection of green structures, green products and their testing. When the interim report was published (5 December 2004), more than 200 products from 16 trades had been tested. Still 24 products from them (more than 10%) had to be rejected. It was possible to find alternatives that are more environmentally compatible for all these products. In 2006, the Community centre of Ludesch was awarded the State Prize for Sustainable Architecture.
Promoted by the House of the Future. Information: Hildegund Mötzl
Details for Passive Houses -
A Catalogue of Ecologically Rated Constructions
In the new catalogue, all construction elements will be dimensioned on the basis of the passive house standard and complemented with connection details suitable for passive houses as a matter of principle. The work was promoted with funds from the “House of the Future” and several Austrian provincial governments and partners from the industry. The work, written in two languages, can also be received in the English-speaking countries – an absolute must in a Europe that is growing together! Published in February 2008!
Information: Tobias Waltjen
SIBAT
Building assessments and building certificates must guarantee the people living there or using them that the building that is constructed fulfils the criteria of preventive health protection. In the framework of the project “SIBAT”, an assessment approach which serves to assess the potential toxic effect on humans of construction products relevant for indoor spaces in a pragmatic and practically applicable manner was developed. Promoted by the House of the Future, BMVIT.
Information: Philipp Boogman
PRESCO
PRESCO (Practical recommendations for sustainable construction) is a Europe-wide thematic network aiming at preparing a practically oriented guideline with an international basis for the sustainable creation and operation of residential, commercial and industrial buildings. In addition to the preparation of a list of sustainability recommendations, the comparison of LCA-based building assessment and planning tools was an important part of its work.
Austrian network partner: IBO
Information: Tobias Waltjen, Hildegund Mötzl
Timber building elements catalogue
For the project “dataholz”, a timber building elements catalogue available on the Internet, the IBO calculated the ecological indicators. Dataholz comprises approx. 1000 timber building elements: basic structures and different versions of them with varying insulating material thicknesses or insulating material types etc.
www.dataholz.com
Comfort
The project “comfort and sustainability” is a research project of the programme line “House of the Future” which investigates the comfort and the health and/or recreational value of passive houses. On the one hand, the study serves to find out whether the people living in passive houses feel a difference when their living space is heated in different ways, and whether differences that are perceived (or maybe ones that are not perceived) can be registered on the physiological and/or psychological level. On the other hand, they wanted to find out whether different indoor air qualities brought about by different ventilation situations (comfort ventilation system on versus comfort ventilation system shut off and windows closed) have an influence on sleep quality and so on the most important phase of recovery.
High-volume housing construction in Lower Austria: financial and ecological criteria for a sustainable development
Project objective: A kind of development that fulfils the needs of people today without limiting the chances of future generations of meeting their needs is sustainable. This applies with a view to ecological, financial and social factors.
Project partners: Centre for Construction and Environment, Danube University Krems, the Working Group for Renewable Energies, Regional Organisation Lower Austria-Vienna, Atelier für naturnahes Bauen (Helmut Deubner), Atelier Solararchitektur + Möbeldesign (Heinz Geza Ambrozy); IBO: Bernhard Lipp, Thomas Zelger
Sponsor: Provincial Government of Lower Austria, dept. F2-A,B housing research, Austrian Federal Ministry of Economics and Labour (BMWA), dept. IX/8 F. 1389
ÖkoInform
An important objective of the “House of the Future” is the planning of residential and office buildings with a high degree of innovation with sustainable development and a high market potential in mind at the same time. ÖkoInform is intended to optimise the innovative building projects in the “House of the Future” with a view to ecology beyond the energy concepts, and the use of renewable resources is to be promoted in the process (NAWAROS). ÖkoInform offers an individualised range of consultation services for innovative building projects in the “House of the Future” with the following components:
- Check of building materials and building structures with which the IBO determines the ecological effects of the structure that has been selected.
- Discussion of alternative solutions for an increased use of NAWAROS and for an improvement of the eco-performance
- Further detailed research upon arrangement
- Using the result from the House of the Future for answering questions regarding user requirements and residential satisfaction.
