NEWSLETTER Consiglio Architetti
Europa - n° 1-07
English language version
The monthly electronic note from the Architects’
Council of Europe
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INTRODUCTION
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Welcome to the first issue of ACE Info
in 2007. The New Year brings with it a number of changes
and a sense of renewal of priorities that are both reflected
in this issue. The ACE welcomes feedback and comments on
the content of this publication, so please feel free to
write to us at info@ace-cae.org
This issue is also available in French.
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ACE Matters
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New Year – New Responsibilities
With the New Year, there are a number of changes and appointments
within the ACE and within its Member Organisations to report
on:
First of all, the mandate for five members
of the Executive Board of the ACE came to an end on the
31st December and they have been replaced, accordingly to
the rotation principle established in the Statutes of the
ACE, by the following persons:
Wolfgang Haack, Germany
Tina Valpola, Finland
Vladimir Krajcar, Slovenia
Georg Pendl, Austria
Pedro Guilherme, Portugal
At its first meeting in 2007, held on the 19th and 20th
January, the roles set out in the Statutes of the ACE for
the members of the Executive Board (elected in November
2005) were confirmed as follows:
Jean-François Susini, Président
Luciano Lazzari, Vice-President
Katarina Nilsson, Treasurer
Wolfgang Haack, Coordinator for TA1 – Access to the
Profession
Pierre-Henri Schmutz, Coordinator of TA2 – Practice
of the Profession and Trade in Architectural Services
Olgierd Dziekonski, Coordinator of TA3 – The Role
of Architecture in Society
Additionally, Tiina Valpola was appointed as the representative
of the ACE (to join Alain Sagne, Secretary General) in the
Association to support the European Forum for Architectural
Policies.
In Belgium, Jan Ketelaer has been elected
President of the Royal Federation of Belgian Architects
(FAB) and he took up the role on the 1st January. Jan is
well known to the ACE and to its Member Organisations as
a dedicated and long serving member of its Executive Board.
In Malta, David Felice has taken up the
position of President of the Maltese Chamber of Architects
(KTP), also starting in that role on the 1st January. David
if a past member of the Executive Board of the ACE having
served for 2006, the transition year between the old and
new Statutes of the ACE.
ACE Events and Meetings in January,
February and March 2007:
Work Group Services in the Internal Market – 26th
January – Brussels
Procurement of Architectural Services/Architectural Competitions,
Coordination Meeting – 26th January – Brussels
First meeting of the Work Group on Professional Experience
– 29th January – Brussels
ACE - UIA Meeting, Paris – 2nd February
Joint Working Party (with EAAE) – 23rd February –
Brussels
Coordination meeting on Procurement of Architectural Services
- 2nd March - Brussels
Second Executive Board Meeting in 2007 – 2nd and 3rd
March – Brussels
Finance Committee Meeting – 16th March – Brussels
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Core Issues
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Services Directive – Published
in the Official Journal on the 27th December 2006
The final, official version of the directive of the European
Parliament and of the Council on Services in the Internal
Market was published in the Official Journal of the EU on
the 27th December 2006, meaning that it must be transposed
into national law before the 27th December 2009. The directive
reference is 2006/123/EC and it can be downloaded in all
languages of the EU from the following address:
http://eur-lex.europa.eu/JOMonth.do?year=2006&month=12
You will need to go to the date of 27.12.06 and choose issue
L376 to access the text.
The ACE intends to carry out a detailed
examination of the final text and to draw up guidelines
on the matters that are of particular concern to the architectural
profession so that its Member Organisations can lobby their
governments during the transposition phase to ensure, as
far as possible, that the views of the profession are adequately
taken into account in all Member States of the EU.
EU Energy Package – Energy
for a Changing World
The European Commission launched, on the 11th January last,
the EU Energy and Climate Change Package. This launch marks
a turning point in the political importance of energy issues
in the policies of the EU. There is a sense that energy
issues and climate change must now be considered as an emergency
for mankind and that stringent measures must be adopted
in order to mitigate the worst effects of climate change.
The package has received a broad welcome, although environmentalists
and business interests have both expressed reservations
for very different reasons. Environmentalists criticised
the package for its lack of ambition and for not going far
enough while business interests criticised it for its potential
impact on competitiveness if the EU moves ahead with mitigation
measures at a faster pace than its external trading partners.
The impact of the built environment is not overlooked in
the package and it is likely that stricter requirements
for energy efficiency in buildings will be imposed during
the coming years, opening up opportunities for the architectural
profession to make its influence felt more keenly in its
attempts to enhance quality in the built environment. In
light of this development, the ACE will be updating its
policy on the environment and sustainable architecture to
ensure that the profession is capable of contributing to
a better future for all.
