Buildings come in a wide variety of shapes and functions. Throughout history, the construction of buildings has been adapted to the building materials available, to weather conditions, to land prices, ground conditions, specific uses and aesthetic reasons. Buildings are a pivotal centre of our lives insofar as houses serve primarily as our habitat.
Renovating buildings to high standards of efficiency can mitigate consequential damage to the environment- Josette Grech
The European Commission created a set of standardised European design norms that provide a common approach to structural design across the EU.
The pan-European harmonised rules on structural design contribute to the establishment and functioning of the internal market for construction products and engineering services, by eliminating potential barriers to trade that exist when countries have different standards.
Common design methods have the effect of creating a more uniform level of safety in construction in Europe.
These structural building design norms are contained in the Eurocodes, applicable in a mandatory fashion, and form the basis of the standard technical specification in all construction contracts for public works and public services. According to the public procurement regulations, contracting authorities in the EU must allow the use of the Eurocodes in structural design aspects of tenders. Adherence to these Eurocodes proves compliance of building and civil engineering works with the essential requirements of EU legislation.
The Eurocodes are wide in application and ensure consistency from the design stage through to the execution stages. The standards cover the basis of structural design, actions on structure, the design of building material, and include geotechnical aspects; structural fire design; and special situations including earthquakes. They also define how much energy is consumed in and by a building, and how much heating ventilation and cooling energy is needed to create a pleasant environment.
Although they have received relatively little publicity, following completion of the final Eurocodes, from March 2010 equivalent national standards were withdrawn across the European Union, leaving a common European approach to structural design. In the UK, the equivalent of the Eurocode was the British Standard, which formed the basis of engineering design also in Malta. By 2015 the British Standards will be declared obsolete and they will be supplanted by the Eurocode. Up until 2015 both British Standards and Eurocodes can be used to demonstrate compliance in the UK.
The EU member states have been encouraged to take on board the Eurocodes as their national design codes, which in turn requires contractors, masons and civil engineers to be fully up to speed with the EU norms for their implementation in construction.
Another important focus of the Commission in the construction industry in recent years has been the desire to create energy-efficient buildings. The materials used in a building consume energy for their extraction, manufacture and transportation to the building site. Materials sourced locally have a lower transportation footprint that those sourced further afield. Reducing the effect on the environment can be achieved through the reuse of material from buildings that are being demolished, rather than manufacturing new construction materials. Renovating buildings to high standards of efficiency can also mitigate consequential damage to the environment.
The original Energy Performance of Buildings Directive was adopted in 2002. The directive has recently been recast and revised and follows the general shift in focus of EU policy from carbon emissions to an explicit emphasis on energy performance. In particular, the Directive addresses the energy efficiency of buildings, both new and existing, and sets a target for all new buildings to be ‘nearly zero-energy buildings’ by 2020, including existing buildings undergoing major renovation. Malta already has goals for zero carbon buildings, whether owned by the private, or owned and occupied by public authorities, by December 31, 2018.
Apart from the ‘nearly zero-energy’ target, which must be met by 2020, governments had to adopt regulations and procedures for the other requirements set in the directive by last July, and implement them by January 2013.
jgrech@demarcoassociates.com
Josette Grech is an associate with Guido de Marco & Associates and heads its European law division.