NEWSLETTER Consiglio Architetti
Europa - n° 2-05
English language version
The monthly electronic note from the Architects’
Council of Europe
Monday 28th February 2005
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INTRODUCTION
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Welcome to the second issue in 2005 of
ACE Info, the monthly update from the Architects' Council
of Europe that will give you, at a glance, information on
current issues, highlighting emerging areas of activity
and informing you of matters of interest in the field of
architectural policy.
This issue is also available in French.
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ACE POLICY ISSUES
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COMMISSION CANCELS ADVISORY COMMITTEE
MEETING
The Commission has unilaterally cancelled the announced
meeting of the Advisory Committee on Education and Training
in Architecture that was scheduled for the 4th March 2005.
The Committee, which was set up under the provisions of
the Architects Directive (85/384EC), was due to consider
the recommendation of its Working Party on Diplomas, which
has issued a negative opinion in relation to an Austrian
qualification that the Austrian Government had notified
to the Commission in July 2004. This is a serious development
as the qualification in question is a Masters of two-years
duration that has been devised in the context of the ‘Bologna”
reforms to third-level education. The ACE is considering
the matter carefully and is consulting its Members on the
issue.
SERVICES IN THE INTERNAL MARKET
The proposal of the Commission to introduce a framework
directive on Services in the Internal Market has recently
hit the headlines in Europe’s mass media as a result
of the opposition to the proposal expressed by, among others,
the French Prime Minister, Jacques Chirac, and the German
Chancellor, Gerhard Schröder. In response the Commission
has admitted that there was not enough reflection on the
proposal prior to its release and President Barroso has
said that the Commission is open to finding the “right
approach”, although it is not willing to re-write
or withdraw the current proposal. Similar indications were
given to the Member States in the context of the Expert
Group on Competitiveness and Growth>
Work in the European Parliament is proceeding with an expectation
that the rapporteurs report will be available during the
month of March. The PES Group recently devoted a week to
the subject of the proposal to which it invited representatives
of its political family from national parliaments to Brussels
to debate the issue. Its objective was to define a “social
democrat” response to the challenges raised by the
directive. It became clear that there is a split within
the group on the issues raised – a clear indication
of the gravity and complexity of the issues that the directive
addresses.
Others have commented favourably on the furore, stating
that it is the first time that an EU legislative proposal
has been so widely debated and therefore praising its effect
as a true demonstration of European democracy at work.
The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) adopted
its opinion on the proposal at its plenary session of the
11th January 2005. In the opinion the EESC sets down a critical
appraisal of the proposed directive and it highlights, in
particular, that the introduction of the Country of Origin
principle is pre-mature and will remain so until there is
further significant harmonisation of legislation and systems
across the EU. The text of the opinion, which lists a number
of actions that should be undertaken, can be downloaded
from:
http://eescopinions.esc.eu.int/viewdoc.aspx?doc=\\esppub1\esp_public\ces\int\int228\en\ces137-2005_ac_en.doc
ACCORD ON CO-OPERATION AND PROFESSIONALISM
IN ARCHITECTURE
The ACE, representing the profession of architecture in
the Member States of the EU has signed an Accord on co-operation
and professionalism in architecture with the Committee of
Canadian Architectural Councils (CCAC) and the Royal Architectural
Institute of Canada (RAIC). The CCAC represents the provincial/territorial
registration/licensing authorities in Canada and the RAIC
represents the profession of architecture in Canada. The
purpose of the Accord is to set down the intention of the
three organisations to develop a Mutual Recognition Agreement(MRA)
containing criteria, procedures and measures for the mutual
recognition of diplomas, certificates and practice experience
that will result in the enrichment of the architectural
profession internationally through the full portability
of qualifications within both political and economic entities.
It is expected that the MRA will be concluded within one
year.
FP6 BROKERAGE AND PARTNERING EVENT
FOR THE CONSTRUCTION SECTOR
On the 17th January 2005, the European Council for Construction
Research, Development and Innovation (ECCREDI), held a brokerage
for the construction sector on the 6th Framework Programme
of the Commission for Research. The ACE was represented
at the event by Jean-Marie Fauconnier, architect, Belgum.
