B+A Greater Boston

Although easily achievable from a technological point of view, the idea urgently needs the full support of the automotive and construction industries. W ERNER SOBEK, THE architect a nd en g i ne er f rom S t ut t ga r t , Germany, is calling for cities to be totally emissions-free by the year 2020. To reach this goal, all buildings and vehicles will have to be entirely powered by renewable sources of energy. "This is already easily achievable today from a technolog ica l point of v iew," says Sobek , who never t heless st ates t hat t he "electric city " requires the full support of the automotive and construction industries. As the architect and engineer stated on being awarded the Fritz Leonhardt Prize in July 2015, "a total ban on emitting gaseous w a s t e i nt o t he env i ron ment " s hou ld b e enforced in 2020. In June, at a conference held at the Schloss Elmau luxury hotel, the heads of seven leading industrialized nations set a goal to achieve decarbonization by the end of the century. But that would be far too late, Sobek notes. Sobek is now reiterating his far-reaching demand, pointing out that, from a techno- logica l point of view, it is a lready entirely possible to construct totally emissions-free cities that harness renewable energy to power their buildings and means of transportation. Nevertheless, Sobek also states that the "elec- tric city" urgently needs the full support of the automotive and construction industries. " B ot h i ndu s t r ie s a re c om i n g up w it h pioneering developments that can contribute to freedom from emissions," Sobek explains. " The automotive industr y is driv ing for- wa rd the creation of ever more powerful, longer-lasting batteries. At the same time, the construction industry is working on such solutions as a retrofittable building automa- tion system that can noticeably reduce the energy consumption of existing buildings in a very short amount of time." In 2014, Sobek demonstrated the type of concrete results that could stem from an alli- ance between the two industrial branches. A lon g w it h a lph a E O S , t he s m a r t home specialists, he built Aktivhaus B10 — the first "active house" of its kind in the world — in Stuttgart's Weissenhof Estate. Thanks to its intelligent building automation system, the structure generates twice as much power from renewable sources as it requires for its own needs and uses the surplus to power two electric cars and a neighboring historic building. The supply of energy to the vehicles and the nearby building is controlled via a networked system. The 'Sisterhood Principle' Sobek's Aktivhaus B10 provides a small- sca le exa mple of how a n em issions-f ree "electric city " could work. Sobek explains that architects and politicians will finally h ave t o "s t op v iew i n g hou s e fa c a de s a s system boundaries." Whether or not every single house complies with a specific insu- lation standard is unimportant. " T h e o n l y t h i n g t h a t m a t t e r s i s f o r ever yone to stop using fossilized sources o f e n e r g y," S o b e k s a y s . " To m a k e t h i s h a p p e n , t h e ge n e r a t i on a n d s t or a ge of electricit y a nd heat must be governed by the "Sisterhood Principle," whereby two or more houses – and even whole districts and cities – automatically communicate about the energy they are generating, storing and using, and then cooperate with one another to bring about the optimal coordination of these figures." About Werner Sobek Group GmbH Fo u n d e d b y We r n e r S o b e k i n 1 9 9 2 , th e eponymou s group of companies is known worldw id e for e nginee r ing, architecture , design and sustainability. The company has branches in Stuttgart , D ubai , Frankf urt, London , Moscow, New York and Istanbul . All of Sobek's projects win admiration for their high-quality designs that are founded on first-class engineering and sophisticated concepts that minimize the u se of energy and materials. ■ Werner Sobek Calls for a Totally Emissions- free "Electric City" Werner Sobek Werner Sobek GREEN ENERGY | Greater Boston Builder+Architect BOSTON.BUILDERARCHITECT.COM

• Cover