Building of Tomorrow

The Austrian Federal Ministry of Transport, Innovation and Technology (BMVIT) in co-operation with a network of experts and with the assistance of the Austrian Industrial Research Promotion Fund developed the Austrian Programme on Technologies for Sustainable Development. This five-year research and technology programme initiates and supports trend-setting research and development projects and the implementation of exemplary pilot projects. The sub-programme "Building of Tomorrow" makes use of the two most important developments in solar and energy efficient building: the passive house and the low energy solar building method. "Buildings of Tomorrow" are residential and office buildings and differ from current construction practice in Austria in that they fulfil the following criteria: - Higher energy efficiency throughout the whole life-cycle of the building. - Greater use of sustainable raw materials and efficient use of materials in general. - Greater use of renewable energy sources, especially solar energy. - Increased consideration of user needs and services. However, the costs should be comparable with conventional building methods. The "Building of Tomorrow" sub-programme includes the following elements: - Technology and component development. - Development of innovative building concepts for residential and office buildings. - Setting up and evaluating demonstration projects. - Market diffusion of the "Buildings of Tomorrow". Since 1999 projects have been supported with an amount of some Euro 7 million of public funding. This released innovative projects with an overall budget of some Euro 120 million.

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