SUSTAINABILITY
Dead end concrete

Professor Harald Lesch explains in the ZDF science series "Leschs Kosmos" that, according to prognoses, twice as much land will be built on worldwide by 2060 and that cement production already produces three times as much CO2 as global air traffic. As alternative building materials that can be more than niche products on the way to climate-friendly architecture, concepts such as carbon concrete, construction with clay and fibres as well as Germany's first hybrid wood high-rise at Berlin's Südkreuz will be presented by the architectural firm Rhomberg and the project developer EDGE Technologie. At the same time, the greening of facades and roofs is critically examined, as in the case of the "Kö Bogen 2" project by Ingenhoven Architects. Lesch's conclusion: "If we accept the fact that our building endangers our life on earth, then our greatest hope is not only to be aware of nature's processes but also to use them. And then the building sector could become very important in initiating the great transformation towards a sustainable society." (am)