The 15th edition of Klimahouse, the energy efficiency and upgrading fair held in Bolzano that illustrates all the latest advances in the sector, endedat the end of January. Four days of events, conferences, and demonstrations that, according to data released by the organizers, hosted 450 exhibitors and was visited by over thirty thousand specialists and professionals.
Numbers that show how the theme of sustainability and energy efficiency in new builds or renovations has become the sign of a cultural sea change in present and future project designs and worksites.
As is usual in these specialized fairs, the dominant theme is innovation – meaning new, concrete solutions for “ecological” living as well as containment and affordability of costs as the solutions and visions of producers acquire experience and reach economy of scale. So a rich panorama of woods and materials in stone, better-performing and ecological prefabricated and new building materials, ever “greener” insulating materials, door and window fixtures and finishings, higher performance energy management and domotics, and environmentally-friendlier and healthier internal and external plasters and paints.
Among the most significant sections in this year’s edition was that dedicated to health-promoting interiors with the collaboration of internationally-renowned universities and polytechnics. A multidisciplinary approach that highlights what can be done at a construction and architectural level for health and wellbeing, especially regarding the renovation and restructuring of existing buildings.
This keenly-felt topic stimulates comparison between today’s many innovative materials and possibilities for new projects and the techniques and practices used in the past when the rapidity of commercial and residential construction often resulted in slipshod and rushed work which has drastically reduced the “duration” of these buildings.
A reflection that is also a clear sign of the profound change that has occurred in recent years in the culture of living spaces and the sustainability of commercial and production spaces, which in order to create new value and remunerate investments must take this aspect into consideration.
by Ilenia Girolami