He reports that the event provided a valuable opportunity
for exchange and presentation of many project proposals
and that it was particularly valuable for Small and Medium-sized
Enterprises to be informed of opportunities to be involved
in Research. Of particular note was a high attendance of
companies from the EU-10 and Turkey. Several presentations
were made at the event, including one on the European Construction
Technology Platform and one on the E-CORE Strategy. The
ACE has been closely involved in the development of both
of these initiatives.
ACE-UMAR COLLABORATION
The Architects’ Council of Europe (ACE) and the Mediterranean
Union of Architects (UMAR) have agreed to engage in exploratory
talks on possible collaboration on matters of mutual interest.
This follows the address of the UMAR President, Patrick
Genet, to the ACE General Assembly in Milan in May 2004.
A working group of the UMAR will be established with an
observer member from the ACE to explore the issue in more
depth before deciding on what form of collaboration is possible
given that the two organisations has several Members in
common.
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NEWS FROM THE ACE NETWORK
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UNSFA – 36TH CONGRESS
The Union des Syndicates Francais des Architectes has announced
that it will hold its 36th Congress on the 6th, 7th and
8th October 2005 at the “Cirque D’Hiver”
in La Villette, Paris. The theme of the Congress will be
Social Cohesion and Architecture
NEW PREMISES FOR THE IRISH ARCHITECTURAL
ARCHIVE
A new building to house the Irish Architectural Archive
has been inaugurated in Dublin. It is located at 45 Merrion
Square and is the largest of the Georgian houses on the
Square. One of the other houses, number 8, is home to the
Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland – a Member
of the ACE. The collections housed by the Archive comprise
the largest body of historic architectural records in Ireland
and as such constitute a vital national cultural resource.
They include the most significant body of historic Irish
architectural drawings in the world, with in excess of 250,000
drawings ranging in date from the late seventeenth to the
late twentieth centuries. Also housed in the Archive are
over 400,000 photographs, making this one of the largest
collections of photographs in Ireland, and an extensive
reference library, with more than 15,000 items of printed
matter. Further information can be found at:
http://www.iarc.ie/45merrion/index.html
THE ARB LAUNCHES AN ELECTRONIC
NEWSLETTER
The Architects Registration Board (ARB) of the UK has launched
an electronic newsletter. It will be published on a regular
basis and it aims to provide registrants with factual reports
of the Boards meetings and other information of relevance
to architects and users of their work and services. The
first issue appeared in February 2005 and it can be read
at:
www.arb.org.uk
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OTHER MATTERS
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SOLAR THERMAL COLLECTORS –
PORTUGAL
On the 27th January 2005, the Portuguese government approved
new building regulations whereby new buildings and those
undergoing renovation will have to fit solar thermal collectors.
The rules are designed to boost an earlier solar hot water
initiative that has not achieved its targets. The new regulations
will apply to buildings above 1,000m2 and will permit the
substitution of solar thermal by other renewable energies
of equal capacity. The Spanish government has also announced
a similar drive in November 2004. Further information from
the Portuguese solar industry association at:
www.spes.pt
INTER-MINISTERIAL MISSION ON THE
QUALITY OF PUBLIC WORKS
This is an initiative of the French government that tracks
developments across the EU in relation to public procurement
of buildings. It has a good website (in French only) on
which it gathers information from across the EU. Notably
it has information on Public Procurement, Architectural
Competitions and Public Private Partnerships. It can be
consulted at:
www.archi.fr/MIQCP/
COMMISSION PREPARES AIR POLLUTION
ACTION PLAN
The European Commission will present, before mid-2005, a
new action plan to reduce air pollution. It conducted an
internet consultation inviting stakeholder input to its
future policy measures that ended in January 2005. It is
estimated that about 310,000 people from the EU die pre-maturely
because of air pollution and sick leave attributable to
air pollution is estimated to cost 20 billion euro per year.
