Results of the International Rosenheim Window & Facade Conference 2007

As in 2006, the 35th Rosenheim Window & Facade Conference was fully booked out, welcoming almost 1,000 delegates. The Motto "Window, Facades and the Climate Change!" must have tapped the pulse of the industry: climate change is making headlines and people are aware of the changes - in the form of heat waves, storms and heavy rainfall. Since windows, façades and glass are among the few components that are able to make efficient use of solar energy the industry continues to be well placed for future opportunities. The notion of the "energy-gaining window", explained in greater depth in the presentation by Ulrich Sieberath, Director of ift Rosenheim, was also a recurrent theme in many presentations and discussions. As a grand finale, the co-operating scientist of the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change), Prof. Dr. Christian Schönwiese, recent Nobel Laureate, concluded the event with his credo for consistent implementation of the climate protection targets.

The indisputable phenomena of climate change present us all with great challenges. With the new stricter requirements of the upcoming Energy Conservation Regulations (EnEV) 2010 and 2012, our industry will be confronted with higher benchmarks. This means in concrete terms that it will be necessary to develop window frames and glazing with a U-value of less than 0.8 W/(m²K).

Many of the 27 papers given at the Rosenheim Window & Facade Conference discussed possible solutions, and all delegates realized that there is an urgent need to continue further developing building components, profiles, glass products and associated accessories in a consistent manner.

A selection of transparencies of the papers (free-of-charge), as well as the conference pack with all manuscripts and released transparencies of the papers (available at a charge) is available at the ift website www.ift-rosenheim.de. A summary of the key messages and trends is being prepared and will be available at the ift website in November.