The new building of the FFFZ was erected in an environmentally friendly
and energy–saving way. This had been agred upon by the synod
of the Evangelical church of the Rhineland in 1990. These guidelines were
already part of the planning and the aim was to realize an ecology inherent
in the building instead of just making it a representative feature. The
house was opened in 1993. The FFFZ was awarded a prize for extraordinary
environmental
awareness by the state capital.
The following measures were realized:
awareness by the state capital.
The following measures were realized:
-
The conference rooms are situated on the south side of the building to ensure best possible daylight.
Before the start of construction the ground was tested for harmful substances, rubble was disposed of separately and an ecological building material list was drawn up. - Massive construction ensures good sound and thermal insulation.
- The window frames are made of indigenous pinewood to avoid the use of aluminum and tropical wood.
- Walls and wooden surfaces were treated with water–soluble varnish for the well–being of our guests and employees.
- Wooden parquet, natural stones or tiles were used as floor covering whereas in the conference rooms and guests rooms conventional wall–to–wall carpeting was chosen.
- The wiring mostly consists of halogen–free wire without any PVC insulation, thus avoiding the risk of dioxin contamination in case of a smouldering fire.
- Technical facilities:
Rainwater which accumulates on the flat roofs is used for WCs and technical facilities.For our refrigerating plant a “re–cooling device” (Rückkühlwerk)
had to be built in to carry off excess heat. It is run by rainwater.Wherever possible energy–saving methods are used, e.g. no paper towels are used in the restaurant and the restrooms. - Energy production:
Electricity and heat are generated by a thermal power station (Blockheiz-
kraftwerk), coupling power with heat.The power station is run by gas, which is an environmentally friendly primary energy.Excess electricity can be fed back into the power supply network.A higher demand can be covered by the power supply network or conventional boilers. - Outside the building:
The grounds around the convention center were designed to meet our high ecological standards: An unnecessary sealing of the ground was avoided thus creating a habitat for plants and animals.Most roofs of the new building are planted with grass like a biotope. Rainwater which is used inside the building is collected there. - Overall design :
The ecologically visible and technically necessary steps which were taken are in harmony with the design of the area outside the building.
Each step was integrated into the overall design which lead to an overall aesthetics of the building and the area outside the house. Everything serves only one purpose: To make conference members , guests and employees feel comfortable.