DUTCH WOOD DAY 2009 – “SUSTAINABILITY ABOVE ALL IN THE EU”
26th January 2010 - NEWS RELEASE
The Nationale Houtdag (Dutch National Wood Day) 2009, organised by the magazine Het Houtblad and held on 1st December, saw knowledge shared on forestry, wood, wood applications, engineering, maintenance and architectural design, and was focused on inspiring the audience of more than 300 architects, designers, engineers, and trade representatives. This year's Dutch Wood Day was also a celebration of 100 years of the Association of Dutch Timber Companies, now the Royal VVNH.
The event, “Sustainability Above All”, was held in the Great Hall of the Muziekgebouw aan't IJ - Amsterdam's concert hall for the 21st Century and itself a beautiful building in wood designed by Danish architects 3xN.
The impressive conference ran two parallel programmes, with the Royal Dutch Timber Association focusing on industry issues and the magazine Het Houtblad programme featuring both Dutch and international speakers from the worlds of architecture and leading organisations and suppliers of sustainable building systems. For optimal cross-fertilisation, the international speakers from Great Britain, Germany and Sweden addressed both audiences and covered issues including passive construction, sustainable forest management and the environment, climate change, sustainability and CSR.
Alan Shingler of Sheppard Robson Architecture, London and Geoff Rhodes, marketing and business development director of Coillte Panel Products represented Great Britain in the “Sustainable Building in the UK” session. Sheppard Robson Architecture designed the Kingspan Lighthouse at BRE Watford and was the 2009 winner of the AJ's Top 100 Sustainable Practice of Year Award. As such, Mr. Shingler was well placed to demonstrate the practice's approach to zero carbon house building. Since 2008, Coillte Panel Products and its brands Medite MDF and SmartPly OSB have been inviting decision-makers to be uncompromising in their choice of wood products, promoting the message “It's Time 2 Choose”, standing by the Irish forestry and forest products company's own choices to only supply FSC certified panel products, and from January 2010, all Medite MDF supplied also meets California's rigorous low formaldehyde standard CARB2.
The final joint session featured key speaker Jacqueline Cramer, Dutch government minister for housing, spacial planning and the environment, on sustainable purchasing and other government activities. The Royal VVNH and the Dutch Union of Joinery Manufacturers presented the action plan "Aware of Wood" to Minister Cramer. The plan has been designed to provide impetus for sustainable timber specification.
Said Geoff Rhodes: “This has been a unique opportunity to share our opinions, our views and our values with an audience of more than 300 professionals who understand and welcome the need for sustainable timber and wood product specification. We are pleased to have played our part in such a successful event”.
Nationale Houtdag 2009 - Speakers
Anne-Marie Rakhorst, director Search Ingenieurs-bureau Heeswijk/Amsterdam, and advocate of “cradle to cradle”
Mark van Kessel, director Duurzaam Project (DPM) Rosmalen
Hans Achterbosch (OAK - Achterbosch Architectuur Leeuwarden + Onix Groningen), sustainable building in infrastructire - Accoya bridges and the future
Geoff Rhodes, Marketing & Business Development Director Collite Panel Products: It's time to choose
Alan Shingler (Sheppard Robson Architecture Londen), zero carbon house building
Johan Weekamp (chairman Foundation Guarantee Doors GND) emphasises the ongoing developments in door area
Architect Malte Reimer (Kaden Klingbeil Architektur Berlin) introduced the audience to a seven-layer wood apartment building in Berlin, which won the Deutscher Holzbaupreis 2009
Mechthild Stuhlmacher (Korteknie Stuhlmacher Architects Rotterdam), winner of the Wood Architecture Award 2008, promoted wood construction systems in German speaking countries
Eric Franke (Franke Architects Sliedrecht) is not only the passive spearhead in his daily design practice, but also brings together and disseminates all developments in this field through the passive Foundation Holland
Architect Peter Weijnen is a partner at FARO Architecten Lisserbroek. He discussed sustainable residential and commercial construction.
Dr. Pieter Zuidema (University of Utrecht, Prince Bernhard Center for International Nature Protection), discussed the global trends and the effectiveness of sustainable management compared to 'traditional' management
Mark Diepstraten, environmental coordinator for Wijma Kampen, discussed how sustainable forest management standards apply in tropical forests
Dr. ir Gert-Jan Nabuurs, Deputy Director European Forest Institute Joensuu, Finland, this forest expert and is active in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). He posed questions on balancing timber demand and CO2 sequestration.
Eric de Munck, Project Manager Wood Environmental Center, discussed wood in the construction of CO2 capture and avoidance.
Harry van Ewijk, senior consultant IVAM, evaluated the chances and possibilities of wood in the future.
Robbert Jan Dekker, Director Dekker Wood Group, discussed the matter behind the provocative title: “Sustainable wood: the mismatch between supply and demand”.
Jan Douma, Director, Dutch Association of Timber Manufacturers (NBvT), held a lecture on the combination of sustainable timber industry and corporate social responsibility (CSR).
Swedish architect Gert Wingårdh combines Baroque to functionalism, and wood tech materials. Forest ecological awareness is an important basis for his work, not just in small but also in mega projects.
According to architect Bart Blom Medlar Beyer (Amsterdam Tangram Architekten) sustainability needs to be integrated: materials, power and space, time and experience are brought together. New thinking means redesign.
Elco Brinkman, chairman Bouwend (Building) Netherlands, explained how the member construction companies are driving current and future sustainability agendas.
Jacqueline Cramer, Minister of Housing, Spacial Planning and the Environment.