Project partners: 17&4 Organisationsberatung GmbH, Austrian Institute of Ecology (ÖI); IBO: Bernhard Lipp
Client: BMVIT – Austrian Federal Ministry of Transportation, Innovation and Technology
Ökoinform, www.hausderzukunft.at
List of criteria “Wall Paints” and “Paints and Varnishes”
The city of Vienna (ÖkoKauf Wien, working group for interior furnishings) commissioned a working group, comprising 17&4, die umweltberatung, Verein für Konsumenteninformation and IBO, to revise and amend the lists of criteria for “Wall Paints” and “Paints and Varnishes”. The new lists of criteria are supposed to form a basis for the procurement of green materials by the city of Vienna.
IBO: Barbara Bauer, Hildegund Mötzl; www.wien.gv.at/ma22/oekokauf
ECOSOFT
The development of the programme ECOSOFT involved a lot of work. It is a software tool for the ecological assessment of structures and whole buildings. The basis of it is the IBO building materials database that is continuously updated and was already used for the green building elements catalogue. It is already used for building passes and for the project timber building elements catalogue of Holzforschung Austria. For more detailed information about this programme and licenses for it, contact Bernhard Lipp.
Residential construction subsidisation Salzburg
For residential construction subsidisation in Salzburg, a subsidisation scheme on the basis of eco-indicators has been developed. The scheme is based on the three indicators primary energy demand renewable, greenhouse potential und acidification. These three indicators are used to calculate the eco-index OI3, which is decisive for the calculation of the amount of the subsidy. The eco-index OI3 does not have to be calculated separately because it is calculated automatically in the framework of the heat demand calculation. The new subsidisation scheme has been effective since 2 February 2003. Information: Bernhard Lipp
Ecological and financial requirements regarding large-volume timber residential construction
Multi-storey residential buildings have to comply with the ecological principle of sustainability, ensure an agreeable and healthy room climate and be durable. With a view to national economy, methods of construction that create mainly domestic added value should be promoted. Important questions regarding multi-storey timber construction today are the challenges involved in building physics: sound, protection against moisture, overheating in summer, fire prevention, prefabrication. The project aims at combining quality, environmental friendliness and comfortable living in a cost-efficient building concept all at once.
Project partners: Centre for Construction and Environment, Danube University Krems, Working Group Renewable Energy, Provincial Organisation Lower Austria-Vienna, Atelier für naturnahes Bauen (Helmut Deubner), Atelier Solararchitektur + Möbeldesign (Heinz Geza Ambrozy), IBO: Bernhard Lipp , Hildegund Mötzl , Tobias Waltjen, Thomas Zelger
Sponsor: Austrian Federal Ministry of Economics and Labour (BMWA)
Fringe sciences
Since 1997, the IBO had been dealing with a project of the special kind: “Contributions of fringe sciences to the development of complementary indicator systems in the field of ecology”. For the Federal Austrian Ministry of Science, the specialists Dr. Tobias Waltjen und DI Isabella Burtscher investigated different approaches such as geomancy and radiesthesia, shamanism, feng shui und anthroposophically oriented gardening and landscaping in the framework of the main research area “man-made landscape research”. The topics are not only important for the field of ecology, but also for building biology. The study is available from the IBO.
Requirements of people regarding heat
Again and again, the IBO had reasons for doing research on the topic of thermal comfort. The old topic of radiant heat versus air heat has become topical again recently as a result of the passive house standard, in the framework of which only on occasional minor additional heating of supply air may become necessary, but which requires no real heating system. Dr. Tobias Waltjen summarised the results of his continuous dealing with the topic of thermal comfort over years and years in a study that deals with the physical, physiological, psychological and social dimensions of the topic “requirements of people regarding heat”. The study is available from the IBO.
