First Ecological UN Headquarters to be Built in Podgorica/Montenegro: Project Start Promotion of sustainable and ecological building principles in Montenegro and the region
After signing the contract between the Austrian Development Agency (ADA), the Foreign Ministry of Montenegro and WUS Austria, the project UN Headquarters Podgorica starts in the next days.
The goal of the common project of the Austrian Development Agency, the State of Montenegro, the United Nations and WUS Austria is to construct the first ecological UN premises in the world which will be located in Podgorica, the capital of Montenegro. The building is designed by the Austrian architect Daniel Fügenschuh and should become a best-practice example of ecological and sustainable building principles not only in Montenegro, but also in the whole region.
The Austrian Development Agency provides financial support for special ecological equipment for the building, architectural services and the know-how transfer from Austria. An added value to the project is the continuation of the cooperation with the Faculty of Architecture of the University of Montenegro where a course on ecological building was introduced within the first project phase which started in 2005.
The project is going to be architecturally led by the architect Daniel Fügenschuh whose project won the architectural competition held in Innsbruck/Austria in January 2006. The WUS Austria Head Office in Graz as well as the Podgorica office will lead the project management and the cooperation with the Faculty of Architecture in Podgorica.
The project supports Montenegro’s efforts to become an “ecological state” as agreed in the constitution amendment in 1992. It strives to make a significant contribution in promotion of sustainable, ecological and low energy building philosophy and technology not only in Montenegro but also in the whole region. It is supposed to become an example for future public and private ecological buildings in the region. As opposed to „energy efficient“ the term „ecological“ encompasses a broader meaning, by for instance including the use of locally available building material and the application of environment-friendly technologies. At the same time, the project supports the UN in its intention to promote sustainable development and the importance of environmental building principles.
The project budget amounts to 924,000 EUR for the two years project period 2006-2008.
