Buildings with the Highest Sustainability Standards in Croatia: Matrix C, City Center One Split, and Auto Hrvatska Zagreb

The Conference on Sustainable Construction, organized by the Croatian Green Building Council, began with an official opening ceremony. The introductory speeches emphasized the need for strong collaboration across all sectors to transition toward a more sustainable built environment. Following this, Stuart Smith, Director of Arup Germany, delivered a keynote presentation on solving the carbon puzzle and accelerating the decarbonization of the construction sector.

As part of the conference, plaques were awarded to projects in Croatia certified under the DGNB system, recognizing their achievement in meeting the highest sustainability standards. To date, 23 projects in Croatia have entered the certification process, demonstrating how the DGNB certificate, one of the world's most advanced sustainability certifications for construction, is becoming the benchmark for building sustainability evaluation in Croatia.

Three projects were highlighted. Matrix C, an office building on Slavonska Avenue in Zagreb, was certified at the "Platinum" level, excelling in all six categories of sustainability evaluation. City Center One Split, a shopping center with exceptional economic quality, was certified at the "Gold" level. Auto Hrvatska, an office building in Zagreb, also achieved "Platinum" certification. The building's high sociocultural and functional quality, evaluated at an impressive 90%, was noted by its designer, Vlasta Zanki.

Denisa Diaconu from the Buildings Performance Institute Europe (BPIE) discussed the effective implementation of the EU Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD), while Marko Dabrović from 3LHD presented projects that are already reshaping sustainable construction in Croatia, highlighting future challenges for architects.

Attention was also drawn to presentations by Bruno Sauer from GBC España on sustainable financing and EU taxonomy, as well as Johannes Kreißig from DGNB, who spoke about the European certificate for sustainable construction.

In celebration of 15 years of successful operations by GBC Croatia, a panel discussion was held reflecting on key achievements and looking to the future. The panel, moderated by Dean Smolar, CEO of GBC Croatia, reviewed significant milestones in the organization’s history and outlined its strategic directions for the years ahead.

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