For more information see:
http://europa.eu.int/comm/environment/air/cafe/index.htm
LISBON STRATEGY: COMMISSION COMMUNICATION
AT SPRING EUROPEAN COUNCIL
On the 3rd February 2005, the European Commission approved
the communication from President Barroso, in agreement with
Vice-president Verheugen, addressed to the Spring European
Council of the 22nd and 23rd March, which will take stock
of the mid-term review of the Lisbon Strategy. The communication
can be accessed at:
http://europa.eu.int/prelex/detail_dossier_real.cfm?CL=en&DosId=192503
PUBLIC PROCUREMENT – AUTHORITIES
CAN PROMOTE GREEN LOCAL PRODUCTS
European public authorities can legally promote regional
products with environmental benefits according to a study
carried out for the German environment agency. The results
of the study were discussed at a workshop in November 2004
with officials from the European Commission. The press release
on the report can be accessed at:
http://www.umweltbundesamt.de/uba-info-presse-e/2004/pe04-106.htm
EUROPE’S CAPITALS OF CULTURE
ANNOUNCED
The European Parliament’s Culture Committee has approved,
without amendment, the Council’s common position listing
the countries that will be asked to put forward a candidate
for the period 2005 to 2019. The ten new Member states are
included as from 2009 and the Council has agreed to guarantee
sufficient Community funding for two capitals per year from
that date. Here is the new list of countries designated
for 2005-2019. In 2007 and 2008, two cities currently outside
the EU will take part under an option that allows towns
not in the EU to be involved:
2005 Ireland (Cork) www.cork2005.ie/home/default.asp
2006 Greece (Patras)
2007 Luxembourg (Luxembourg City) and Romania (Sibiu)
2008 United Kingdom (Liverpool) and Norway (Stavanger)
From 2009, two countries per year:
2009 Austria – Lithuania
2010 Germany – Hungary
2011 Finland – Estonia
2012 Portugal – Slovenia
2013 France – Slovakia
2014 Sweden – Lithuania
2015 Belgium – Czech Republic
2016 Spain – Poland
2017 Denmark – Cyprus
2018 The Netherlands – Malta
2019 Italy
KYOTO PROTOCOL ENTERS INTO FORCE
On the 16th February, the Kyoto Protocol on climate change
entered into force. It has been signed by 140 countries
and has been hailed as the first real step in fight against
global warming. There was a wide welcome for the event with
much satisfaction being expressed about the leading role
that the EU is playing in the process. This is in sharp
contrast to the approach of the US and the entry into force
of the Protocol was used by many to urge the US to join
the protocol and so assist in the preparations for the post-1012
period of the fight. Further information is available at:
http://unfccc.int/essential_background/kyoto_protocol/items/2830.php
ARCHIBALD – THE COMIC STRIP
ARCHITECT
With the goal of promoting architecture and enhancing discussion
about it, a young Belgian architect has turned away from
practice to become a full-time cartoonist. Mike Hermans
has a daily architectural cartoon strip that appears in
several countries and is also available to view on the following
website:
www.maaik.com
PRESCOTT SETS OUT EUROPEAN SUSTAINABLE
COMMUNITIES VISION
On the 1st February 2005, the Deputy Prime Minister of the
UK, John Prescott, launched a drive to develop a European
approach to creating sustainable communities. In his keynote
address to the “Delivering Sustainable Communities
Summit” in Manchester he said that he wants to use
the UK Presidency of the European Union to set up a new,
Europe-wide framework for creating places where people want
to live. At the heart of Mr. Prescott’s initiative
will be the UK’s new Academy for Sustainable Communities,
which was launched at the conference and will be based in
Leeds, England. Further information can be found at:
www.odpm.gov.uk
HOUSING MINISTERS MEETING –
PRAGUE
An informal meeting of the EU Ministers for Housing is due
to take place in Prague on the 14th and 15th March 2005.
The theme of the meeting will be the challenge of high-rise
residential buildings in Eastern Europe. This is an acknowledgment
of the poor state of maintenance of these buildings and
of the needs that arise in order to deal with this fact.
In the context of the meeting, the Czech Member of CECODHAS,
the European Liaison Committee for Social Housing, will
host a seminar in Prague on the 14th March on “The
Future of Housing Co-operatives in Europe”. Further
information can be found at:
http://www.cecodhas.org/rightclick.cfm?id=1547
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PUBLICATIONS
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RICS EUROPEAN HOUSING REVIEW
The RICS has published its 2004 review of the state of the
housing market in Europe. As the survey information was
gathered prior to the Enlargement in 2004 the review only
cover the EU-15. It can be downloaded in pdf format at the
following address:
http://www.realtor.org/cipshome.NSF/files/RICS%20European%20Housing%20Review%202004.pdf/$FILE/RICS%20European%20Housing%20Review%202004.pdf
DAUGE REPORT ON THE ARCHITECTURAL
PROFESSION
The French Senate has published a report on the architectural
profession in France. It surveys the current situation for
the profession in France, addresses the question of the
need to promote quality in architecture and it makes 30
propositions for architecture and the living environment.
