The Federal Office for Building and Regional Planning

Research Project: Revision and supplementation of the "System for sustainability requirements in design competitions (SNAP)"

Project briefing

  • Status Completed
  • Project duration August 2019 – November 2021
  • Programme Future Building

The design competition is of major importance for combining sustainability with Baukultur early in the planning phase of construction projects. To this end, the System for Sustainability Requirements in Planning Competitions (SNAP) was published in 2013. This is intended to facilitate the consideration of sustainable building requirements in design competitions. The research project included the collection and evaluation of the practical experience gained in the meantime and updating the SNAP methodology.

Background

The Sustainable Building Guidelines and the Sustainable Building Rating System (BNB) have made a significant contribution to establishing the necessary principles, methods and processes in federal construction and also for state construction projects in many federal states. The design competition plays an important role in integrating sustainability with Baukultur early on in the planning phase. The research project examined the system for sustainability requirements in planning competitions (SNAP) developed in 2013, revising and supplementing them based on the practical experience gained in recent years.

Objective

The SNAP update is intended to help ensure that sustainability aspects are taken into account in public and private design competitions. This requires an overarching approach that addresses the complex holistic requirements of sustainable construction in the context of planning competitions, while ensuring the acceptance of the competition participants.

The following premises were adopted for the development of the SNAP methodology and formed the framework of the solution:

  • A focus on aspects that are actually relevant to the preliminary design and that shape the design
  • A comprehensive understanding of sustainability derived from the BNB system
  • All phases of the competition procedure to be taken into account, from the call for tenders to the preliminary assessment and the prize jury
  • Involvement of the key players in the competition and decision-making process
  • Proof of sustainability requirements in the context of usual competition performance
  • Definition of appropriate design parameters or estimates that can be easily pre-assessed
  • Graphic clarification of the results in the pre-audit report, but without weighting or overall score

The contractor for the research project was ee concept GmbH from Darmstadt.

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Contact us

  • Merten Welsch
    Federal Institute for Research on Building, Urban Affairs and Spatial Development
    Division WB 5 "Grundlagen und Systematik des nachhaltigen Bauens"
    Phone: +49 30 18401-3406
    Email: merten.welsch@bbr.bund.de

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