The German Sustainable Building Council (DGNB for “Deutsche Gesellschaft für Nachhaltiges Bauen”) has developed a certification system for urban districts and published a first market version in 2012. 51 urban districts have already been certified worldwide. The DGNB certification system equally considers the ecological, economic, socio-cultural and technical qualities of a project. Furthermore, the planning and implementation process is also an integral part of the comprehensive assessment, as the certification process is sequenced in: phase 1: pre-certificate, phase 2: certificate infrastructure and phase 3: certificate district. 

The main goals of the certification scheme are the protection of the environment and the conservation of resources, development of long-term economic approaches, as well as to promote health, comfort and well-being. Its guiding principles take a holistic approach, incorporating life cycle calculations, overall-performance orientation (rather than a focus on individual measures) and making developments future-proof by ensuring the consideration of all relevant standards and regulations.

The Sino-German Ecopark in Qingdao – planning and certification 

The Sino-German Ecopark is a joint initiative and cooperation project of the Chinese and German national governments, aimed at strengthening and deepening work in the field of sustainable development in industry, science, technology and education, realizing energy efficient buildings, and achieving sustainable economic development in the future. 

In June 2011, GMP Architects initiated the planning of the Sino-German Ecopark and submitted the masterplan, which was then reviewed in an expert meeting. Based on this blueprint, the planners from Obermeyer deepened the approach to a comprehensive general design concept, which was supported by the advice of the DGNB and TÜV Nord.

In 2012, planning and construction of the German Enterprise Centre as the first realized block of the Ecopark began. The Centre includes a hotel and offices, which have already been awarded with a DGNB platinum certificate on the building level and were audited by energydesign (Shanghai). In 2018, the management of the Ecopark decided to apply for a certificate for the C2 district in the Northeast as the first implementation district, in order to evaluate and confirm the high-level sustainability profile of the project on district level. The consortium of Moeller & Partner, Eble Messerschmidt Partner and energydesign (Shanghai), with Rolf Messerschmidt and Sebastian Schulz as auditors, have been selected to carry out the certification process.

Adaptation of the DGNB system to urban districts in China 

For the first application of the DGNB system to a Chinese project, the international German system has been successfully adapted to China. Most of the criteria, indicators and benchmarks could directly be applied to the Ecopark project. Some adaptations have been undertaken to match the system to different planning frameworks, as well as to socio-economic and technical conditions in China. The partially adapted benchmarking process reflects both international best practice and national Chinese legislation and standards. Due to these adaptations and based on the document collection of the Ecopark project, as well as the certification process with conformity check by the DGNB head office in Stuttgart, the German system could be carried out successfully within a very limited time frame.

Highlighted sustainability features of the Ecopark district 

In the field of energy efficiency, buildings such as the German Enterprise Centre, passive houses and passive house communities contribute to a low primary energy demand. The energy supply is mainly based on a combined heat and power (CHP) plant on the district level and within one block, with rooftop solar thermals and additional photovoltaic panels. This leads to a good result in the life cycle assessment (LCA) calculation, including a significant reduction of carbon emissions. For the criterion energy infrastructure, the Ecopark district was hence awarded maximum evaluation points. 

In fulfillment of the criteria biodiversity, urban climate and open space quality, the Ecopark district benefits from the integration of the existing lake as a water reservoir and its mainly natural environment, which comprises various green spaces and a high volume of trees. It was one of the chief objectives of the general concept plan to increase and restore the ecology of the site, which had previously mostly been agricultural land. The well-integrated rain water management system adds to a high quality water cycle.

The urban design of the Ecopark is equally of high quality and is well-integrated into the surrounding townscape and urban structure, thanks to the architectural and urban design guidelines implemented. Inclusion of social and commercial infrastructure, such as a variety of residential housing types, offices, a hotel and shops, a primary school, a kindergarten and higher education centers, as well as leisure and accessible sports facilities, results in a highly diverse social and functional mix in the park. 

The governing body of the Ecopark established a good project organization and offers advice to residents and other users, as well as information for the general public. The monitoring approach includes the advanced “2030 Qingdao Sino-German Indicators for Sustainable Development” and a related reporting system.

Certificate in gold and outlook 

The comprehensive and integrated sustainability strategy of the Ecopark resulted in a total performance of 71,5 percent and a gold certificate. Next to the generally high assessment of this comprehensive project, particular strengths could be identified in the main criteria groups for ecological, socio-cultural and technical qualities. This is understood as a remarkably positive result, which proofs the high sustainability performance of this Ecopark district and the Ecopark organization in general. Considering the fact that the DGNB criteria have been applied to an almost fully completed project shows that the initially planned qualities have actually been implemented and achieved during the construction and implementation process. This learning moment enables the Ecopark to transfer these achievements to the future development of upcoming districts and to even improve and optimize their sustainability performance. Looking beyond the Ecopark project, it can be stated that the advanced DGNB system profile on urban districts can be successfully applied to Chinese projects both as an assessment and a planning tool to design and deliver measured high-performance sustainable districts in China.

With more dedicated DGNB schemes coming up in China, such as for tourism resorts and industrial sites, and advancing harmonization between DGNB and the Chinese GBL 3-Star System, it is expected that national and international benchmarking for sustainability will experience further growth. Certificates and voluntary assessments will continue to gain importance for raising the corporate social responsibility (CSR) of developers, as well as for creating access to subsidies and grants based on sustainability performance.

Article Resource: Econet Monitor Special Green Building