Page 30 - ZEB Final Report 2009-2017

30 | ZEB Zero Emission Buildings | Final Report 2017

Outside Comfort Zones

… and that’s just how it should be!

There can be many obstacles along the way to actualizing a zero emission building.
Our partners have shown courage, motivation, and pride when working on this
pioneering pilot project. What is the secret of this success?

Tine Hegli Tor Helge Dokka Zdena Cervenka Arild Lunde
Snøhetta Skanska Statsbygg Forsvarsbygg

The building industry has an important role to play in along the way. Partners suggest that ZEB’s five-level definition
progressing towards a zero emission society. After having been is a useful tool in this process. To reduce risks, our partners
deeply involved in the development of buildings with reduced warmly advocate “interaction between simplicity and quality”.
greenhouse gas footprint, ZEB’s forward-looking partners have − We must choose simple solutions, but the products must
reflected on what they consider to be the most important factors be first class. If we don’t know how products are going to mesh,
in realizing ZEB pilot projects. then we must carry out analyses and full scale tests in several
− An important ingredient for succeeding with zero fields, says Arild Lunde, project leader, Forsvarsbygg.
emission projects is courage! All partners must be aware that the Building costs can be higher, but several entrepreneurs
level of ambition is sky-high and have already experienced that
that there is a need for teamwork “The reward is an immense feeling of when you take into consideration
and a willingness to pitch in. the total lifecycle, zero emissions
Everyone must dare to venture pride in creating something unique. buildings pay. Partners suggest
outside his or her comfort zone. We build houses which are more that knowledge acquired in ZEB
It’s a case of painting a wall even signiicant than the houses themselves.” can be relevant in future projects
if you’ve never held a paint brush! and pave the way for other smaller
But the reward is an immense companies.
feeling of pride in creating something unique. We build houses − In 2010, we thought ourselves very bold when we said that
which are more significant than the houses themselves. They we were going to be building zero emission buildings by 2030.
constitute an important impetus in the green transition, says At that time, we knew little about zero emission buildings, but
Snøhetta architect Tine Hegli. it turned out to be the right decision to move in that direction in
For an interdisciplinary project such as this to function, cooperation with ZEB. Now, we have delivered Norway’s most
everyone must acquire understanding in fields other than his climate friendly building with ZEB-COM standard at Evenstad
or her own. and have also gained valuable experience and knowledge. In
− Communication is a key word: daring to ask stupid the opinion of Zdena Cervenka, climate issues in themselves
questions – to admit that it can be difficult to see how represent a risk factor which could prove expensive to ignore.
knowledge can be brought together. The materials expert, This is spear-heading activity, according to Tor Helge
with insights presented as bar charts of CO2 emissions about Dokka, Skanska.
various constructions, must appreciate the architect’s concern − We are “frontrunners” and must bear the brunt of eventual
for esthetics – and vice versa. Everyone must pull in the same disasters. In the long term, we have developed technology which
direction, says Hegli. will become part of future regulations. In this respect, what we
Sky-high goals may be set as targets but need adjusting have achieved with ZEB is very important.