The full package of measures can be accessed through the
portal page of the Commission on the subject at:
http://ec.europe.eu/energy/energy_policy/index_en.htm
7th Framework for Research and
Development (FP7) Finally Complete and First Calls Published
The FP7 was formally adopted by the Council of the European
Union on the 18th December 2006, which opened the way for
the Commission to publish the first call for proposals.
This took place, as anticipated, on the 22nd December 2006.
The FP7 will run for a period of seven years over the period
2007-2013 and it has been allocated a total budget of €50.5
billion. There were 42 calls announced by the European Commission
on the 22nd December with calls under each of the main headings
of the FP7 – Cooperation, Environment, Ideas and People.
An initiatial analysis of the calls indicates that there
are a high number of these calls that could be of interest
to the architectural profession and to individual architects
and their offices. The ACE WG Research is to be asked to
further analyse the calls in order to prepare an information
paper for the Member Organisations of the ACE that it is
hoped will encourage many more architects to bring their
skills to bear on the research projects funded by the EU.
Full information on the calls that have been issued can
be found at:
http://cordis.europa.eu/fp7/dc/
For an overview of the type of construction related projects
that were funded by the EU in the FP6 you can consult the
unofficial list compiled by the European Council for Construction
Research Development and Innovation (ECCREDI) at:
http://www.eccredi.org/FP6_Projects.pdf
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Other Matters
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Urban and Territorial Development
to be at the Centre of German Presidency Work
On the 8th January, the German Presidency announced that
cities, regions and rural zones will be the lightning conductor
of its work over the next six months as it considers integrated
urban development and better coordination in territorial
development policy will contribute to both sustainable management
of demographic changes and a policy focusing on growth.
This means that a highlight of the Presidency will be the
informal ministerial meeting in Leipzig from the 23rd to
the 25th May at which it is expected that a Charter on integrated
and sustainable urban development will be adopted.
The ACE has, notably through its involvement with the European
Forum for Architectural Policies, been closely involved
in the preparatory work on the Leipzig Charter and it sees
the approach of the German Presidency as a significant step
as it will, for the first time, draw a direct link between
architectural policies and urban/territorial policies. Further
information can be found, in due course, at:
http://www.eu2007.de/en/Meetings_Calendar/Dates/May/0523-AN.html
Changes at the European Commission
Changes in some of the Directorates General of the European
Commission will have an impact on the work of the ACE. In
particular, the former Construction Unit in the DG Enterprise
and Industry has been merged with another former Unit. The
new Unit is to be known as Construction and Pressure Equipment
with Mr. Reinhard Klein as Head of Unit.
In the DG Internal Market and Services, Margot Froehlinger,
who was previously responsible for the Services Directive,
has been appointed as Director of Directorate D, Knowledge
Based Economy.
New President for the European
Parliament
On the 17th January, the European Parliament elected the
German Conservative, Hans-Gert Pottering as its new President
for the second half of the current term. He succeeds the
Spanish Socialist, Josep Borrell Fontelles who has been
President since the start of the current term of Parliament
(2004-2009). President Pottering has been a Member of the
European Parliament (MEP) since 1979 and the President of
the EPP-ED group since 1999. The result was no surprise
as there was an inter-party agreement reached at the start
of the term of the Parliament that the Socialists and Conservatives
would share the Presidency.
On the same day 14 Vice-Presidents were elected and they
include the French MEP, Gerard Onesta, who is an architect
by training. To read more about the new President go to:
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/president/defaulten_mac.htm
Cohesion Policy – 12 National
Strategic Reference Frameworks Submitted
Following the lead of Malta that submitted its National
Strategic Reference Plan under the priorities of the Cohesion
Policy 2007-2013, all other EU Member States have submitted
their Plans to the Commission for agreement. Malta received
the agreement of the Commission on its Plan on the 21st
December last.
On the basis of these plans, the Member States in dialogue
with the Commission are currently drawing up operational
programmes on which the funding of national projects will
be decided during the period of validity of the Cohesion
Policy. There will be an opportunity for national representative
bodies to interact with, and influence, the way in which
national programme are implemented. The ACE intends to encourage
its Member Organisations in the EU-12 countries to organise
inter-regional workshops on the ways in which integrated
development plans that include housing should be drawn up
by their governments so as to facilitate the creation of
a meaningful dialogue between the various authorities responsible
and representatives of the profession and other stakeholders.
In this way it is hoped that the quality of the operational
plans will be high and therefore will contribute to optimising
the use of the EU Structural Funds. More information on
Cohesion Policy at:
http://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/atlas2007/fiche_index_en.htm
ECJ – Italian Lawyers –
Minimum Fees Can be Justified by General Interest
On the 5th December last, the European Court of Justice
(ECJ) ruled that the Italian system of setting minimum and
maximum fees for lawyers is a restriction to free service
provision. However, with certain conditions, it considers
that this restriction can be justified in the interest of
the protection of consumers and the proper administration
of justice. This was the decision in two joined cases (C-94/04
and C-202/04) in which clients refused to pay the fees demanded
by their lawyers believing them to be disproportionately
high. On free competition rules, the Court concluded that
the Italian State cannot be criticised for requiring or
encouraging the adoption of agreements contrary to the rules
of free competition, since it is the State and not the professional
body that sets the fees.
