Cycling shorts, suitable attire for a trip to a shopping centre? And a well-known one at that.
In fact, Lycra and fingerless mitts were just the outfit, though you could also have made a case for wearing flippers, a mask and a snorkel.
It's Global Climate Week and between Saturday 19 and Saturday 26 September 2009 each of the 5 floors of Hamburg's Europa Passage has a climate-related theme.
There's the future level, the research level, the information level and the technology level, each with exhibitions and hands on (or, in one case, feet on) activities aimed at alerting visitors to their impact on the environment. There was everything from fabulous photos and the results of research on a reef in Belize to suggestions for homeowners on how they could save money.
I was headed for the fourth floor - the campaigns level - and the stand of the Hamburg Verbraucherzentrale (Consumers' Centre). As a cycle campaigner (a member of the London Cycling Campaign almost continuously since 1984 and a very active member of its voluntary offshoots Lambeth Cyclists and Southwark Cyclists) the mention of cycling in the overview of the week's events had caught my eye...
Energy bike
Your chance to participate: How hard do you need to pedal to make a cup of water hot enough to brew coffee? A climate and energy consultant advises.
("Energie Fahrrad
Mitmachaktion: Wie stark muss man für eine heisse Tasse Kaffee in die Pedale Treten - Klima und Energieberater informieren")
This experience taught me (the hard way!) what Jens Schwarz, co-ordinator of RCE Hamburg und Region, has been saying since I started this work experience placement - that lessons that teach people to adapt their behavour to be more sustainable need not take place in the classroom.
I consider my carbon footprint to be very small but I don't merit a halo made out of wood from a sustainable forest, or didn't, because I had a very bad habit.
Despite the pleas and finger-pointing, in the face of reminders and ridicule, I always filled the kettle even when I was only making a cup of tea for myself. Until 1pm on Tuesday 22 September 2009, that was.
On that day I got onto a stationary bike and in full view of visitors coming up or going down the escalator in the upmarket shopping centre, pedalled for 32 minutes.
This was the time it took me to raise the temperature of one mug of water in a kettle from the 21 degrees it was when I started to the 70 degrees Ms Andrea Grimm from the Consumers' Centre said would make a decent cup of instant coffee.
When I got off the wretched machine, though, coffee was the last thing I wanted. I had my eye on the ice cream of the man sitting watching my efforts.
So, Dave, you can now trust me to use your kettle. Though, if you don't mind I'll plug it into the mains rather than use your exercise bike to heat the water.
Wednesday 23 September 2009
Hot topic heralds the onset of the cold season
Getting to the Hamburg Consumers' Centre (Hamburg Verbraucherzentrale) is easy, it's right next to the main railway station. Getting access to their information is easy, too - it's just 1.50€ to use the library. But the Centre also employs experts you can access via subject-specific hotlines (1.50€/minute) or you can make an appointment to see someone (for which there is a small charge). You can seek advice on everything from your rights as a consumer to further sources of information about nutrition.
The centre also runs talks and invites experts to answer questions. At this time of the year, keeping warm without increasing your heating bills are hot topics. The small exhibition currently running 'So, old house, how's it going?' ('Na, wie geht's denn altes Haus?') is effectively an advert for another function of the Centre, that of energy adviser.
The display is aimed at home owners who want to 'weatherproof' their home or whose house is developing mould. The first panel follows Mr and Mrs Specht from bagging a bargain house to finding that at the end of their first year, their heating bill is a fifth larger (800€) than they had expected. So, they called in the services of an energy expert from the Consumer Centre.
The energy expert has now become an 'energy detective' and the subsequent panels show what comes under that person's microscope and the information the environmental gumshoe needs to be able to advise a homeowner on how to remedy the problem in a bid to cut heating costs, stop mould developing and, as a bonus, reduce their impact on the environment.
The focus switches to a before and after scenario, presumably of a genuinue case history, albeit of a small block of flats rather than the travails of a couple in an old, rundown detached house.
Three values were compared:
a) energy use in kWh
b) CO2 emissions in kg
c) fuel costs.
The benefits were clear - the savings were over 75% in each case.
As with the 'Haus Spart Energie - Gewusst wie' display, the people who put this together have realised that the way to get home owners' attention is to show them that they can save money. And, again, the messages are that installing or improving the insulation is the answer and there is a solution for every type of dwelling.
The exhibition is open between 10am and 6pm.
The centre also runs talks and invites experts to answer questions. At this time of the year, keeping warm without increasing your heating bills are hot topics. The small exhibition currently running 'So, old house, how's it going?' ('Na, wie geht's denn altes Haus?') is effectively an advert for another function of the Centre, that of energy adviser.
