VELUX announces the Active House Award 2017

Brno - The company VELUX Czech Republic, s.r.o. and VELUX SLOVENSKO spol. s r.o. announced the next year of the Active House Award competition. This international competition aimed at university students in the Czech Republic and Slovakia has set a challenging goal this year - to establish new standards for future preschool child care centers, of course within the principles of an active house. The expert jury will divide a total of €6,000 among the winning projects. Registration is open until November 15, 2017.

The goal of the Active House Award competition is not only to support students' work on sustainable building projects and to enable them a deeper understanding of the issues of building design in an active standard, but also to define a new standard for future childcare centers and kindergartens in the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

"Kindergartens and childcare centers are facilities where a healthy indoor environment should be automatically guaranteed. The competition allows us to discuss with students their attitudes towards healthy buildings. We can observe to what extent they perceive the importance of sustainability and renewable resources in the context of a healthy indoor environment," explains Klára Bukolská, chief architect of VELUX Czech Republic.

Active Standard

Kindergartens and other childcare centers hold a fundamentally important position in our society, and it is therefore understandable that they should offer children ideal conditions that will stimulate and develop their abilities. The competition design should build on the key ideas of the active standard, which is defined by the quality of the indoor environment, consideration for the environment, and the energy efficiency of the building. The integration of the mentioned aspects and their impact on architecture, human health, and a pleasant living environment is particularly important. Students should therefore focus, among other things, on the quality of daylight and fresh air entering the building through the roof.

Active House Award "Future Kindergartens" 2017

Students who wish to participate in the competition can register non-bindingly until November 15, 2017. During the course of the competition, practical webinars will also be held, to which registered participants will be invited via email. Competition projects on the chosen topic must be submitted by December 1, 2017. The winners will be announced on December 15, 2017. The expert jury will distribute a total of €6,000 among the participants based on established criteria. The winner will receive €1,800, the second-place €1,000, the third €800, and a total of €2,400 will be allocated for additional prizes.
Students can find inspiration from reference buildings from around the world: www.activehouse.info/active-house-cases/.

For more information about the competition:
Email: AHAward@velux.com
Official page: www.activehouseaward.velux.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/ActiveHouseAward/