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Cleaner Technology Projects in Denmark 1997

Environmental Management of a Redevelopment Building in Copenhagen

Miljørigtig projektering af en byfornyelsesejendom i København
Arbejdsrapport nr. 22, 1997, Miljøstyrelsen

This demonstration project was conducted in the initial project design phases of an urban renewal project for an apartment building rejected in Nørrebro in Copenhagen. The property concerned is an approximately 100-year-old five-story apartment building owned by the co-operative building association A/B Sankt Hans Torv 30 - Nørre Alle 1.

The demonstration project is part of the City of Copenhagen’s decision regarding the urban renewal of the Ahorns Street block and will comprise primarily modernisation and renovation of the building’s climate barrier. The project has thus concentrated on the replacement of the roof, the reparation of the facade, and the replacement or reparation of all windows. Beyond this, the City decision makes the individual modernisation of dwellings in the building in terms of the layout of the bathroom/toilet and the replacement of kitchens.

The main objectives of the project are:

	To test and to contribute to the further development of the environmental assessment model for construction projects that has been used in early consulting and project design phases where financial support is given according to the Law on publicly funded urban renewal, Chapter II.
	To test and to contribute to the further development of the manual with associated tools produced in another part of the project.

Initially, a general survey was made including an identification of the limitations inherent in the project and an evaluation of their significance. An important limitation in this project was the demand of the authorities with respect to the Law on publicly funded urban renewal.

Another important element is the description and assessment of the building’s most important environmental effects in its entire life cycle. Included here are the use of resources in the form of energy and water, as well as environmental impacts in the form of emissions to air, soil, and water.

The Life cycle’s phase 1 is the mining and production of the raw materials, for example, shale, lime, and wood. Phase 2 is the preparation and production of roof slate, mortar and windows. Phase 3 is the activity of urban renewal. Phase 4 is the operational period of the building after urban renewal, and finally phase 5 is the demolition and removal of the materials added during renewal. The assessment showed that the operational phase of the building is going to have the greatest environmental impact in the complete life cycle of the renovation.

On the basis of the general survey, an environmental programme, including an assessment of various environmental impacts and a setting of priorities, was prepared. The environmental objectives that the project should try to live up to with regard to the local area, the building’s form and function, and the techniques applied were also set forth in collaboration with the co-operative building association.

The five environmental objectives for the project were defined as follows:

	Environmental impact during the construction phase must be kept at a minimum.
	A good work environment must be ensured.
	The consumption of energy and resources in the operational phase must be minimised.
	Building materials with low energy and resource consumption in term of the material’s entire life cycle must be used.
	The building elements chosen must be able to be reused, salvaged or re-cycled, to as great an extent as possible after their use in the building.

Furthermore, the environmental programme includes a description of the measures that are necessary to deal with environmental impacts and thereby to effectuate the environmental targets. With regards to the reduction of heating, electricity, and water consumption, for example, measures could be: Use of water-saving faucets and toilets, installation of individual consumption meters, insulation of the primary building parts, replacement of windows, etc.

With regards to construction techniques the most important criteria is to identify materials that are based on renewable and sufficient resources, and that have long lives and long maintenance intervals.

On the basis of the work with environmental management in project design in connection with the renovation of an urban renewal property, the following conclusions were made:

	Practical implementation of the environmental management of project design has some limitations especially with regards to "soft" parameters such as landscape, aesthetics, city environment, cultural inheritance, etc.
	The current law and the City Architect’s Office have set up a number of barriers limiting the extent to which environmental management can be used in project design. A fall in the number of degrees of freedom is the result, as cultural inheritance usually takes priority over environmental considerations.
	A comparative environmental assessment is lacking: More specifically an environmental accounting, so to speak of whether it is more correct environmentally to demolish a building and construct a new or to renovate the old building.
	A higher level of comfort in dwellings can lead to an increase in environmental effects as a consequence of increased consumption of resources.
	The choice of material by co-operative building associations can, in some cases, also be a correct choice in terms of environmental impact.

Author/ institution

Erik K. Jørgensen A/S, AB Sankt Hans Torv / Nørre Allé 

This report is subsidised by the National Council for Recycling and Cleaner Technology  

ISSN no. 0908-9195
ISBN no. 87-7810-767-9

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