The r-m-p consulting GmbH was founded to support other agencies with our experiences regarding passive houses.

At the start of this year KfW-Bank awarded a contract for China to r-m-p consulting which exceeded our expectations by far. In the city of Tonghua, located in Jilin province in China, 294 blocks of flats are to undergo a process of energetic refurbishment. The aim is to achieve the ENEV energetic new building standards with the existing buildings. This means a reduction of more than 300 KW/sq.*a. With a floor space of more than 1,100,000 sq. this implies a saving of 330,000,000 KW per annum. As the buildings are connected to a district heating supply system which is fed by a coal-fired power station, the CO2 reduction to be achieved is almost incredible.

It is our assignment to guarantee the implementation and compliance of the agreed energetic standards for this mega-project. Not an easy task, due to the fact, that the whole documentation is in Chinese and that there is no local building experience in energetic optimization. That is why we do not only audit and release all documents but also build up workshops for the training of the staff. But the challenge of this project is not only the Sino-Germanic basis, but also the time schedule, which sets 2012 as the end date for the project.

It is planned that 30,000 workers will work simultaneously on the construction areas. The start of the refurbishment is planned for March. For us, this definitively means entering a totally “new dimension” and we are looking forward to report back more in the near future.

Currently all eyes are rightly on Japan. As well as the unbelievable tragedy that the Tsunami has brought to the coast, the questions on everybody's minds are: will the atomic reactor Fukushima meltdown and what will be the effect of the resulting radiation?

The debate goes on and with whatever effects the population will have to live with one thing is certain: higher standards of living and technical development lead to ever greater levels of energy demand. No-one would of course freely step back from this standard of living. In fact ever more people are reaching this level. Thus we must reduce our energy hunger and thereby reduce the connected problems. One of the best ways is energy efficiency - from my point of view most quickly arrived at in the built environment through the Passivhaus standard.

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We spoke to leading architect and passive house champion Roland Matzig,
founder of r-m-p architects, about the future of passive house construction.

What are the key benefits of moving towards passive house construction methods and what are the barriers to its uptake?

There are several key factors which make it necessary for us to increase the amount of buildings we construct according to passive house standards in the future. First of all there is the tremendous responsibility towards the protection of the climate. The Kyoto Protocol requires the international community of states to act promptly and sustainable construction is one way we can lower emissions.

Relating to our buildings, this means energy-efficient new buildings and restoration of existing structures at the highest reasonable level possible.

The most exciting fact about this is that, taking the development of energy prices into consideration, the passive house standard "pays off" sooner too, so it is a smart calculation from an economic point of view.

As regards the cosiness, the comfort and the hygiene, the passive house standard offers the best possible conditions. But the great challenge is the quality of the construction. The passive house standard can only be reached with optimum construction quality, which is not always easy to find in the market and experienced planners and a very good construction team are essential to the success of a passive house building.

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The EnergyEfficiencyAward, which has been sponsored for several years by SAINT-GOBAIN ISOVER G+H AG, has led to a very pleasant result for r-m-p.

The energetic passive house refurbishment of the residential and commercial building in Mannheim Almenhof, where also the company’s offices are partially located, has won the third place among all the competitors. The official award ceremony is to take place in June 2011 in Barcelona in an international setting.

The jury, lead by Prof. Dipl-Ing.Arch. Armin D. Rogall, selected the project amongst numerous other applications because of its outstanding energy efficiency, the passive house standard that was achieved and its architectural aspects, and has honoured this performance by giving it a place on the “winners’ podium”.

In the eyes of r-m-p, this award particularly acknowledges the company’s competency regarding energetic refurbishment and passive house technology. We are very pleased about our success.
Details

Impressions:

Universities from all around the world have designed a high-rise building in passive house quality for this year’s student competition held by the company ISOVER. The building is planned for a construction site in New York and the best plan will be chosen on the occasion of ecobuild 2011 in London.

The international jury comprises of the following persons:
Roland Matzig, Bill Butcher, Zdenka Debartoli and Ken Shuttleworth.

For further information, please read the press release.