Arch. Georgi Nikolov: Investments to be made in accordance with the property quality

The interest of end consumers must be protected by the legal regulations in Bulgaria and the controlling organs in the construction sector. I seriously doubt whether these regulations are properly functioning, whether controlling organs are exercising control and if the consciousness of investors and developers is up to the mark. Being a new EU member-state Bulgaria now faces a chaotic state of construction standards and norms; quality of construction is low as there are no officially introduced rules and standards for building classes, energy consumption and there is no one to monitor the proper implementation of these standards.
On the other hand, so far consumers have been convinced that real estate investments are the best ones; they had very low requirements and were willing to pay thousands of euros per sq m not even asking about the quality of materials or the buildings’ facilities, energy consumption and future energy costs. That is why, I strive to introduce the standards for "passive building" in Bulgaria so that there is a clear target for architects, developers and certifying organs.
So far clients have been mostly interested in location, functional distribution of spaces and property prices. However, the time when investments will be carefully evaluated in respect of property merits will soon come: what construction standards the projects meets and whether they are certified; what insulations and construction systems have been used; whether the buildings’ coating has been designed smartly enough; what the annual energy consumption of the building is. Last but not least, clients will have to consider the interrelation between buildings and nature, or at least what’s left of it.

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