Word for Word: Dirk U. Hindrichs about BAU 2009

“The market leader set standards in Munich.”

BAU 2009 just came to an end. In the future, the Munich trade show …
Hindrichs: ... for six days it offered many highlights and sparked incentives that are not geared to quick profits but primarily to continuity and sustainability. As a key theme of the BAU, energy-efficient construction was more than just a buzzword – the issue was experienced first-hand.

The need to offer systems that conserve resources and generate energy …
Hindrichs: ... was recognized by Schüco many years ago. For us, ecological and economic interests are not opposite extremes but form a positive symbiosis. With Energy² we fulfill and often exceed all the essential requirements relating to the building envelope today. Take the Schüco E² Façade, for example. It is the brain of the building – energy-efficient, adaptable and at the same time aesthetically appealing. One mustn’t forget that the Schüco E² Façade was still a prototype two years ago. Today it is ready for series production. The first projects are underway, with others in the pipeline. Naturally, the positive feedback we received from architects, investors and fabricators in Munich strengthens our feeling that we’ve taken the right path.

In addition to the Schüco E² Façade, Schüco 2° Concept, a world novelty, was presented at the BAU …
Hindrichs: ... the much noticed highlight and the aspect of our central presentation Energy² Tec that the media asked about most. I’m not someone who throws around superlatives – but with Schüco 2° Concept we as the market leader set standards in Munich. With the system, which we expect will reach market maturity by 2011, we intend to do our part to limit the global temperature increase to two degrees Celsius.

The Uniqueness of the Novel Schüco 2° Concept …
Hindrichs: … lies in the versatility of this adaptive system. We’ve created an intelligent building envelope, an active and at the same time architecturally ambitious energy façade flexibly uniting everything. Efficient thermal insulation is combined with mobile insulation panels for dynamic U-values which also provide security and visual cover at night. Second, we have high-performance solar shading ensuring sustainable cooling load reduction. And the interplay between opaque and transparent components is rounded out by thin-film photovoltaics enabling the building to generate its own energy. This energy is also usable as semitransparent solar shading and is the “third skin” of our innovative Schüco 2° Concept, as it were. For heating, cooling and air-conditioning, the energy savings potential is around 80 percent higher than with a 2009 EnEV energy regulation reference project. Analogous to this, we can report a corresponding reduction of harmful CO₂ emissions.

A particularly positive aspect at the end of BAU 2009 is …
Hindrichs: … that the need to act in the face of ongoing climate change has now been recognized worldwide by many target groups and by the industry. I’m very please about that – both personally and with a view to subsequent generations. All participants, from architects to investors, have to approach the issue together. Ultimately, we all have an obligation to help protect the climate. And as a responsible-minded innovation leader for energy-efficient building, Schüco is glad to lead the way.

Thank you very much for the interview,
Mr. Hindrichs.