On the other hand, with regard to the free provision of
services the prohibition of derogation from the minimum
fees makes access to the Italian legal services market more
difficult for lawyers established outside Italy. However,
the ECJ noted that the objectives of protection of consumers
and the proper administration of justice may be regarded
as overriding requirements relating to the public interest
and hence capable of justifying a restriction on freedom
to provide services. This is on condition that, firstly,
the national measure is suitable for securing the attainment
of the objective pursued and, secondly, that it does not
go beyond what is necessary in order to attain this objective.
To read the summaries of the cases go to:
http://curia.europa.eu/jurisp/cgi-bin/form.pl?lang=en
and insert the case number in the search box.
FUTURE Calls for Applications on
Culture and the City
The Future Urban Research in Europe (FUTURE) Programme has
called for applications by young researchers to participate
under the theme for 2007 “Culture and the City”.
The objective of FUTURE is to integrate all relevant academic
disciplines in the field of urban research. The project
should eventually result in a network of training and exchange
to prepare young scientists for research on the European
City. The deadline for applications is the 1st April 2007
and full information can be found at:
http://www.urban-future.net/
MACE – Metadata for Architectural
Contents in Europe
MACE is a project financed by the EU in the context of the
“eContentplus” programme. The project is aimed
at building a software system that will allow access to
and searching of as many repositories of electronic contents
concerning architecture throughout Europe as possible. This
will be achieved by creating virtual linkages between all
identified existing databases. The big advantage of this
approach is that the owners of repositories keep control
over their data and only have to allow access to their repository
by disclosing its existing metadata and by collaborating
in order to enrich the metadata so that searches from anywhere
within Europe become possible.
The project is being run by a consortium that includes the
KU Leuven University in Belgium. It is to be the base for
MACE as it already has an important e-content in DYNAMO
and it hosts the Secretariat of the EAAE, a network of schools
of architecture that will act as a good base for the dissemination
of the output of MACE. If you are a person responsible for
an e-repository of material relating to architecture and
you would like to be involved in this project or would like
to get more details, please write to:
herman.neuckermans@asro.kuleuven.be
Hotel and Restaurant Le Corbusier
– Marseilles
Did you know that it is possible to stay in one of the iconic
buildings of Le Corbusier? A hotel and restaurant has opened
in La Cité Radieuse in Marseilles and is offering
19 rooms. Each room is a faithful renovation of the original
building that gives an accurate idea of the original atmosphere
of the building. To read more and to see photos of the renovated
rooms, go to:
http://www.hotellecorbusier.com
50th Anniversary of the Signing
of the Treaty of Rome
This year marks the 50th anniversary of the signing of the
Treaty of Rome, the treaty that is the foundation stone
of the European Union. The year will be punctuated by a
series of events, taking place all over the EU, to mark
the anniversary. For example, the Committee of the regions
will meet in Rome on the 22nd and 23rd March to celebrate
the event and to raise awareness of the reality and diversity
of the regional, or territorial, dimension in EU affairs
and to contribute to the re-launch of the European Constitution.
It is also expected that the Committee will adopt a Declaration
of the Cities and Regions for Europe.
For further information on the anniversary celebrations
go to:
http://europa.eu/50/index_en.htm
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Publications
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There are no items for this section in
this issue.
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Events
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European Energy Efficiency Conference
This Conference will be held in Wels, Austria on the 1st
March as part of the World Sustainable Energy Days 2007.
With the increasing political importance that is being given
to energy, this event will focus on the developments in
EU legislation affecting the sector. For more information
go to:
http://www.wsed.at
European Wind Energy Conference
and Exhibition
This Conference will be held in Milan, Italy from the 7th
to the 10th May and will address major issues of importance
for European and Global wind markets and will, among much
else, look at the prospects for the wider uptake of these
technologies in society. For more information go to:
http://www.ewec2007.info/
Sustainable Building Safari
A unique event and idea! Take a 5-day, 4-night road trip
across part of the European Continent taking in visits to
some of the best examples of completed sustainable buildings
and projects arriving in time at the destination to take
part in one of the lead-up conferences in the International
Sustainable Building Conference series. For full information
go to:
http://www.sustainablebuilding.info
Listing of events relating to Urban
Issues
The European Urban Knowledge Network (EUKN) maintains a
very good listing of events that relate to urban issues
on its website, many of which are interest to architects.