The display is aimed at home owners who want to 'weatherproof' their home or whose house is developing mould. The first panel follows Mr and Mrs Specht from bagging a bargain house to finding that at the end of their first year, their heating bill is a fifth larger (800€) than they had expected. So, they called in the services of an energy expert from the Consumer Centre.
The energy expert has now become an 'energy detective' and the subsequent panels show what comes under that person's microscope and the information the environmental gumshoe needs to be able to advise a homeowner on how to remedy the problem in a bid to cut heating costs, stop mould developing and, as a bonus, reduce their impact on the environment.
The focus switches to a before and after scenario, presumably of a genuinue case history, albeit of a small block of flats rather than the travails of a couple in an old, rundown detached house.
Three values were compared:
a) energy use in kWh
b) CO2 emissions in kg
c) fuel costs.
The benefits were clear - the savings were over 75% in each case.
As with the 'Haus Spart Energie - Gewusst wie' display, the people who put this together have realised that the way to get home owners' attention is to show them that they can save money. And, again, the messages are that installing or improving the insulation is the answer and there is a solution for every type of dwelling.
The exhibition is open between 10am and 6pm.
A fairytale ending or the end of a fairytale?
Visitors to an exhibition in Hamburg's Europa Passage will be able to live warmly, and therefore presumably, happily ever after. However, if the Passivhausstandard is adopted in Britain, it may cause problems for an annual but popular visitor - Father Christmas.
Not only will children not be able to 'post' their wishlists to Santa by sending them up the chimney, but the rotund bloke with the generous amounts of white facial hair won't be able to get in to deliver them either... Passive houses don't need chimneys.
However, as Christmas traditions in Germany are different, the people who spend time looking at the display 'Our house saves energy - here's how' ('Unser Haus Spart Energie - Gewusst wie') on the top floor of the shopping centre can concentrate on the message therein: regardless of what sort of house you live in, or when it was built, there are things you can do that will reduce your heating bills.
Hamburg's fabulous open air pools closed at the end of last month, children are back at school and it's dark at 7.30pm. Winter is on its way so this exhibition is timely. It's also excellent and sets a standard other organisations would do well to emulate.
From a distance you can see red 'roofs' of six 'house-lets'. Houseowners are intrigued and attracted. Closeup they are not disappointed. The displays are attractive, engaging and accessible.
The designers haven't forgotten that the visitor is unlikely to be alone. There are hands-on elements for all ages, such as a cube you turn each visible side of which simply has one large image and the minimum number of words required to explain what sort of energy is produced by the subject of the picture. Even the youngest members of any party are catered for. There is a box of wooden toys to entertain them in situ and a wildlife colouring book and two storybooks, the latter with a sustainable theme, to keep them occupied while mum or dad is absorbed in the exhibition, but which they can take away with them.
Each house is dedicated to a different topic around the environment. However each is made relevant to the viewer because the underlying message is how you can improve the condition of your home and reduce its energy use and therefore your outgoings. In fact, each display is a sort of FAQ - from What are renewable sources of energy? to What is the difference between a heat pump and geothermal energy? Where appropriate, reference is made to the technology is available for homes, how it works, the situation for which it is suitable and, crucially, how much it costs and what the financial benefits to the home owner are.
Not only will children not be able to 'post' their wishlists to Santa by sending them up the chimney, but the rotund bloke with the generous amounts of white facial hair won't be able to get in to deliver them either... Passive houses don't need chimneys.
However, as Christmas traditions in Germany are different, the people who spend time looking at the display 'Our house saves energy - here's how' ('Unser Haus Spart Energie - Gewusst wie') on the top floor of the shopping centre can concentrate on the message therein: regardless of what sort of house you live in, or when it was built, there are things you can do that will reduce your heating bills.
Hamburg's fabulous open air pools closed at the end of last month, children are back at school and it's dark at 7.30pm. Winter is on its way so this exhibition is timely. It's also excellent and sets a standard other organisations would do well to emulate.
From a distance you can see red 'roofs' of six 'house-lets'. Houseowners are intrigued and attracted. Closeup they are not disappointed. The displays are attractive, engaging and accessible.
The designers haven't forgotten that the visitor is unlikely to be alone. There are hands-on elements for all ages, such as a cube you turn each visible side of which simply has one large image and the minimum number of words required to explain what sort of energy is produced by the subject of the picture. Even the youngest members of any party are catered for. There is a box of wooden toys to entertain them in situ and a wildlife colouring book and two storybooks, the latter with a sustainable theme, to keep them occupied while mum or dad is absorbed in the exhibition, but which they can take away with them.
