The Centre is the link between theory and practice, between supply and demand. ICDuBo connects the government, clients education, knowledge institutions, advisers and manufacturers. In June 2011, ICDuBo has been open for one year and more stakeholders in construction are finding their way to the Centre. The use of and need for sustainable construction is starting to dawn on the construction sector, but the could move up a gear. We’re not there yet.
We need to make a change from investment-led to operation-led development. The entire life cycle of a building must be considered – from the planning and construction phase, the user phase to demolition and re-use. Clients are encouraged to focus more on the future and to take account of the use. The application of sustainable materials ensures lower energy costs and less maintenance during the operation phase. Furthermore, buildings could be designed in such way that it is easy to adapt them to the requirements of new users. In this user phase, sustainable measures could realise many gains for the user, the environment, and the wallet.
With a focus on the long term and the application of sustainable solutions, the building retains its value over a longer period of time. However, clients still do not have enough interest in this future value.
Therefore it is extremely important that the benefits of sustainable construction are highlighted more clearly. The problem is that sustainable construction is not sexy yet. The trick is to tempt and inspire the players in construction to start working with sustainable construction. ICDuBo achieves this by suggesting that sustainable pays in many ways; their method is refreshing, solution-led, gets the visitor thinking, and ultra simple in terms of its message. A visitor to ICDuBo must be aware of the opportunities and changes that are offered by sustainable construction. « less