50th Home Fair officially opened by the President of Slovenia
Press Release 2
The Home Fair, which was officially opened today at 12 noon by the President of the Republic of Slovenia, Danilo Türk, PhD, is the largest so far. With the exhibition surfaces of the neighbouring building of Slovenijales, 730 companies from 28 countries present themselves on approximately 24,000 square metres of exhibition surfaces. The exhibited products and services from the field of building construction provide an up-to-date overview of such offer in Slovenia, and at the same time, through counselling and personal contacts, guide the visitor towards a simplified selection of the desired product also in terms of price and the quality of the product. And what is more, in terms of environmental friendliness of the product, which is particularly encouraged at the Fair with free-of-charge energy counselling provided by the Building and Civil Engineering Institute (ZRMK Institute), taking place every day from 10 am to 6 pm in Gazela hall, and also with the Green Mission 2011 prize.
Among other things, Director of the Ljubljana Exhibition and Convention Centre Iztok Bricl, MSc, stated that »the exhibition surfaces of the neighbouring Slovenijales building crucially contribute to the size of the 50th Home Fair, providing almost 8,000 square metres of surfaces over 3 floors. The Slovenijales building which was constructed in 1979 accordingly to the plans of one of the leading designers of the Ljubljana events centre, architect Milan Mihelič, is an important acquisition for the Ljubljana Exhibition and Convention Centre. Thanks to additional exhibition surfaces, we are able to respond to spatial requirements of larger fairs and, at the same time, to gradually abandon the use of the prefabricated halls«.
Mayor of the Municipality of Ljubljana Zoran Janković highlighted that vision and courage are necessary to find exit from the crisis in the field of construction and civil engineering and gave Ljubljana as an example of good practice. The vision of the Ljubljana Exhibition and Convention Centre is that the presently leased spaces of the Slovenijales building will come in the possession of the Ljubljana Exhibition and Convention Centre. The mayor also mentioned the importance of the Stožice Sports Park and the construction of the regional waste management centre Ljubljana (RCERO Ljubljana), in which 25 municipalities participate. The project is valued at 144 million Euros, with 77.5 million Euros contributed by the European Union.
In his opening speech, Danilo Türk, PhD, referred to the strong tradition of building construction in our area. Valvasor already wrote that it was typical of the people from Carniola to build solid homes for a number of generations that could well withstand various ordeals. However, the question is whether these constructions are as energy efficient as they should be and whether natural resources have been used to the maximum extent. The development in this field is too slow. Slovenia is rich in forests but it appears that we do not know how to maximise the efficiency of the use wood in construction and in terms of energy efficient living. Technologies, knowledge and construction techniques must be developed to enable us maximum benefit from our natural wealth.
The President of Slovenia presented the Green Mission prize. With the Green Mission prize, the Ljubljana Exhibition and Convention Centre, in cooperation with the Furniture and Wood Processing Association of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Slovenia, encourages the development of products which are environmentally friendly throughout their entire lifecycle – from natural resources, manufacture, and the use of product to its decomposition. This year, a special 4-member expert jury, presided over by Friderik Knez, expert in the field of building physics, among 11 participating products, selected the wooden window COMFORT E 92, manufactured by the Slovenian company M Sora from Žiri:
»The innovative wooden window has optimised properties and belongs to the class of passive windows. It achieves its properties exclusively through smart wooden construction. Additionally, it is also a product and a manufacturer, which has made a step further in desire to gain as much knowledge as possible about the product. The concluded analyses of the impact of the product on the environment in its entire lifecycle offer an objective evaluation of the product. At least in Slovenia, this is a turnover in terms of products and the first step towards the imminent mandatory
The product itself is made of wood, a renewable material, and manufactured with knowledge – a synergy of two key Slovenian resources. Success in the wider European sense will undoubtedly show that Slovenia has the knowledge and the capacity to create a European hit. The prize is definitely awarded to the right company.«
Director of M Sora Aleš Dolenc accepted the prize on behalf of the company: »Where we come from, we respect nature; we live with and of it. With the use of new knowledge, innovative solutions and with the aid of contemporary technology we would like to emphasise and highlight the excellent properties, nature created in a wonderful product – wood. In the last decade, M Sora developed from a less known window manufacturer into a development focused, innovative and respected company in the field of energy efficient and environmentally friendly windows. We accept the prize as a great recognition of our work and, moreover, as an encouragement for the future«.
The Green Mission prizes in individual categories and the Quality Mark in Construction will be presented at today’s evening reception for the exhibitors.
The Fair is open from Tuesday, 8 March, to Saturday, 12 March, from 9:30 am to 7:30 pm, and on Sunday, 13 March, from 9:30 am to 6 pm.
www.homefair.si
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