Multi-functional city nucleus (HDZ)
Energy-wise optimisation of mixed-use buildings, joint use of renewable sources of energy, waste heat utilisation, costs
Project manager: architect Gerhard Herzog; project partners: DI DI Markus Herzog, Dr. Betül Bretschneider; IBO: Thomas Zelger
Passive house kindergarten Ziersdorf (HDZ)
Dynamic simulation, daylight simulation, building ecology consultation and assessment Project manager: AH3, architect DI Johannes Kislinger, DI Markus Bock; project partners: TB Käferhaus: engineer Jürgen Obermayer; IBO: Thomas Zelger
Residential theme of music (HDZ)
Residential home for musicians with passive house quality.
Dynamic simulation, especially regarding the moisture characteristics of living space and rooms used for practising. Quantitative assessment of different natural humidification options
Project manager: pos-Architekten, architect DI Ursula Schneider; project partners: company Ökoplan: DI Bernd Stampfl; IBO: Thomas Zelger
Solar4alpin (HDZ)
Reconstruction of the shelter Schiestlhaus on the Hochschwab in passive house quality
Dynamic simulation, heating load rating, ventilation system, overheating in summer etc.
Project management: solar4alpin, architect DI Fritz Öttl, DI Marie Rezac, architect DI Treberspurg, DI Dr Karin Stieldorf; project partners: DI Wilhelm Hofbauer, DI Elmar Wimmer, DI Gernot Becker; IBO: Thomas Zelger
BAUfit – consultation and training programme for construction companies
The objective of the project is to reduce the accident rate and to avoid overstress and misuse in the course of construction works. The project programme has been designed for the entire staff of the participating company and comprises:
- Management and communication training
- Motor training
- Cardiovascular coordination exercises
- Work analyses with the methods PIMEX and FIT
- Physiological concomitant research and evaluation
- Psychological concomitant research and evaluation
Project partners: Mag. Johann Beran, clinical psychology, Vienna; Dr. Paul Scheibenpflug, Wellcon Arbeitsmedizin GmbH, Vienna; Prof. Dr. Maximilian Moser, Joanneum Research, Inst. for Non-Invasive Dignostics, Graz; Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Kallus Inst. f. Applied Psychology, Graz; project management: Tobias Waltjen
Client: AUVA
Improved acceptance of low-energy house components as a reciprocal learning process of manufacturers and users
What are the emotional attitudes of users, planners and other parties involved regarding controlled ventilation systems for living space? What is their opinion of controlled ventilation systems for living space and their effects? The answers to these questions are supposed to enable a better understanding of the orientation patterns of the players involved and to develop on this basis implementation-oriented measures for improving the acceptance of controlled ventilation systems for living space. Questions about this complex variety of opinions, fears and hopes are asked in the course of interviews, cross-linked by means of the assessment method GABEK (Holistic Processing of Liguistic Complexity) and put in a meaningful context in a methodically verifiable way. New possible behaviours and modes of action are opened up, and the consequences of measures can be assessed. And every step of analysis can be reconstructed and verified intersubjectively.
Project partners: Institute of Philosophy, University of Innsbruck, Institute of Distributive Trades, WU Vienna, IFZ Graz (project management), ZSI Vienna. IBO: Thomas Zelger
Client: BMVIT, House of the Future
EGBF - European Green Building Forum 2
The European Green Building Forum is an initiative supported by the DG TREN of the European Commission. The consortium makes available information about buildings that are exemplary from a “green” point of view and urban development situations, a paper on strategies for green building, a newsletter and a list of Web resources at www.egbf.org and organised several conferences on the topic.
