Read the Media Release in French

26 October 2007, Paris, France - Living Steel International Architecture Competition for Sustainable Housing award winner, "Architectenbureau cepezed b.v" will share its response to the growing worldwide need for sustainable housing development at BATIMAT 2007 in Paris, France on Friday, November 9.

Michiel Cohen from Architectenbureau cepezed b.v will present within a series of international conferences organised by the UIA in association with BATIMAT. At the session titled, Building Design and Sustainability, Cohen will talk through his award winning design, Kick Start, which comprises fully recyclable components that are prefabricated and can be assembled in a variety of combinations without complication. Weighing in at just 2,500kg Kick Start's prefabricated steel housing solution is so light that all elements can be transported by road and assembled using small cranes.

The International Competition for Sustainable Housing is a key activity for Living Steel, the International Iron and Steel Institute (IISI) worldwide programme developed to stimulate innovation in the design and construction of residential steel housing.

Launched to develop innovative approaches to meet sustainable housing needs, underlying the competition is a desire to address the economic, environmental and social aspirations of a growing world population. The Living Steel competitions have required architects to respond to burgeoning cities located in Poland, India, China, Brazil and the UK for a €50,000 prize and a contract to construct their design on location. Architectenbureau cepezed's Kick Start was the winning entry for Warsaw, Poland. Construction of its design is set to begin construction in 2008.

Living Steel's Programme Director, Scott Chubs stated that Living Steel is looking forward to participating in this important event.

"BATIMAT 2007 is a key event on both the architectural and the construction industry calendars. We hope to reinforce how steel is uniquely placed to help communities across the globe combat the challenges we face with the need for sustainable housing. As a residential construction material, steel benefits as an inherently adaptable material due to its durability, flexibility and strength. Its appeal is only set to grow," Chubbs said.

BATIMAT 2007 is the world's biggest international construction show. This year it will address the need for sustainability in construction and bring together architects and manufacturers to exchange information about their respective areas of innovation. The International Union of Architects is a key BATIMAT 2007 partner.

Michiel Cohen will be presenting with on Friday November 9 2007, within the Building Design and Sustainability session scheduled from 10am to 12:30pm.

For more information please visit http://www.batimat.com/ or http://www.livingsteel.org/

Living Steel, a worldwide programme to stimulate innovation in the design and construction of housing, was launched in February, 2005. The International Iron and Steel Institute (IISI) provide project management of the five-year Living Steel programme. The programme comprises three key initiatives including market research, knowledge management and the competition and demonstration building to promote steel-based solutions for sustainable housing.

Members of Living Steel include Arcelor Mittal, Baosteel, BlueScope Steel, CELSA Group, Corus, Erdemir, IMIDRO, Posco, Ruukki, SeverStal, Tata Steel and associate member Saint-Gobain Gypsum.

The UIA is a democratically structured body that represents over a million architects throughout the world through national architectural associations that form the UIA Member Sections.

The UIA is an international non governmental organisation founded in Lausanne in 1948 to unite architects from all nations throughout the world, regardless of nationality, race, religion or architectural school of thought, within the federations of their national associations.

The International Union of Architects was conferred the authority of ensuring the observance of conditions for the launching and carrying out an international architecture and town planning competition, according to the UNESCO-UIA international competitions and town planning regulation, adopted by the UNESCO General Conference.

The winning design by Architectenbureau capezed b.v was Kick Start. Its principle asset is its lightweight and prefabricated system that enables all elements to be transported by road and assembled using small building cranes. The design enjoys a full recyclable profile that enables exchange, elimination, replacement and addition of components during its lifespan. New technical developments can also be added or renewed without impairing the structure.

For more information please visit www.livingsteel.org/warsaw-winning-design

Living Steel's International Competition for Sustainable Housing was launched to develop innovative approaches to meet sustainable housing needs. Underlying the competition was a desire to address the economic, environmental and social aspirations of a growing world population. The Competition was developed with the guidance of the International Union of Architects (UIA) and consequently follows the provisions of the International Recommendations for Competitions in Architecture and Urban Planning adopted by the General Conference of UNESCO on 27 November 1978.

For more information, please contact:

Sheetal Chabra
Project Manager, Communications, Living Steel
T : + 91 98 102 11586
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Emma Halpin or Mary McCeney
Weber Shandwick
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