Last weekend of April, 25-27 LITEXPO As every year, the exhibition and congress center will once again invite you to the most important exhibition dedicated to the construction sector in the country - Resta 2024. First held back in 1994, Resta has significantly grown and strengthened over the past 30 years and is now the only specialized construction-themed exhibition in the Baltic States, which has earned the recognition of the global exhibition business association UFI.
According to the organizers, visitors to this year's exhibition will not only be able to view the exhibits of the participants, get acquainted with the latest products and services and make useful contacts, but also choose from almost 20 events, the topics of which are very diverse: from the decarbonization of buildings and green energy to the recommendations of lawyers for those purchasing construction contracts, materials or equipment, landscape lighting and the secrets of creating a Japanese garden.
This year, Resta 2024 visitors will be greeted not only by a rich program of events and the stands of various participants, but also by a large outdoor exhibition. Everything from modern roofs and gates to off-grid homes and landscaping solutions, offers for heating, plumbing and construction equipment will be on display there.
LITEXPO project manager Saulė Jančiauskė singles out four thematic highlights of this year's exhibition, which will be given special attention both at the exhibition and at the events: digital construction, energy sustainability of buildings, green transformation in building construction and professional orientation.
Digital construction is relevant for absolutely everyone
On April 26, at 10 a.m., the conference "Digital construction 5.1. Vilnius" will start in LITEXPO conference hall 2024. This one event, which has been held for the 13th year in a row, is the largest digital construction and BIM (Building Information Modeling) methodology topic forum in the country. During it, digital construction experts not only from Lithuania, but also Denmark, Finland and Germany will give presentations and share valuable insights and practical experience.
Dalius Gedvilas, head of the Lithuanian Association of Builders, which organizes the conference, emphasizes that this event "provides a great opportunity to share knowledge, the latest trends in digital construction and international experience, to discuss the development of BIM methodology both in Lithuania and around the world".
The main theme of this year's conference is "Using digital data in the building life cycle: from BIM to building use and maintenance challenges". D. Gedvil points out that the forum will not avoid extremely sensitive topics, for example, "whether all tangible and intangible assets, including digital data, must be transferred in the contract when building owners change".
"In these times of technological breakthroughs, digital construction is relevant for absolutely all participants in the construction process: clients, real estate developers and managers, designers, builders, public procurement organizers, representatives of science, research institutions and authorities," emphasizes the main partner of the "Resta 2024" exhibition - Lithuanian builders association - manager D. Gedvilas.
Hot topic: energy sustainability of buildings
The National Passive House Association is organizing the conference "Energy efficiency, sustainability and comfort" at the Resta 2024 exhibition. The practice of passive houses in Lithuania". The event will start on April 26, at 13:1.3 p.m., in conference hall XNUMX.
Rytis Kaminskas, director of the National Passive House Association, mentions that the topic of the conference will be explored in several ways.
"First of all, we will talk about the influence of CO2 on climate change and how the construction sector could contribute to the reduction of CO2 emissions. We will also present the recommendations for ensuring the tightness of building enclosures prepared together with the Institute of Architecture and Construction of Kaunas University of Technology (KTU) and partners. We will also discuss the energy efficiency of buildings - what it depends on and how it is affected by the tightness of the building. We will draw attention to the topic of one- and two-unit residential houses, we will present an incentive initiative to support the renovation and modernization of these buildings more," said R. Kaminskas.
He emphasizes that the passive house design and construction standard is one of the most accurate, energy efficient and sustainable ways to design and construct modern buildings. According to him, this German system forces to evaluate even the smallest nuances of project solutions and ensures very accurate building indicators, eliminates a number of design errors and inaccuracies. Passive buildings built many years ago still demonstrate very high energy efficiency, sustainability and comfort indicators and are not inferior to (and often even surpass) the most recent standards of energy efficient and sustainable buildings.
R. Kaminskas also pointed out that during the event, not only passive houses built and certified in our country will be exhibited for the first time, but it will also be possible to listen to the thoughts and impressions of the people who live in these houses and the architects who designed them, who will participate in the discussion.
"Besides, architects visiting our event, if they wish, will be able to receive another additional benefit - two-hour qualification improvement certificates," emphasized R. Kaminskas, director of the National Passive House Association.
Green transformation in the construction sector
On the very first day of the exhibition, April 25, at 13 p.m., the conference "Is the decarbonization of buildings a common goal?" will begin in the presentation space of the third hall of LITEXPO. According to Remigijaus Simanavičius, the president of the Lithuanian Green Building Council, which is organizing it, the event will talk about the problem of CO2 emissions from buildings, possible ways to solve it, policy guidelines and already accumulated experience - both positive and negative.
"Representatives of the real estate and construction sectors really understand their responsibility. Representatives of these fields significantly contribute to climate change: construction and other building management processes create approximately one fifth of greenhouse gases," asserts R. Simanavičius.
According to him, in order for the world to reduce the impact on the environment as much as possible, the European Union (EU) foresees that by 2030 zero CO2 emission standards would be mandatory for new buildings. Even higher goals are set for the period up to 2050. Therefore, a number of questions arise: what does Lithuania look like in this context of decarbonization of buildings? Are we able and ready to assess and reduce CO2 emissions in buildings? Looking at today's situation, where should the most attention be paid to ensure that newly constructed and reconstructed buildings have the least possible impact on the environment? What actions must be taken by public authorities, builders, designers, contractors, manufacturers of building materials and equipment in the real estate and construction sector in order to fulfill the sustainability requirements?
"Discussing these issues, we are talking about the sustainable use of materials and other resources, improving the performance of buildings, increasing the use of renewable energy. But is that enough?" R. Simanavičius asks rhetorically.
According to the organizers, the participants of the conference will also learn about the challenges of the market leaders and together they will be able to search for answers to the question - which is the best way to create sustainable buildings.
Long experience is no longer enough for professionalism
Technology and progress do not bypass any field. The construction sector is no exception. In construction, more and more demands are placed, and the result depends not only on high-quality building materials, but also on the competence of the builders. This will be especially emphasized in the professional excellence competition that will be held during the Resta 2024 exhibition, which will draw attention to the importance of being interested in innovations, continuous improvement and keeping up with trends.
Remigijus Lukauskas, the project manager of the company sponsoring the competition, Remigijus Lukauskas, gives an example illustrating this statement: "In the construction business, you can often hear the saying - 'I have been working in construction for 20 years and I know everything.' However, in today's world, with the rapid development of technology, twenty-year-old knowledge and skills do not always guarantee quality, sometimes the opposite can happen. Therefore, educational initiatives promoting professionalism and skill renewal are simply necessary," R. Lukauskas is convinced.
According to him, during his long work experience, he repeatedly had to face various mistakes made by seemingly experienced craftsmen due to ignorance and lack of improvement. They are especially common during plasterboard installation and grouting works.
"Most of the masters of the "old" generation cannot answer: why should it be raised about 5-10 mm from the ground when installing plasterboard in partitions? The answers make us smile, we often hear options like "due to floor deformations" or "it's protection against water spillage". And in fact, this is done due to the possibility of properly and tightly sealing the entire perimeter of the structure in order to maintain the sound insulation and fire resistance parameters", R. Lukauskas named the mistake and added that special attention is paid to such mistakes during education and competitions, therefore " the new" generation of masters no longer makes such mistakes.
More insights and news about the rapid evolution of the construction sector, new trends, bold predictions, progressive technologies, current topics, changes and challenges will be available from April 25-27. at the upcoming LITEXPO exhibition "Resta 2024".
