Milena Gojković-Mestre, CEO of Kuće Beodom - energy-saving buildings interesting to Serbian buyers

(Milena Gojković-Mestre and Božidar Đelić)

It already becomes a tradition that web portal eKapija grants Aurea awards to the top investors of the year. This year`s awards ceremony will take place at the end of March. Since the new cycle is approaching, we paid a visit to the companies that were shortlisted for last year`s award to check what state of business development they reached.

Company Kuće Beodom, the last year's laureate of special award Aurea, resumed construction of low-energy residential buildings in 2009. The project called "Amadeo" is characterized by top quality of construction, sound insulation and vent system, as well as energy efficiency and use of renewable energy. The first low-energy residential building "Amadeo" in Serbia has already been built, while the works on facility "Amadeo II" are in progress. Both facilities are built in Belgrade's settlement Veliki Mokri Lug.

Kuće Beodom also plans to implement big project called "Basilio", for the realization of which the company seeks partners who would be interested in the joint business.

In the interview for eKapija, Milena Gojković-Mestre, the CEO of company Kuće Beodom, speaks about the innovations that the company introduced to the building market in Serba, the energy-saving systems that are used in construction and how the buyers in Serbia react on "low-energy" buildings.

eKapija: What are the innovations that your company introduced to the building market in Serbia?

- We have introduced the new way of construction business management, which is based on transparency, honesty and quality. Construction business is most often seen as the business that makes losers of buyers. We want to create a "win-win" situation by selling genuine quality at fair price. It is impossible today to think about quality of construction without considering energy efficiency. Therefore, we have successfully developed the complete concept that is focused on quality and energy saving through energy efficiency and use of renewable energy.

eKapija: Which are the motives for your investment in Serbia?

- We wanted to be pioneers in Serbia in application of the concepts I've just mentioned. We believed, three years ago, that these concepts would become very important and that they would represent the difference between success and failure in real estate business. We now see that our vision was correct. The crisis actually functioned as an accelerator.

eKapija: Would you describe the energy-saving systems that you use in construction to us?

- Saving of energy is achieved in two ways. The first is construction of an energy-efficient building that consumes less energy, while the second is reduction of fossil fuel-generated energy consumption through use of renewable energy sources. We achieved energy efficiency through use of monolithic wall system 40 cm thick, improvement of thermal insulation of floor and roof, installation of low-emission windows, and use of the system for avoidance of thermal bridges, primarily on balconies. We use renewable energy for heating, cooling and production of sanitary hot water. Solar panels are used as primary source of energy for production of sanitary hot water. Thermal pump and electric energy are used as secondary sources of energy.

eKapija: Which specific materials do you use in construction?

- One big innovation is the use of monolithic wall system based on brick blocks. That system provides good thermal insulation and excellent thermal inertia. There is no need for additional layer of thermal insulation. In addition, this wall system provides healthy climate for life in the building. We built one building with "portherm 38" blocks made by "Wienerberger". The next building will be built with "klimablok 38" blocks made by "Zorka Opeka".

eKapija: How much energy do your buildings save?

- We will have the definite answer to that when we analyse the consumption of energy in the first building after the period of one year. We expect the consumption of primary energy to be 4 to 5 times lower than the consumption in standard poor-insulated buildings that are common in Serbia. And what is very important, the level of comfort achieved in our apartments is incomparably higher than the one in standard apartments in Belgrade.

eKapija: How do buyers in Serbia react on "low-energy" buildings?

- Some buyers really understand the advantages of purchase of one such apartment when it comes to comfort and long-term savings. Unfortunately, there are buyers who don't understand the concept at all and who don't take that in concern when deciding to buy the apartment. This is sad and points to ignorance concerning energy problems in Serbia. That will, most certainly, be changed in the following years, but, just like everything else, it takes time.

eKapija: What projects have you implemented to the date?

- We finished construction of our first building called "Amadeo" last year. It is the first low-energy residential building in Serbia, and it comprises 11 apartments and undergound parking lot at total gross surface of 1,270 square meters.

eKapija: Do you have any new project in the plan?

(Works on building "Amadeo II")

We are now building the second building named "Amadeo II" next to the first facility, which we plan to finish by the end of the summer. It is very similar to the first one since it also comprises 11 apartments and underground parking lot at total gross surface of 1,260 square meters. We also have one larger project called "Basilio" in the plan, of which realization is currently on hold. Financing became difficult because of the current crisis, and we are seeking partners who would be interested in joint realization of this project. We realize that we have huge potential to succeed in this difficult market. That is why we are seeking partners who see the opportunity to further develop this business together with us.

eKapija: With which companies from Serbia do you cooperate?

- We cooperate with Wienerberger and Zorka Opeka (wall system), Rehau (heating and solar systems), Vaillant (geothermal thermal pump), Knauf Insulation (insulation), Armacell (tubing insulation), Schoek and Betomax (thermal switches for balconies), Duco (ventilation system) and Baumit (facade and mortar).

eKapija: Have you established cooperation with government and non-government sectors in Serbia?

- We would like to cooperate more with both sectors. We now mainly cooperate with certain people from the city and municipal authorities who are familiar with our concept and support it, and they help us as much as they can in resolving the administrative issues. We have some positive announcements from various ministries about provision of support to our concept.

eKapija: What are the problems that you face in realization of your projects?

- Of course that we all types of problems, It would be an illusion to think that it is posible to build a residential building in Serbia without a problem. First of all, the quality of construction is difficult to achieve in Serbia. While we were very satisfied with certain companies, cooperation with others was quite unsatisfying. We can see that the quality is easier to achieve if progress is made in this business. As far as city administration is concerned, we also had many problems that we resolved with much effort. We are very thankful to the people who helped us in that.