Each house is dedicated to a different topic around the environment. However each is made relevant to the viewer because the underlying message is how you can improve the condition of your home and reduce its energy use and therefore your outgoings. In fact, each display is a sort of FAQ - from What are renewable sources of energy? to What is the difference between a heat pump and geothermal energy? Where appropriate, reference is made to the technology is available for homes, how it works, the situation for which it is suitable and, crucially, how much it costs and what the financial benefits to the home owner are.
There is a vast amount of information presented on the 'walls' of the cottages but in such a way and using so many devices - colour, images, 'real-life' stories, podcasts (an iPod is available in situ in exchange for ID or a deposit, or visit http://www.regionalbewegung.de/102/ ), a whiteboard with pen and calculator provided, a DVD ("Abenteuer Energiesparen" ["Energy Adventure"] which you can order by email from ausstellung@gusb.de for 15 € excl postage) - that the visitor will stick with it to the end.
On the final 'wall' are shelves of examples of magazines aimed at home owners and available through newsagents; books through bookshops or online; and brochures to take away or order from the Bundesministerium für Umwelt, Naturschutz and Reaktorsicherheit for whom the exhibition was produced.
The exhibition is part of the the first Hamburg Climate Week which runs until Sunday 26 September. However, it will then go 'on tour' and its next stop is 10-11 October in the Schaufenster Fischereihafen, Bremerhaven.
Recommended!
(Images courtesy of Gesellschaft für Umwelt- und Sozialbildung mbH.)
Thursday 17 September 2009
Walking through walls
Today "Halle H" (a huge hanger-like space) in the AZB Hamburg rang with the sounds of the scratching of pens on paper and the clicking open and closed of wooden rules.
Twenty-four final year bricklaying students (above, image courtesy of Marco Bleck) were sketching six of the reconstructions housed in the building and then measuring the 'before' and 'after' refurbishment dimensions.
Halle H looks like a cross between an adventure playground (albeit with a roof, a tile floor and plaster walls) and the premises of the builder and seller of upmarket wendy houses.
It contains examples of sections of seven buildings all in the ratio 1:1 and all built by AZB Hamburg students. The collection includes five houses - each typical of the buildings to be found in Hamburg. There is one each from 1900, 1950s-60s, 1970-80s, plus two modern buildings - one built to Passivhousestandard and the other a timber frame low energy home, and two commercial properties - one from the 1900s and the other of the 'nothing but glass' sort which are increasingly (and depressingly) so prevalent in my part of London (north Southwark) and The City. The glass and metal cube belongs to the Zentrum für zukunftsorientiertes Bauen (the Centre for Future Oriented Construction).
The five 'historic' models show the materials, how much space is required to renovate exisiting properties to meet the latest standards of insulation set by the German goverment, and, no less critically, how to avoid thermal bridges.
I gatecrashed the third year students' tuition session with the retrospective permission of teachers Herr Hoffmann and Herr Palm from the Staatliche Gewerbeschule Bautechnik G19 (Hamburg Vocational School for Building Crafts G19) to experience how the exhibits could be used as a teaching resource.
Herr Palm explained that before the existence of Halle H (it was officially opened in summer 2007) students had to use traditional teaching materials, ie textbooks, to learn the theory of refurbishing the city's buildings.
Once they realised what was required of them the students seemed to enjoy the task. You can walk into the exhibits and climb stairs, enjoy the 'view' from the second storey, the roof terrace or the balcony. Perhaps the architects behind the choice of room were fans of Big Brother as one of the demonstration buildings comprises a bathroom, another the toilet cubicle!
Herr Hoffmann explained that he has long been concerned about the environment and when he built his home he aimed for sustainability and to reduce his carbon footprint. With a smile he added that as that was in the 1970s there were things he would do differently if he were building it now as knowledge and materials have moved on.
He explained that although it was unlikely the students would be able to influence a developer or the house owner to build a passive or low energy house, it was important to provide them with the knowledge of why such designs are needed. This is because when qualified they might find themselves in a situation where they are able to make suggestions but at the very least they would be equipped with the techniques when called on to build such a design.
Thursday 10 September 2009
Japanese university seeks advice on setting up an RCE
The visitors to the AZB Hamburg on Thursday 10 September had come from further afield than those earlier in the week. Yoichi Kabutan (above left with one of his students of German) is professor in the Faculty of Arts at Shinshu University in Matsumoto. He came to the AZB Hamburg to ask Jens Schwarz (right, in front of a map of the location of RCEs around the world) about how to set up an RCE.