Project partners: Sigma Consultants, France; W/E consultants sustainable building, Netherland; Building Research Establishment, United Kingdom; University College Dublin, Ireland, IBO: Tobias Waltjen
Client: European Commission
Ecological characteristics of insulating materials
The book published by the Springer publishing company answers important questions on the topic of insulating materials from prospective building owners, planners and designers:
- Health compatibility
- Environmental compatibility
- Ecological indicators
- Ecological payback periods
- Building physics influence variables
- Areas of application
The effects are presented in a consistent manner over the entire life cycle, ranging from raw material extraction and production over installation, utilisation and dismantling to recycling or disposal. The first part of the book introduces you to the topic of insulation, discusses the general conditions regarding building physics and structural engineering and uses structures and buildings as examples to point out the ecological saving potential offered by thermal insulation measures. The results of the ecological analysis and assessment of insulating materials over the entire life cycle are presented in the second part. Authors: Hildegund Mötzl, Thomas Zelger
Supporting and obstructive factors for the utilisation of renewable resources in the construction industry
As a result of their renewability and CO2 deposit effect, renewable resources have great benefits in as far as environmentally compatible agriculture and the safeness of production and additives are ensured. In spite of this, the market penetration is still small, with the exception of timber products. The research project comprises the analysis of the obstacles and the preparation of possible supporting measures for the increased use of “renewable building materials”. As a basis, a catalogue of building materials is prepared, which lists more or less all building products made of renewable resources that are available on the market and are being developed, and describes and assesses them from a structural engineering and ecological point of views. The obstacles and the measures were identified in the course of two workshops and of interviews.
Project partners: GrAT – Group for Applied Technology (project management and workshops) and Global2000 (straw bale building). IBO: Barbara Bauer, Philipp Boogman, Thomas Zelger
Client: BMVIT, House of the Future
List of criteria for the consideration of environmental protection in public procurement - Check it
Environmentally friendly procurement in public administrations and agencies eases the burden on the environment and promotes the utilisation of eco-efficient products. For this purpose, a practically oriented manual consisting of 6 modules was developed under the supervision of the BeschaffungsService Austria (established at the IFZ in Graz) and the Austrian Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, Environment and Water Management.
The contents of the list of criteria are:
- Consumer goods and stationery for schools and offices
- Electric appliances and systems, heating
- Civil engineering and equipment
- Interior furnishings
- Infrastructure for drinking water, waste water and industrial water
- Detergents and cleansers.
As an accompanying measure for all areas, a legal study was carried out, which discusses the general legal conditions for environmentally friendly procurement, especially considering European legislation.
Project partners in the module civil engineering: Centre for Construction and Environment, Danube University Krems (project management: Tobias Waltjen), IBO GmbH (building material assessment: Hildegund Mötzl, Barbara Bauer), the Institute of Ecology and 17& 4 Organisationsberatungs GmbH.
The module interior furnishings was realised by IBO GmbH (project management) and 17& 4 Organisationsberatungs GmbH. Assisted by arge helix/Jutta Kellner.
Client: IFZ, Graz
Purchasing Guidelines for Green Buildings
Eco-guide: Construction
In May of the year 2000, the environmental association Vorarlberger Gemeindehaus published the eco-guide: Construction (see also the IBOmagazin 3/00). The guide summarised the three subject areas transportation, water and civil engineering. The IBO prepared the civil engineering part. The module civil engineering consists of two parts. The “guide for designers and architects” lists principles and planning guidelines for green building. The “procurement guide” contains recommendations for the selection of products for important groups of building materials and amendments for tender texts.
Project partners: BeschaffungsService Austria (established at the IFZ in Graz), IBO-GmbH Vorarlberg c/o the company Spektrum, IBO: Hildegund Mötzl, Barbara Bauer,
Publisher: environmental association Vorarlberger Gemeindehaus
Space heating and water heating in urban areas – green solutions for densely developed areas with existing old houses and new houses being built
Determination of the thermal physiology, building physics, mechanical services, ecological and urban development requirements regarding space heating and water heating in urban areas.
Project partners: DI. Walter Pokorny, civil engineer for technical physics, Vienna; Austrian Institute of Ecology, Vienna; Centre for Construction and Environment, Danube University Krems
Information:
Tobias Waltjen
Client: BMLFUW
The effects of rooms heated with tiled stoves or radiators on physiological parameters of people
The objective of the research project was to examine the different effects of the room climate of rooms heated with tiled stoves or radiators on circulatory regulation. The measurements that were performed on 36 test persons indicated interesting differences.
Project partners: Joanneum Research, Inst. f. Non-Invasive Dignostics, Graz, IBO: Hildegund Mötzl, Tobias Waltjen
Client: Austrian Tiled Stove Association