It can be accessed at:
http://www.eukn.org/eukn/meetings/index.html
UIA Turin 2008 – Congress
Website Opens
The next triennial UIA (International Union of Architects)
Congress is to be held in Turin from the 29th June to the
3rd July 2008 at the Lingotto, once the main factory for
Fiat and converted in recent times to a convention centre
by the well-renowned architect Renzo Piano. The website
for the Congress has now been opened at:
http://www.uia2008torino.org/
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Calls for Papers
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The ACE frequently receives notifications
of “Calls for Papers” for conferences and seminars
worldwide. You may have written a thesis or doctorate paper
that you would like to present or you may have an idea that
you wish develop and to share with a wider audience –
here is your chance:
Wonderland – Papers for its
Magazine
Wonderland is a network of (young) architectural practices
that are less than five years in business and it is publishing
a series of booklets on aspects of architectural practice
that is distributed with A10, the European architectural
magazine. Wonderland are currently preparing the third edition
of its magazine on the theme of “Going Public”.
They are seeking contributions on the topic, so if you have
experience of how to get projects published, get public
attention for your work and maintain that attention over
time that you are ready to share, then please sent an abstract
to:
magazine@wonderland.cx
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Competitions
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Online Database of Architectural
Competitions
Summary of current competitions:
http://www.arplus.com/competition/competiton.htm
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Useful links
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EUROPEAN COMMISSION HOMEPAGE
http://www.europa.eu.int/comm/index_en.htm
SEARCH PAGE FOR COMMISSION DOCUMENTS
http://www.europa.eu.int/prelex/rech_simple.cfm?CL=en
THE BARROSO COMMISSION:
http://europa.eu.int/comm/commission_barroso/index_en.htm
Website of the German Presidency
http://www.eu2007.de/info/en/
European Forum for Architectural Policies
http://www.architecture-forum.net
SUSTAINABLE BUILDING WEBSITE
www.sustainablebuilding.info
COAC INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS DATABASE:
http://www.coac.net/internacional/default_w.html
Consiglio Nazionale degli Architetti, Pianificatori,
Paesaggisti e Conservatori (CNAPPC) database - ArchiEuro:
http://www.archieuro.archiworld.it
WEBSITE OF THE EUROPEAN CONSTRUCTION TECHNOLOGY PLATFORM:
http://www.ectp.org
EU IMPACT ASSESSMENT IN PRACTICE
Consult a list of impact assessments that the EU has carried
out on various legislative packages at:
http://europa.eu.int/comm/secretariat_general/impact/index_en.htm
Register of Expert Groups of the European
Commission:
http://europe.eu.int/comm/secretariat_general/regexp/
ArchiEuropa website – comparative
information on practice of architecture:
http://www.arvha.net/selectionlang.php?s=AXMIG1FZFB
Archi-Student website – a wealth
of information on schools and students of architecture in
Europe:
http://www.archi-students.org
Link to the Newsletter of the International
Union of Architects (UIA):
http://www.uia-architectes.org/texte/england/Menu-2/4-lettre.html
Website of the UIA Practice Commission
– contains useful information on the work of the global
architectural association, UIA, on practice related issues:
http://www.aia.org/about_uia
ACE WEBSITE
http://www.ace-cae.org
USEFUL TIP:
In the website addresses given in ACE Info for the documents
of the EU, you will frequently see the following near the
end of the address: “_en”. These two letters
define the language of the document (English in the case
of “en”) and you can usually change these two
letters in order to bring you to a different language version
as follows:
French _fr German _de Danish _da Swedish _sv
Italian _it Spanish _es Greek _el Dutch _nl
Portuguese _pt Finnish _fi Czech _cs Maltese _mt
Estonian _et Latvian _lv Lithuanian _lt Polish _pl
Hungarian _hu Slovene _sl Slovak _sk
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EDITOR’S NOTE
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The editorial board for the compilation
of ACE Info is:
The ACE President: Jean-François Susini
The ACE Vice-President Luciano Lazzari
The Secretary General of the ACE: Alain Sagne
Senior Adviser to the ACE: Adrian Joyce
ACE Info is issued on a regular basis,
with about ten editions per year. You are free to circulate
the document as widely as you wish, to translate its contents
for use in your publications and to refer to the information
it contains once you credit the ACE as the origin.
If you wish to receive ACE Info regularly
and you are not on the mailing list, you can register online
at:
http://www.ace-cae.org/Public/fsPublicNetwork_EN.html
If you have information that you wish to
have included in the next edition then e-mail it (in English
or French please) to adrian.joyce@ace-cae.org.
The deadline for submissions is the first Friday of each
month.
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
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The editorial board wishes to acknowledge
the sources of information for this edition of ACE Info
which include ECCREDI, the European Urban Knowledge Network,
the Euractiv website (http://www.euractiv.com)
and Bulletin Quotidien Europe.
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adrian.joyce@ace-cae.org
– Comments and contributions welcome
