New competition will seek energy-efficient buildings

Prague - The new Czech-Slovak competition aims to highlight energy-efficient buildings with exceptional structural and architectural value. Starting today, projects that have been or will be completed in both countries between January 1, 2010, and June 30, 2012, can be registered, the organizers told journalists today.
The competition, named Building Efficiency Awards (BEFFA), aims not only to showcase interesting architectural projects but also to remind of the European directive 20-20-20 concerning the energy performance of buildings. The directive obliges member countries to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and overall energy consumption by at least 20 percent by 2020 and to generate at least 20 percent of energy from renewable sources by that date.
The expert guarantor of the BEFFA competition is the Brno University of Technology. The first round of the competition will take place at the regional level in the Czech and Slovak Republics. The winning projects from the regional rounds will advance to the Czech-Slovak final, which will be held in November 2012.
Student projects can also participate in the final in a special category, where their realization is not a requirement. Timber constructions submitted in any category of the regional rounds will also be evaluated separately in the final. More information about the competition can be found at www.beffa.eu.