14th Conference on Advanced Building Skins
28-29 October 2019, Bern, Switzerland
Welcome message by Barbara Egger-Jenzer,
Executive Councillor of the Department of Construction and Energy, Cantonal Government, Bern
As Executive Councillor of the Department of Construction and Energy of Bern, I am delighted to invite you to the internationally renowned Conference on Advanced Building Skins. It is no coincidence that the Conference has chosen Bern as its location, as the Canton is a leading force in Swiss energy politics. Since 2006, when we adopted a new energy strategy we have been commited to our investment in renewable energies.
A key feature of this strategy is energy efficiency, because without a drastic improvement in efficiency, we will not achieve energy reform. A significant factor in this is the subject of buildings. The Conference emphasizes the importance of building skins in total energy consumption within buildings, with the aim of putting scientific know-how into practice. The dialogue between science and practice should also stress the transfer of technology and the importance of an inter-disciplinary procedure for building construction. This is vital for our energy strategy to succeed.
A large part of our buildings are old constructions. Therefore, a lack of insulation, out-moded heating systems, as well as non-airproofed walls and windows are responsible for a high consumption of energy. Energy-based renovations reduce the energy consumption of buildings. This is not only economically significant for home-owners, but also for the economy as a whole, since renovations generate employment.
Innovative insulation products are a key contributor to an energy-efficient building skin. I am grateful to the congress for focussing attention to this detail and for demonstrating state-of-the-art developments of insulation products.
The Canton of Bern supports this congress because it brings different scientific disciplines and practice together on an international platform. We want to contribute to making the transfer of knowledge even more effective and encourage inter-disciplinary co-operation, whilist expanding international co-operation.
I encourage you to take part in this inter-disciplinary dialogue. Please use the Conference as an opportunity to engage with fellow international participants. I wish the Conference the best of success and I hope all visitors enjoy their stay in our beautiful city of Bern.
Barbara Egger-Jenzer
Registration Fee
The registration fee is €680 and includes lunches and conference documentation with full manuscripts of the presentations. Early birds who register by 31 May will receive a 20% discount.
The Conference Committee
Cinzia Abbate, AeV Architetti, Rome, Italy
Rachel Becker, Director, National Building Research Institute, Haifa, Israel
Ben Bridgens, School of Civil Engineering and Geosciences, Newcastle University, UK
Steve Burroughs, University of Canberra, Australia
David Frey, HOK Los Angeles, and HOK Engineering, San Francisco
Michael Garrison, School of Architecture, University of Texas at Austin, USA
Amirhosein Ghaffarianhoseini, Auckland University of Technology, New Zealand
Andreas Hempel, International Academy of Architects; former President Association of German Architects BDA
Hans-Martin Henning, Head of Thermal Systems and Buildings, Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems, Germany
Eckhart Hertzsch, President, Joanes Foundation, Germany
Andreas Karweger, Managing Director, Advanced Building Skins GmbH, Switzerland
Leo Lau, Director, Green Energy and Green Manufacturing Technology R&D Center, Chengdu, China
Zhenjun Ma, Sustainable Buildings Research Centre, University of Wollongong, Australia
Carl Maywald, Head of Research & Development, Vector Foiltec, Bremen, Germany
Dieter Moor, Ertex-Solar, Austria
Fabian Ochs, Unit for Energy Efficient Buildings, University of Innsbruck, Austria
Valentina Puglisi, Architecture Building and Construction Department, Politecnico di Milano, Italy
Christian Renken, CREnergie, Switzerland
Michiel Ritzen, Faculty of Science & Technology, Zuyd University of Applied Sciences, Netherlands
Ramkishore Singh, Durban University of Technology, South Africa
Wolfram Sparber, Director, Department of Renewable Energies, European Academy, Bolzano, Italy
Mitsuhiro Udagawa, Prof. Emeritus, Department of Architecture, Kogakuin University, Japan
Stephen Wittkopf, Technology & Architecture, Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts, Switzerland
Organizer
Advanced Building Skins GmbH
Zentralstr. 44
CH-6003 Lucerne
Switzerland
info [ at ] abs.green