PRESENTING THE PROJECT OF THE FIRST UN ECO-BUILDING

In Podgorica, on 11 April 2006, the winning design for the UN Eco-Building was presented. The authors of the project are the Austrian architects Daniel Fügenschuh and Kirstin Rogge. The project was selected at the competition for the “UN shared Eco-Premises in the Republic of Montenegro” in January, in Innsbruck, Austria. On this occasion, the architects presented the details of the UN Eco-Building that is going to be constructed in Podgorica. Furthermore, the Memorandum of Understanding between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Montenegro and the Austrian Development Agency (ADA) was signed by the Montenegrin foreign affairs minister, Mr. Miodrag Vlahovic, and ambassador of Austria in Belgrade, Mr. Gerhard Jandl.

The signed Memorandum of Understanding represents contribution to the realization of the Agreement on “Environmentally Efficient Building” – the project of UN Eco-Building - that was signed in Podgorica, in April 2005, by the Government of Austria, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Montenegro, Municipality of Podgorica and University of Montenegro.

Speaking about the UN Eco-Building project, minister Vlahovic emphasized that it represented a new method of modern communication with the world and that it would contribute to enhancing cooperation with all UN agencies and the Austrian Government. He stressed that this project confirmed a lasting, fundamental determination of Montenegro towards its sustainable environmental, cultural and political development.

Ambassador Jandl pointed out that “environmentally efficient building” represented an excellent example of cooperation between several parties, emphasizing the satisfaction of Austria for assisting in the realization of such an important project.

Lens Clark, a resident coordinator for the UN system and head of the UNDP office in Belgrade stressed the importance that UN attached to signing the Memorandum, since it referred to a specific purpose building that would in various ways increase the efficiency of services that the UN agencies provided to host countries.

The role of EXPEDITIO in this project is to promote the principles of sustainable development on the example of the UN Eco-Building. Additional information on the project can be found at the website
www.un-ecobuilding.info