ÖGNB joins iiSBE

The Österreichische Gesellschaft für Nachhaltiges Bauen (AKA the Austrian Green Building Council) has become a chapter of iiSBE. This step is welcomed by iiSBE President Luis Braganca as signaling that participation in iiSBE can be complementary to membership in the World Green Building Council (WGBC). The Spanish GBCe is also a member of both global networks.

For further information contact Peter Wallisch at office@oegnb.net, or Nils Larsson at larsson@iisbe.org.

A project to adapt integrated design concepts to Turkey

On 12 and 13 March a meeting was held in Ankara, Turkey to launch a project to adapt the principle of integrated design process (known as Integrated Building Design Approach, or IBDA in Turkey) for the Turkish building industry. The project is financed by UNDP Turkey and the Turkish Ministry of Energy and is expected to result in the production of two main reports by the end of the summer: an Adaptation report, on how to apply the principles for Turkish conditions, and a Guideline document, to support the work of design teams in applying the method.

iiSBE group in Florida holds a Net Zero symposium

A symposium on Net Zero buildings was held on 6 and 7 March in Gainesville Florida. The event was organized by Dr. Charles Kibert, who heads the Powell Center for Construction and Environment at the University of Florida. Professor Kibert was supported in the organization by Dr. Robert Ries, Director of the Rinker School of Construction Management at the university, and was given much organizational support by Lantz Holtzhower, who is completing his Ph.D.at the university.

Update on SB conferences and SBE 2017

The last series of national and regional SB Conferences has recently concluded with sixteen SB13 events. The World SB14 Barcelona Conference, www.wsb14barcelona.org will take place on 28 to 30 October 2014 and promises to achieve an even higher profile.

On the Path to Net Zero Housing in South Korea

Canada Wood Korea, in collaboration with the Korean Society of Wood Science Technology, held a full day workshop on February 22, 2014 in Seoul to examine progress in technologies and policies towards net zero energy housing in Korea. Among the invited speakers from Canada and Korea was iiSBE Canada member Ken Klassen.