Comunicat de presa - Lafarge Invention Awards 2010

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Transmitem comunicatul de presa Lafarge privind Lafarge Invention Awards 2010.

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15 februarie 2011

Secretar Executiv
arh. Cornelia Burcus

Filiala Teritoriala Bucuresti a Ordinului Arhitectilor din Romania
str. Academiei nr. 18 - 20, sector 1
010014, Bucuresti, Romania
tel/fax: 021-3039226, 021-3077163
e-mail: oarbuc@rdsmail.ro
www.oar-bucuresti.ro
www.anuala.ro

Lafarge rewards 2010's most inventive sustainable construction projects in Europe

On January 5th, Lafarge announced the three winners of the Lafarge Invention Awards 2010 at an Awards Ceremony at its Technology Center, near Lyon, France. Projects from France, Poland and Serbia were rewarded, with each winner receiving a prize of €20,000, plus support from Lafarge in 2011 to develop their project.

On the morning of January 5th, each of the ten finalists had presented their invention to the Jury, which was chaired by Lafarge Chairman and CEO Bruno Lafont and included other senior Lafarge executives as well as eminent economic and scientific experts from across Europe.

Winners of the Lafarge Invention Awards 2010

1st prize: P.R.O.M.E.S.S (Protecting Marine Ecosystems and Structure against Scour) developed by SM2 Solutions Marines in France, represented by Sven-Michel Lourié & Michèle Cabanis.

P.R.O.M.E.S.S is a combination of an Artificial Reef, made of concrete incorporating shell waste, with an anti-scour system, including a layer of artificial seagrass which enables it to fix the reef. The system is rapidly colonized by invertebrates, algae epiphytes and fish. It fosters biodiversity and fisheries, while also providing scour protection for underwater structures such as offshore windpower piles, cables and pipelines.

2nd prize: Thermal Barrier, developed by Marek Krzaczek from Gdansk University of Technology in Poland.

The thermal barrier system maintains a constant temperature of around 19°C in a building throughout the year, thanks to an indirect heating and cooling technology which supplies energy into the external walls of a building rather than into the internal air. It combines a roof-collecting solar energy and ground heat storage system to heat polypropylene U-pipes placed inside external walls. This limits temperature variations in the external walls, reducing energy losses.

3rd prize: New building construction technology with continuously insulated pre-fabricated concrete panel system, developed by Mr. Jovan Nikolic of Quattro Construction in Serbia.

This new construction technology features a concrete panel system, with internal insulation to avoid thermal bridges and thus improve energy efficiency. Multi-functional tools are used to produce pre-fabricated panels of various dimensions before installation on-site. Continuous insulation is achieved through connecting panels: both ‘wall to wall’, but also ‘wall to ceiling’ connections. This allows an estimated 80% reduction in a building’s energy consumption through the avoidance of thermal bridges.

Lafarge devotes more than 50 per cent of its annual research budget to sustainable construction. Because of this strong commitment, in 2010 the Group launched the Lafarge Invention Awards, to reward and accompany the most inventive projects being developed by researchers and entrepreneurs from across Europe that can contribute to ever more sustainable construction methods.

The competition proved to be remarkably popular, generating a large number of entries from 18 different European countries and demonstrating the high potential for innovation in building materials in Europe. A short-list of 10 finalists was drawn up and on January 5th 2011 the final of the Lafarge Invention Awards 2010 took place at the Lafarge Technology Center near Lyon, France.

Innovation: a strategic priority for Lafarge

Lafarge has made innovation a strategic imperative in order to develop for its customers materials which best meet their needs, as well as solutions which will address the construction challenges of the future. The Group is tackling all levels of the construction chain and offers innovative materials with a lower environmental footprint, as well as construction solutions which increase the energy efficiency of buildings and prolong the performance of constructions generally.

Further information on the Jury
Details on the 10 Lafarge Invention Awards finalists

The Lafarge Invention Awards Team