Beatriz Corredor, speaking yesterday (April 29) advocated a new model for using space to create ‘the demand for optimum energy efficiency in respects the needs of the most rundown areas’.

Ms Corredor was talking at the European Forum for Architectural Policies, at the close of Week of Cities held in Madrid.

The forum looked at development strategies and models for socially cohesive and environmentally sustainable urban environments.

In her speech, the minister called for greater innovation in architecture, saying this activity ‘can and must help all sectors, such as construction, to carry on supporting economic growth’.

She emphasised that ‘efficiency in energy management’ is one of the key contributions architecture can make to sustainability in our cities and should be ‘supported and encouraged’.

She said: “The Government of Spain has provided resources and the instruments to ensure Spanish buildings and homes become increasingly efficient.

“We have provided the regulatory instruments such as the Technical Building Code (TBC), which are essential for modernising construction.”

The minister also emphasised she wanted to take a further step forward and ‘extend the political consensus’ to all economic and social stakeholders.

Luke Walsh

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