Construction21 opens its 12th platform in China

Created in 2012 to accelerate the environmental transformation of the building sector, Construction21 confirms its world ambitions on all topics related to sustainable construction and cities. Thus, a partnership agreement was signed with CABR at the COP22 in Marrakesh, on November 14th, during the Green Building & City Solutions Awards ceremony, to create the Construction21 China platform.

Picture, left to right : Maolin Liu & Linna Xie, from CABR and Christian Brodhag, Construction21.

A prestigious Chinese partner, CABR

After the first deployments outside of Europe, in Morocco and Algeria, Construction21 will launch a Chinese platform in February 2017. This platform will be managed by the National Engineering Research Center of Building Technology (NERCBT), a member organization of the China Academy of Building Research (CABR), the Chinese public research center dedicated to building. This public company provides the Chinese government with significant technical support in all matters of building, especially through the redaction of regulations and standards of the sector.

For Linna Xie, Associate Director of Department at CABR, “There is a huge market as well as lots of successful practices and builders in China. It’s necessary for us to cooperate with Construction21 in terms of the international communication and technology improvement. From our point, we will share the best green building and city solutions globally, promote the development of Construction21 and extend its influences in the exploration of sustainable development”.

China, milestone in Construction21 world development

Christian Brodhag, President of Construction21 International, reminded “ Construction21’s ability to broadly disseminate, on a world scale, best practices for sustainable buildings and cities, by highlighting solutions used and implemented by practitioners. The creation of the first Asian platform, in the biggest greenhouse gas emitting country, on the frontline of international negotiations on climate, is a crucial step for the worldwide cover aimed by Construction21 by 2020. “

Starting February 2017, all Construction21 case studies accessible in Chinese

The Construction21 China platform will open in February 2017 and fully operational for the launch of the Green Building & City Solutions Awards 2017, on March 15th at MIPIM. All case studies describing exemplary buildings, eco-districts or sustainable infrastructures and already published on one of the existing Construction21 platforms will be automatically translated in Chinese. Therefore, they will benefit from a large direct visibility among Chinese professionals. In reverse, case studies published on the Chinese platform will be accessible in English, French or Spanish, for professionals all over the world. Visit Construction21 in French, in English, in Spanish.

About CABR

China Academy of Building Research (CABR in short) was founded in 1953. It is a technology-based enterprise and also the largest comprehensive research and development institution in the building industry of China. National Engineering Research Center of Building Technology (NERCBT for short), the future Construction21 chapter, is a non-profit organization affiliated to CABR, authorized by the Ministry of Science and Technology.

CABR is dedicated to the research on advanced technologies in the building sector. Its business scope covers around 70 fields, including structural design, urban planning, green building consulting, design software development etc. CABR is responsible for the development and management of nearly 60% main technical standards and codes of the building industry in China. Besides, CABR carries out quality supervision and certification for structures, construction materials and equipment like HVAC systems.

In the green building development, CABR provides policy advice and technical support to the government. Therefore, CABR sets a solid foundation for China’s green building sector. It indeed has lots of experiences to share. Currently, 2 billion square meters of construction are increasing per year and the number of eco-cities increases rapidly. China’s green building practices are expected to be recognized through international platforms. The global acceptance can either mobilize individuals’ and real estates’ interests or promote the implementation of energy-saving and emission-reducing measures to fulfill the commitment in Paris Agreement. www.cabr.cn 

About www.construction21.org

As the social media for sustainable buildings and cities, Construction21 disseminates free information and best practices for sustainable development among actors of the building and city sectors, with one million visits per year.

The 12-platform network Construction21 is both local and global. Each national platform is managed by a not for profit organization involved in the promotion of sustainable building and city in their country.

The Construction21 network counts 11 national platforms in Algeria, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Morocco, Romania, Spain and, starting 2017, China. A 12th international platform in English, is directly connected to BUILD UP, the site of the European Commission for energy efficiency in buildings.

Construction21 aims to deploy 50 platforms and draw 10 million of visitors by 2020. The network is an active member of the Global Alliance for Buildings and Construction[1]. Construction21 is also positioned as a dissemination tool for innovation linked to the #11 Sustainable Development Goal of the United Nations[2] : « Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable».   www.construction21.org