Professor Kabutan explained that the standard for environmental mangement system best known in Japan was the international ISO 140001. The technical department of his university had received this in 2001, while the campus, on which his faculty is one of five, had achieved that standard in 2007. He had heard about "BNE" (Bildung für Nachhaltige Entwicklung - education for sustainable development) during visits to German universities.
Over tea and biscuits Jens Schwarz explained how the RCE Hamburg and Region had come about and how it worked. He counselled Professor Kabutan to think locally and be patient.
Professor Kabutan was also interested in the AZB Hamburg and Mr Schwarz explained that the college taught not only those that "had" to receive education (young people) but also teachers. He talked the visitors through the college's belief that although there was political pressure to reduce greenhouse emissions in Hamburg and that the construction industry had an important part to play, it was important for an individual to recognise his or her own responsibility in relation to climate change and "to think beyond money", rather to ask what s/he could do for the global good.
The visitors brought with them gifts (above) for their hosts.
Wednesday 9 September 2009
Tour of architect's own passive house home
Architects Nisse Gerster (in red shirt, above) and Robert Heinicke (in white) explained the technology involved in constructing a building to passive house standard to visitors from the AZB Hamburg and the latter's Build with CaRe guests from Scotland.
The tour started at the offices of the Heinicke Architekturbüro where Mr Gerster and Mr Heinicke talked their visitors through the models they have on display of wall insulating materials, three layer glass windows and how to avoid thermal bridges when installing a front door.
From the architects' office it was just a short walk to Mr Gerster's home.
The immediate clue that this was not a house like any other was the lack of a chimney. A second sign was those three panes of glass in every window. The front door was attractive but extraordinarily heavy to push open. For someone trying to explain the concept of a paasive house to a potential buyer, the security afforded by the windows and the doors would be good selling point.
As Mr Gerster is still working on his home, visitors were able to see some of the layers involved in insulating the property. Some people are concerned about potential noise associated with ventilation that is an essential component of a passive house. Mr Gerster turned up the air exchanger to full capacity to demonstrate that it was inaudible even when set to maximum.
Three hundred metres of piping in the ground underneath the house help to keep the Gerster family warm in winter and cool in summer.
Internally, the layout is open plan with much natural (and untreated) wood. However, before the next winter arrives Mr Gerster will be installing safety glass between the sitting room and the hallway; he has found that when the front door is opened in cooler weather the temperature of his home drops noticeably.
All the visitors appreciated the time both architects set aside for answering questions and Mr Gerster's opening his home for inspection.
Tuesday 8 September 2009
Scotsmen, sun and aspiring students
Chris Ashe (centre) and Bob Scott (far right) from Dundee College and Andrew Shaw (2nd from r) from LDB arrived at the ABZ Hamburg in bright sunshine. They were met by Jens Schwarz (l) and Matthias Wurtzel (2nd from l) from the AZB Hamburg.
Dundee College is a Build with CaRe partner and the three visitors are here from 8 to 9 September to discuss e-learning and to visit a passive house.
At the end of the first day there was time for a tour of the AZB Hamburg's exhibition halls, workshops and opportunities for current students to demonstrate their skills (below).
The Scottish party were not alone in looking around with interest - their visit coincided with a college open day which had attracted a large number of potential students.
Thursday 3 September 2009
Partners exchange details of upcoming events
Numerous and diverse sums up the number and scope of the projects the Hamburg and Region Build with CaRe partners are working on.
On Wednesday 2 September 2009 representatives of six Build with CaRe partners (TUHH, G19, I-SH, IBA, ZEBAU, AZB) from Hamburg and Schleswig Holstein met to provide each other with an overview of initiatives planned by each organisation relating to Build with Care.
A representative of each organisation stood up in turn and presented the details. Each element was summed up on a slip of paper which the speaker attached to a pinboard under one of six headings:
(i) the overarching event the initiatives related to, (ii) details of any related exhibition, (iii) related workshops or information stands, (iv) publicity materials, (v) the outcomes for vocational training, (vi) the scope offered for visits.
Attendees were pleasantly suprised by the number (see photo at the top of this post) and scope of initiatives this activity revealed.
The presentation method also showed there was overlap in events planned and that therefore much could be achieved by joint working and promotion, for example by including details and links of relevant events, on the partners' websites.
Further outcomes were:
(a) an agreement that such meetings were mutually beneficial, that they should take place regularly and often (every three to four months), be kept short (maximum two hours) and that partners should take it in turn to host them. All attendees agreed that there might be occasions on which additional, sponteous, meetings would be appropriate and beneficial,
b)the international nature of work packages, 1, 3, 4, to which the partner were working, should be highlighted as far as was possible , but that this would be difficult with relation to work package 2 as the information related to regional matters.
ZEBAU will host the next meeting in February 2010.
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