The full text can be downloaded at:
http://www.senat.fr/rap/r04-064/r04-064.html
EU ENERGY AND TRANSPORT IN FIGURES
– 2004
This statistical pocketbook has been published by the Directorate
General foe Energy and Transport. It provides an overview
of energy and transport statistics for the EU-15 and, where
available, for countries from the EU-10 would joined the
EU in May 2004. The tables of the book and soe additional
information can be found at:
http://europa.eu.int/comm/dgs/energy_transport/figures/pocketbook/index_en.htm
VILLAGE REGENERATION IN AUSTRIA
A book on the regeneration of Austrian villages, with a
particular emphasis on recent interventions by architects
in the historical centres of the villages has been published
by the land of Tirol. Further information and orders for
copies can be sought by e-mail to:
dorferneuerung@tirol.gv.at
LE CORBUSIER PLANS
All of the plans of Le Corbusier are being published as
a series of DVD’s. The final set collection will consist
of 16 DVD’s and will contain all 35,000 drawings by
Le Corbusier that are held by the Le Corbusier Foundation
in Paris. The cost of the full set is 5,800 euro excluding
VAT, although there is a reduction of 800 euro on orders
placed before the 31st March 2005. Further details can be
found from:
info@codeximages.com
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EVENTS
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SYMPOSIUM: ENABLING COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT
IN REGENERATION
Comtechsa, a not-for-profit consultancy organisation, is
organising this symposium in the week of the 18th April
2005. The week will feature a two-day conference followed
by a two-day study tour of completed projects. The objective
of the symposium is to share experience in working with
communities and voluntary groups in the regeneration of
their neighbourhoods. Further details can be found at:
www.comtechsa.org
WTO SEMINAR ON CROSS-BORDER SERVICES
The World Trade Organisation (WTO) has announced that it
intends to hold a seminar on cross-border trade in services
(Mode 1) on the 28th and 29th April 2005. The full calendar
of event can be consulted at the website of the WTO at:
www.wto.org
CONFERENCE 10 DBMC: DURABILITY
OF BUILDING MATERIALS AND COMPONENTS
The triennial DBMC Conference is to be held in Lyon, France
from the 17th to the 20th April 2005. It is being organised
by the CSTB and it will address the issues of durability
in the context of the drive towards truly sustainable construction.
There will be a “practical day” dedicated to
the field experience of innovative tools and approaches
related to durability and service life within the building
process. Further information at:
www.10dbmc.cstb.fr
SFT ARCHITECTURE CONFERENCE
Systems, Facades, Trends – a conference to be held
on the 16th, 17th and 18th March 2005 in Munster, Germany
on the topic of innovation in façade design. Full
details at:
http://www.sft-congress.de/eng/start.html
BEAUTY AND WASTE IN THE ARCHITECTURE
OF HERZOG &DE MEURON
Running from the 22nd January to the 8th may 2005, this
exhibition explores the unusual use of materials of this
important architectural practice. It is running at the Nederlands
Architectuurinstituut in Rotterdam. For further information
see:
www.nai.nl
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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 LUXEMBOURG PRESIDENCY
http://www.eu2005.lu/en
(Then choose your preferred language)
SUSTAINABLE BUILDING WEBSITE
www.sustainablebuilding.info
COAC INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS DATABASE:
http://www.coac.net/internacional/default_w.html
CNAPPC DATABASE – ARCHIEUROPE:
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
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: Marie-Helene Lucas
The Secretary General of the ACE: Alain Sagne
Senior Advisor to the ACE: Adrian Joyce
ACE Info is normally issued around the
second Wednesday of each month. 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 issue then e-mail it (in English
or French please) to adrian.joyce@ace-cae.org
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 issue of ACE Info which
include Jean-Marie Fauconnier, CEPMC, the Euractiv website
(www.euractiv.com) and Bulletin
Quotidien Europe.
_____________________________________
adrian.joyce@ace-cae.org
– Comments and contributions welcome
