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measuring method and benchmarks are clearly described in tool kits. In the case of ecology,
environmental impact and energy efficiency play a crucial role. In the field of economic
quality, the focus is on the lifecycle costs analysis. Socio-cultural quality comprises primarily
aspects of comfort, convenience, as well as functionality. It covers issues that are important
for the public sector clients, such as disabled accessibility, space efficiency, and convertibility.
The assessment of all the individual aspects produces a complex overall assessment and at the
end of this process a building can be issued with a certificate. Its sustainability performance
can be expressed by degree of compliance, with a mark, or by a status of gold, silver or bronze.
If a building complies with all the statutory standards and is of otherwise good quality, it will
reach the lower limit of bronze and fulfil about 50 percent of the compliance.
A decree issued by the Federal Minister makes application of the sustainable construction
assessment system to all Federal buildings mandatory. Buildings must achieve a total degree
of compliance with the tool kit developed for office and administrative buildings by at least 65
percent, which corresponds to the silver standard. This means that the Federal Government is
the first major client in Germany to completely base its building activities in the next two years
on sustainability criteria.
3. Utilizing building
sustainability measurement
tools in Hong Kong, with a focus
on the German system DGNB
David Littler
Buro Happold
I am not actually going to talk to you about a less than zero building, but I am
going to tell you about using building sustainability measurement tools in Hong
Kong with the focus on DGNB. 2
Some of you may not have heard of Buro Happold, so I ought to just briefly tell
you. We are engineers, and these are some of the projects we have done in
Hong Kong and around the world. The project on the top left-hand corner,
which is the Hong Kong Jockey Club Sha Tin Communications and Technology
Centre, is actually the reason for these slides. The next few slides are really the
2 DGNB: Deutsche Gesellschaft für Nachhaltiges Bauen (The German Sustainable Building Council)
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